Colorful mosque (Skopje)

The entrance to the Colorful Mosque

The towers from the 15th century

The Colorful Mosque (also Aladja Mosque or Ishak-Bey Mosque , Albanian Xhamia e Isak-Beut , Turkish Alaca Cami or İshak Bey Cami ) is one of the oldest Ottoman buildings in the Macedonian capital Skopje .

history

Built in 1438 by the Ottoman margrave Ishak Bey as a hospice ( imaret / zaviye ) with prayer house ( mescit ), the building was converted into a Friday mosque by the builder's nephew, a certain Mehmed Bey, in 1519 . The interior of the building was redesigned during this time, partition walls were torn down, and the portico , which was once brightly painted, is likely to date from this period.

Until the great earthquake in 1963 that destroyed large parts of the city, the mosque was adorned with floral ornaments and Arabic calligraphy .

The complex also included a madrasa (including a library), of which nothing is visible today. Next to the mosque are some gravestones and the turquoise tiled door (mausoleum) of an unknown notable from the second half of the 15th century.

The complex is crowned by the 30 meter high minaret .