Old Mosque of Tirana

Colored postcard from Purger & Co. , ca.1914

The Old Mosque ( Albanian Xhamia e Vjetër ), also known as the Sulejman Pasha Mosque ( Xhamia e Sylejman Pashës ) or Mosque of Tirana ( Xhamia e Tiranës ) , was the founding mosque of the Albanian capital Tirana . The city of Tirana developed around this mosque, which was donated by the Ottoman general Sulejman Pascha Bargjini together with a bakery and a hammam , from the first half of the 17th century.

history

The mosque was built in 1614 and was the oldest mosque in Tirana. As an Ottoman general of Albanian origin, Sulejman Pasha Bargjini had previously fought against the Safavids in Persia . Legend has it that when it was founded, he named the city of Tirana after today's Iranian capital Tehran . The name was used before for the plain and perhaps also a settlement.

Connected to the old mosque is the Sulejman Pasha Türbe . This is often confused with the Kapllan-Pascha-Türbe , which was built around 1820 on the opposite side of the street and is still preserved today.

Less than 300 meters to the west is the Et'hem Bey Mosque , which was commissioned in 1794 by Sulejman Pasha Bargjini's descendant, Mullah Bej von Petrela . The mosque, which is also very elaborately decorated, was completed by his son Haxhi Ethem Pascha in 1821. The older church was the main mosque in the city, where the Muslim community celebrated the most important festivals. The Italian King Viktor Emanuel III. visited this mosque during his trip to Albania in 1940.

The Old Mosque was destroyed in the fighting for Tirana in November 1944 during World War II. Only the minaret remained. In contrast to other mosques in Tirana, the Old Mosque was not restored, although money had been collected for its reconstruction, but completely demolished in 1945. The government of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania had a partisan monument built in its place in 1949.

Today the square is named after Sulejman Pasha. A statue commemorates the city's founder.

building

The mosque with the Sulejman-Pascha-Türbe in the foreground (postcard from 1939)

Renovation work was carried out in 1840. It is unclear to what extent these changed the building design, as all the pictures of the mosque were only created afterwards. The oldest surviving illustrations are drawings by the English painter Edward Lear from 1848.

The French archaeologist Léon Rey provided a very detailed description of the mosque in 1930: like the Et'hem Bey mosque, the old mosque was surrounded on the west and east by an open, wooden vestibule. This was two stories; a staircase in the northeast corner led up to the first floor. The intermediate floor was supported by three pillars. A small gate led from the first floor of the vestibule to a gallery in the interior. The minaret, built in 1633, was located in the northwest.

Rey writes that the building was entered on the north side. However, other authors speak of a southeast-northwest orientation of the building, so that the entrance would be on the northwest side.

With the vestibule, the mosque should have been around 16 meters wide and 13 meters deep. The height of the building is estimated at nine meters, the minaret at 25 meters.

An inscription above the door mentioned the founder. The interior was richly painted with floral designs. Ornamental strips with various fruits were also applied to the outer wall. The windows were also very artistic.

The mosque was connected to the neighboring Türbe by a covered passage. The tombs of Sulejman Pasha and Ceno Bej Kryeziu (1895–1927) were inside. On one wall was a large painting of Istanbul , which Rey particularly emphasized.

The site of the mosque was fenced in. There was also a covered well and two graves on the site.

Web links

Commons : Old Mosque of Tirana - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Themelimi i qytetit të sotëm, p. 43 ff .
Xhamia e Vjetër. In: Drita Islame. Muslim Community of Albania , accessed January 5, 2016 (Albanian).

Individual evidence

^ Kristo Frashëri: Tirana; a Brief Historic Overview . In: Besnik Aliaj, Keida Lulo, Genc Myftiu (eds.): Tirana - The Challenge of Urban Development . Cetis, Tirana 2003, ISBN 99927-880-0-3 , pp. 140 f .
↑ ^a ^b Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Rrafshimi i Xhamisë së Vjetër, p. 55 f .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Xhamia e Vjetër dhe pllaka në fasadë, p. 45 ff .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Léon Rey: Guide de l'Albanie . Office du tourisme en Albanie, Paris 1930.

[1] Kristo Frashëri: Tirana; a Brief Historic Overview . In: Besnik Aliaj, Keida Lulo, Genc Myftiu (eds.): Tirana - The Challenge of Urban Development . Cetis, Tirana 2003, ISBN 99927-880-0-3 , pp. 140 f .

[bakiu2-2] Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Rrafshimi i Xhamisë së Vjetër, p. 55 f .

[bakiu-3] Gazmend Bakiu: Tirana e vjetër . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , Xhamia e Vjetër dhe pllaka në fasadë, p. 45 ff .

[rey-4] Léon Rey: Guide de l'Albanie . Office du tourisme en Albanie, Paris 1930.