Molla Mehmet Bey known as Molla Bey of Petrela (d.1806 or 1808) was an Ottoman- Albanian religious leader and benefactor from

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. Born with the name Mehmet, he was a descendant of Sulejman Pasha Bargjini, the Ottoman general from nearby Mullet who transformed Tirana into a developed commercial and religious center. Molla Bey started the construction of the

Et'hem Bey Mosque The Hajji Et'hem Bey Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Haxhi Et'hem Beut) is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. Closed under communist rule, the mosque reopened as a house of worship in 1991. Without permission from the authorities, 10,000 people attended and the ...

, 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 ...

, and also a point of reference due to its location in the

Scanderbeg square , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

, the main square of Tirana. The construction year lies between 1791 and 1794. Various sources place the start year in 1791, 1793 (1208 in Hijri), or 1794, and after Molla Bey's death his son Haxhi Etëhem Bey Mollaj finished it in 1819 or 1821.

References

{{reflist 1806 deaths People from Tirana 18th-century Albanian people 19th-century Albanian people Albanian Muslims Albanian Sunni Muslims Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Muslims from the Ottoman Empire Sanjak of Scutari