The Sultan Murad Mosque ( mk, Султан-муратовата џамија; sq, Xhamia e Sulltan Muratit; tr, Sultan Murat Camii) is an Ottoman-era mosque in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. It was built in the 15th century on top of the Monastery of Saint George which was destroyed when Ottoman commander

Pasha Yiğit Bey Pasha Yiğit Bey or Saruhanli Pasha Yiğit Bey ( sh, Pašait-beg, also ''Pasaythus'' or ''Basaitus'' d. 1413) was an Ottoman civil and military officer at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century. Life He was born in Manisa and wa ...

captured Skopje from

Vuk Branković Vuk Branković ( sr-cyr, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...

in 1392.

History

It was built with Sultan Murad's money donation. The mosque was built in 1436. Skopje, razglednica so Sultan-muratova dzamija, 1939

The Sultan Murat Mosque complex, the only Sultan endowment in Skopje, stands on a low hill in the central part of Skopje's Old Bazaar. It was burnt down and heavily damaged a number of times during its existence, events and changes to which the three inscriptions above the entrance refer. The first time of the fire was 1537, after which it was reconstructed by Sultan Suleyman in 1539. The second time, it was burnt down by the Austrian armies led by their military leader

Piccolomini The House of Piccolomini (pronounced ) is the name of an Italian noble family, Patricians of Siena, who were prominent from the beginning of the 13th century until the 18th century. The family achieved the recognised titles of Pope of the Cathol ...

, who set the whole city on fire. It was renewed after twenty three years in 1711 by decree of

Ahmed III Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at ...

. The mosque underwent repair work for the last time in 1912, decreed by

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother Ab ...

. In terms of its architectural features, as one of the largest mosques in Skopje, it belongs among the most significant specimens of Ottoman building in the Balkans. It has a basilica architectural form and is covered with a four-ridged roof. This is similar to the Early Constantinople style in Ottoman architecture. The interior is partitioned into three naves with rows of three columns, while the ceiling is made of a flat wooden coffered ceiling. The ''mihrab'', ''minber'' and ''mahvil'' date from the 1910s. The

Türbe ''Türbe'' is the Turkish word for "tomb". In Istanbul it is often used to refer to the mausolea of the Ottoman sultans and other nobles and notables. The word is derived from the Arabic ''turbah'' (meaning ''"soil/ground/earth"''), which ...

of Ali Pasha of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...

stands next to the east facade of the Sultan Murad Mosque. It houses two stone sarcophagi, the burial site of Ali Pasha's wife and daughter. The Türbe of Bikiy Han stands on the south side of the mosque. In the interior, there are five tombs without inscriptions. With its grand monument, the Türbe of Bikiy Han is the largest among this type of edifices which survive in North Macedonia. There is a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

in the area surrounding the two türbe, with several grave markers. Sultan Murad Mosque stands on a plateau next to the clock tower. The main architect of the mosque was Husein from

Debar Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has ...

. The mosque has remained mostly undamaged through the fires and earthquakes

has sustained. The Sultan Murad Mosque is rectangular in shape, with a porch including four columns with decorated caplets, connected by arcades.culture.org.mk

References

Ottoman mosques in North Macedonia Buildings and structures in Skopje Religious buildings and structures completed in 1436 Old Bazaar, Skopje {{NorthMacedonia-struct-stub