Gjin Aleksi Mosque

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Mosque in a photo from 2010 with a Türbe in front of it

The Gjin Aleksi Mosque ( Albanian  Xhamia e Gjin Aleksit , Turkish Kinaleksi Mescidi ) is a historically important mosque in the village of Rusan , which is three kilometers northwest of Delvina in southern Albania .

Evliya Çelebi mentioned the mosque during his visit to Delvina around 1670. It is believed that the mosque is not much older and was built in the 17th century. The mosque was built on the ruins of a 12th century church and named after a Christian who converted to Islam - Alex .

The single-dome mosque is located in the center of the village and consists of an open porch covered with wood on the front, the square prayer room and a low stone minaret. The prayer room has dimensions of eight by eight meters. The dome rests on an octagonal drum . The building is made of stone. There are some hollows in the walls where there are clay pots. It is believed that this should improve the acoustics in the room.

There are two doors on the site of the mosque.

The Gjin-Aleksi-Mosque was declared a state cultural monument in 1963 and thus survived the ban on religion during the communist dictatorship.

The mosque is still in use today. The Türben are used today for teaching and prayer. Restoration work began in spring 2014. In 2017 the building had to be renovated again. The bricks on the dome were replaced.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Machiel Kiel : Ottoman architecture in Albania (1385-1912) . In: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (Ed.): Islamic art series . tape 5 . Istanbul 1990, ISBN 92-9063-330-1 , pp. 92 .
  2. a b Guntram Koch : DuMont Art Travel Guide Albania . DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 .
  3. a b Fatos Baxhaku: Saranda - Çelësi turistik . Tirana 2006, ISBN 978-99943-964-5-0 .
  4. a b Ylber Hysi: Delvina, its history, archeology and religious cults . Gent Grafik, Tirana 2009, ISBN 978-99956-51-00-8 , p. 62 f .
  5. Gëzim Hoxha, Bashkim Lahi: Islamic Art and Architecture . In: Werner Daum , State Museum for Ethnology (Ed.): Albania between cross and crescent . Pinguin-Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7016-2461-5 , p. 145 .
  6. Ermir Hoxha: Kompleksi islamik i Delvinës (Shekulli, September 20, 2010) ( Memento of October 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  7. Objects fetare monumente kulture. In: Komiteti Shtetëror për Kultet. Retrieved August 23, 2014 (Albanian).
  8. Gjeografia e Qarkut Vlore Siperfaqja e Qarkut ( Memento of the original from December 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. PDF file, p. 8  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.qarkuvlore.gov.al
  9. Meike Gutzweiler: Reise Know-How Albania . Peter Rump, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-8317-2442-0 .
  10. Nis rikonstruktimi i xhamise se Gjin Aleksit. In: InfoArkiva. Koha Jonë, April 27, 2014, accessed August 13, 2017 (Albanian).
  11. Delvinë, xhamia me emër të krishterë, pikë ndalese për turistët (September 27, 2017) on YouTube

Coordinates: 39 ° 57 ′ 6.5 ″  N , 20 ° 4 ′ 34.5 ″  E