Muradie Mosque

Muradie Mosque
Native name
Xhamia e Muradies (Albanian)
LocationVlorë
Coordinates40°28′09″N 19°29′27″E / 40.469049°N 19.490932°E / 40.469049; 19.490932
BuiltDate range between 11th and 13th century. Retrofit of the minaret: 1557
ArchitectMimar Sinan
Reference no.X1364

The Muradie Mosque (Albanian: Xhamia e Muradies) or Lead Mosque (Xhamia e Plumbit) is a Cultural Monument of Albania, located in Vlorë. The mosque was built in 1537 by the famous Ottoman Turkish architect Mimar Sinan during the rule of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.[1] The construction was completed in 1542 AD. In the past, it also had a portico which has been destroyed later.

The historic mosque in 1913 with its then existing portico

The mosque is located in downtown Vlora on a central square, surrounded on all four sides with roads. It is located on west of Sadik Zotaj, south of Lef Sallata and east of Papa Kristo Negovani streets.

Interior view of dome

The structure consists of the main building and the minaret. The former is about 10 to 11 square meters while the minaret has a length of 18 metres. The portico (hajati) has not been rebuilt until today. The mosque has a dome with a supporting polygon raised base, arched windows and classical triangular forms topping the side walls. The brick work of the Muradie mosque has layers with two different brick colors. There is also a contrast between the texture, quality, color, as well as size and sequence of the bricks used to build the Islamic prayer hall compared with the larger white chiseled stones used to build the minaret.

It is believed that the cultural monument was designed by the prominent Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, a leading mosque builder in the Ottoman Empire and the author of the Great Suleymaniye Mosque in Constantinople (Istanbul).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Republic of Albania National Committee for Cult. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2010.