Mirahori Mosque

Iljaz Mirahori Mosque
Native name
Xhamia e Iljaz Mirahorit (Albanian)
LocationKorçë
Built1496; 528 years ago (1496)

Iljaz Mirahori Mosque (Albanian: Xhamia e Iljaz Mirahorit) is a historic mosque in Korçë, Albania.

History

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The historical ceiling of the mosque of which parts of the frescoes got lost and have to be restored

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.[1][better source needed] According to the writer Sami Frashëri, it was built on the foundations of an existing monastery, then called dedicated to Saint Paraskevi (Kisha e Shën e Premtes).[2] With its minaret being torn down during the Communist dictatorship, the Iliaz Mirahor mosque was declared a religious Cultural Monument of Albania.[3] After the end of Communist rule in the 1990s, the minaret was not rebuilt until 2014 when it was reconstructed in a slightly different and more simple style compared to the original one. The Ottoman Clock Tower of Korçë in front of the mosque has also been rebuilt afterwards.

References

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  1. ^ "Tours: Discover Albania". Albania Explorer. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Çfarë dihet për xhaminë e Mirahorit në Korçë?". Dita (in Albanian). 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Komiteti Shqiptar per Kultet. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2010.

40°36′57″N 20°46′31″E / 40.61583°N 20.77528°E / 40.61583; 20.77528