Iljaz Mirahori Mosque () is a historic mosque in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

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 ...

History

The mosque was built in 1494 and finished in 1496 by Iljaz Hoxha (also known as Iljaz Bey Mirahori), who was a veteran of the Istanbul Conquest and the city-founder of Korçë. According to the writer

Sami Frashëri Sami bey Frashëri ( tr, Şemseddin Sami Bey; June 1, 1850 – June 18, 1904) or Şemseddin Sâmi was an Ottoman Albanian writer, philosopher, playwright and a pr ...

, it was built on the foundations of an existing monastery, then called dedicated to Saint Paraskevi ''(Kisha e Shën e Premtes)''. With 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 ...

being torn down during the Communist dictatorship, the Iliaz Mirahor mosque was declared a religious

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 ...

. After the end of Communist rule in the 1990s, the minaret was not rebuild until 2014 in a slightly different style compared to the original one. The Ottoman Clock Tower of Korçë in front of the mosque has also been rebuilt afterwards.

References

Mosques completed in 1496 Ottoman architecture in Albania 1496 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Buildings and structures in Korçë Mosques in Albania Tourist attractions in Korçë {{Albania-mosque-stub