Namazgah Mosque

The Namazgah Mosque (Albanian: Xhamia e Namazgjasë; English: Mosque of the Prayer Square) or the Great Mosque of Tirana (Albanian: Xhamia e Madhe e Tiranës), is the largest mosque in the Balkans, located in Tirana, Albania.

Namazgah Mosque
Xhamia e Namazgjase
The Namazgjah mosque during construction
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Mosque
Ownership	Albanian Muslim Community
Status	Active
Location
Location	Tirana city
Country	Albania
Location of the mosque in Albania
Geographic coordinates	41°19′32″N 19°49′27″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque architecture
Style	Classical Ottoman
Funded by	Presidency of Religious Affairs, Turkey
Groundbreaking	2015
Completed	2024
Construction cost	30 million euros
Specifications
Capacity	8,000 inside; 2,000 outside; 10,000 worshippers total
Dome(s)	One
Dome height (outer)	30 m (98 ft)
Minaret(s)	Four
Minaret height	50 m (160 ft)
Site area	10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft)
[1]

History

Even after the fall of communism in Albania, in 1991, Muslim Albanians often complained about being discriminated against. While two cathedrals (Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) were built, until 2016 Muslims in Albania still had no central mosque and had to pray in the streets. In 1992, the then president, Sali Berisha, laid the first stone of the mosque to be constructed near Namazgah Square, close to the Albanian parliament. Construction was delayed after the speaker of parliament, Pjetër Arbnori, contested the plans.^[2]

The decision to build the mosque was taken in 2010, by the mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama. The building of the mosque was considered necessary because there are only eight mosques in the city, down from 28 in 1967, due to destruction during the communist era. During Islamic holidays, the Skanderbeg Square is filled with Muslim worshipers, because the Ottoman-era Et'hem Bey Mosque, currently Tirana's principal mosque, has a capacity of only 60 persons. Rain makes Friday sermons impossible.^[3]

As seen from the top of the Pyramid of Tirana

Construction of the new mosque was launched in 2015 with the financing of 30 million euros ($34 million) partly coming from the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey, Diyanet.^[4][5] In 2015, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Albania for the inauguration ceremony of the mosque.^[5]

The mosque was officially opened on October 10, 2024, in a ceremony at which the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Albanian prime minister Edi Rama delivered speeches.^[4] The mosque is expected to increase tourism and will replace the Et'hem Bey Mosque in the city center as the main mosque.

Architecture

The mosque's design was inspired by Classical Ottoman architecture. It has four minarets, each 50 metres (160 ft) high, while the central dome has a height of 30 metres (98 ft). The first floor of the mosque includes a cultural center and other facilities.^[6] The mosque has been constructed on a 10,000-square-metre (110,000 sq ft) parcel of land near Albania's parliament building. It has a capacity for up to 8,000 people to pray inside the mosque and 2,000 on the outside; totaling at 10,000 worshippers.^[7][4]