The Lead Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Plumbit, tr, Kurşun Camii), also known as the Izgurli Mosque, is a 16th-century 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, ...

located in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in ...

, south-central

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 ...

. Its name comes from the

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 ...

coating of its sphere-shaped domes. It was built in the years of 1553 and 1554 by the local feudal Ahmet Bej Uzgurliu, at the time a vassal of the

Skuraj family The Skura (also, ''Skuraj'', ''Skurraj'', ''Skurra'', ''Scura'', ''Sgouros'', ''Ozgur'', ''Uzgur'') were a medieval Albanian feudal family centred around the historical and ethnographic region of Benda in the highlands north-east of modern Tira ...

, and is currently a

Cultural Monument of Albania In Albania, a cultural monument ''()'' is a construction or work of cultural, historical and artistic value that is built in a visible space, made in memory of important events or prominent people. Cultural monuments are usually under state protect ...

. Explorer

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

’s description told of carved stones underneath the lead, topping off a complex including a bazaar,

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger comple ...

, school,

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

, and

shadirvan A shadirvan ( fa, شادروان, tr, şadırvan, ar, شاذروان) is a type of fountain that is usually built in the courtyard or near the entrance of mosques, caravanserais, khanqahs, and madrasas, with the main purpose of providing wa ...

. The prayer hall is square with a northern portico and a tall, thin minaret molded in

cloisonné Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...

where it meets the roof. Many windows light the interior.

Bibliography

* Anamali, Skënder; Prifti, Kristaq (2002). ''Historia e popullit shqiptar: vëllimi i parë''. Tirana: Toena. .

References

Ottoman architecture in Albania Mosques in Berat Cultural Monuments of Albania Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century 16th-century establishments in Europe {{Albania-mosque-stub