The Sultan Mehmed Fatih Mosque of Krujë ( sq, Xhamia e Sulltan Mehmed Fatihut) or Fethiye Mosque () is an Ottoman-era mosque built before 1481 inside the Krujë Castle of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kruj ...

, Durrës County,

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It is near the entrance of the Skanderbeg Museum.

History

The Sultan Mehmed Fatih Mosque was built before 1481 and named after the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

(also called "the Conqueror"). After being destroyed in 1831, the mosque got rebuilt for the local Albanian population under the reign of the Sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

. In 1917, the minaret of the Sultan Mehmed Fatih Mosque, famed for its beauty, collapsed due to a storm. Until 1937, the mosque was used a house of worship for the

Albanian Muslims Turco-Albanian ( el, Τουρκαλβανοί, ''Tourk-alvanoi'') is an ethnographic, religious, and derogatory term used by Greeks for Muslim Albanians from 1715 and thereafter.Millas, Iraklis (2006). "Tourkokratia: History and the image of Turks ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the mosque was abused and ammunition was stored inside the mosque. The mosque again decayed during the time of the Communist dictator

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

. Today, only the lower parts of the walls and the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

remain of the Sultan Mehmed Fatih Mosque.

Gallery

File:Fethiye Mosque minaret.jpg, Fethiye Mosque minaret File:Fethiye Mosque Kruje mihrab.jpg, Fethiye Mosque Kruje

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

File:Fethiye Mosque prayer.webm, Man praying in the ruins of Fethiye Mosque

Sources

* Baki Dollma: ''Vende dhe ngjarje historike të Krujës e Kurbinit.'' „Dajti 2000", Tirana 2006, , Kalaja e Krujës, S. 18–21. Mosques in Albania Religious buildings and structures completed in 1481 Buildings and structures in Krujë Tourist attractions in Durrës County Mosques destroyed by communists Anti-Islam sentiment in Albania {{Albania-mosque-stub