The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Sulltan Mehmet Fatihut), also known as the Fatih Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Fatihut), is a 13th-century building. It is within the Rozafa Castle near Shkodër,

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 ...

. It was built by the Ottoman Empire, when they were ruling Albania.

History

According to archaeological studies conducted in the 1980s, the building was a church, built around year 1300, and was named after St. Stephen. The studies base the construction year on typical construction techniques of the era. The transformation into a mosque occurred in 1479 and the object was renamed after

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

, or Fatih Sultan Mehmet. The ruins of this church-mosque feature a

Dikka A ''dikka'' or ''dakka'' ( ar, دكة), also known in Turkish as a ''müezzin mahfili'', is a raised platform or tribune in a mosque from which the Quran is recited and where the muezzin chants or repeats in response to the imam's prayers. It i ...

, a Mihrab, and the remains of a large Minaret. The Fatih Sultan Mehmet mosque is one of the few buildings from the Middle Ages in Shkodër and is the only mosque that partially survived in Shkodra during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, who destroyed all 36 mosques in Shkodër. A planned attempt to convert the mosque into its origin, a church with partial U.S. sponsorship was not liked by the Muslim community of Shkodër, and the ambassador of the United States, Ms. Marcy Ries, promised to re-assess the funding of the project.

References

{{Shkodër

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, ...

Mosques in Shkodër Churches completed in 1300 Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques Mosques converted from churches in the Ottoman Empire Tourist attractions in Shkodër County Roman Catholic churches in Albania Gothic architecture in Albania

History

See also

References