Et'hem Bey Mosque

The Et `hem Bey Mosque (Albanian Xhamia Et` s booty, rarely Xhamia e Tiranës ) is an Ottoman religious building and is located in the center of the Albanian capital Tirana on later applied Skanderbeg Square. Construction was started in 1794 by Mullah Bey and finished in 1821 by his son Ethem Pasha ( Ethem Bey Haxhi ). A little later the neighboring clock tower ( Kulla e albanian Sahatit ) was built.

The building is a typical example of a Einkuppelmoschee: a square space of less than ten meters edge length is covered by a single dome. At the northwest corner of the minaret stands with pencil tip. The spacious, open lobby is not just in front of the entrance, but can cover the buildings on the east side, where it has its own Qibla with prayer niche. The roof pillars have capitals with foliate decoration. Empire painted with frescoes, the interior walls, the dome, the mihrab and the porch. Shown are mostly plant ornaments, flowers and trees, but also a representation of Istanbul, waterfalls and bridges. Still life are rare in Islamic art.

During the Second World War, the minaret was damaged, but restored later. The mosque stood on Hoxha's campaign, which declared Albania to the atheistic state and were in the course of mosques but also churches and monasteries, misused or even destroyed, as a cultural Baudokument under monument protection. They used to stand on either side of the entrance the tombs of the founder and his wife. During the communist dictatorship in Albania, the mosque was closed. After the religious ban was lifted in December 1990, the Et `hem Bey Mosque was reopened as one of the first mosques in the country: Without the permission of the authorities, the door was opened on 18 January 1991 and several thousand people visited the house of God. This demonstration of the people in the capital city - a little more than a month before the neighboring Enver Hoxha monument was razed - was a clear sign of the religious revival in Albania.

The mosque is accessible from outside of prayer times for tours. The Hodja takes visitors for a fee on the minaret.

Gallery

View from the west

Interior of the mosque with Minbar

Interior

Entrance to the mosque