The Lead Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Plumbit), also known as the Buşatlı Mehmet Pasha Mosque, is a historical

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

, northwestern

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 took the name ''Lead Mosque'', because all of its

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

s were covered with

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

History

The Lead Mosque was built in 1773 by the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

Mehmed Bushati Mehmed Pasha Bushati ( 1768–d. June 1775) was the Ottoman Albanian governor of the Pashalik of Scutari, between 1768 and June 1775. He was succeeded by his son Mustafa Pasha Bushati, and thus founded the hereditary Bushati family of Scutari. Hi ...

of the noble

Bushati The Bushati family ( sq, Bushatllinjtë) was a prominent Ottoman Albanian family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831. Origins They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (''fis'') in northern Albani ...

family, who was

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

Pashalik of Scutari The Pashalik of Scutari, Iskodra, or Shkodra (1757–1831), was an autonomous and ''de facto'' independent '' pashalik'' created by the Albanian Bushati family from the previous Sanjak of Scutari, which was situated around the city of Shkod� ...

at the time. Through this act, he intended to give his city of birth, the feeling of the capital. It is said that the mosque's edifice was built on land owned by the catholic church. Mehmed Bushati was personally involved with the construction and stones were incised under his patronage. Almost every day, he stepped down from his residence, the Rozafa Castle, to follow the progress of the works. The first

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

of the mosque was Haxhi Ahmet Misria, who was of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian origin. He came to Albania after the contacts he had with Mehmed Bushati. After him, other Imams served and also took care of the mosque.

Damages

During the 1900s, the mosque begun to be damaged and the lead that covered the cupolas was gradually stolen. In 1916, the remaining lead was removed by the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

during the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n rule in Albania. In 1967, lightning destroyed its

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 ...

, which had been previously reconstructed in 1920 by ''Xhelal Bushati'', descendant of Mehmed Bushati.

State atheism

In 1967, Lead Mosque was closed down, just like the other religious institutions, after the

anti-religious Antireligion is opposition to religion. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship ...

communist leader

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 ...

declared Albania an

atheist state State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically li ...

. Unlike many mosques that were destroyed during this time, it survived from the communist regime, probably because it was declared a ''Cultural Monument'' in 1948.

Post-Communism

On 16 November 1990, the Lead Mosque preceded other mosques in Albania to reopen when religion was again allowed in the country. The very first religious rally was held in this mosque by Hafiz Sabri Koçi, after 23 years of state atheism.

Construction

The Lead Mosque has an

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...

, unlike most other mosques in Albania which follow

Arab architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic area ...

. It closely mirrors the classical Ottoman architecture of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, which was pioneered by architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empir ...

of the 16th century. The mosque is built with hewn stones of almost the same size, which creates a pleasant construction symmetry. Stones were brought from the nearby village of Gur i Zi by people who aligned to each other over kilometers passing the stones to reach the construction point.

Restoration

Flood damage in rainy seasons have resulted in damage to the Lead Mosque over time. The mosque has been repaired numerous times during its lifetime: in 1863, 1920 and in 1963. On 15 July 2021, the Albanian and Turkish governments funded restoration of the mosque.

Gallery

File:Albania Lead Mosque 01.JPG File:Albania Lead Mosque 02.JPG File:Albania Lead Mosque 03.JPG File:Albania Lead Mosque 04.JPG File:Lead Mosque, Shkodër.jpg

References

External links

Lead Mosque
at Shkodër.net {{Religious Cultural Monuments in Shkodër County Ottoman architecture in Albania Religious buildings and structures completed in 1773 Tourist attractions in Shkodër Cultural Monuments of Albania 18th-century mosques Tourist attractions in Shkodër County Mosques in Shkodër