Et'hem Bey Mosque
Ottoman mosque with rare painted frescoes
Skanderbeg Square, Tirana
Tirana & CentralTirana
About
The Et'hem Bey Mosque stands on Skanderbeg Square in central Tirana. Begun around 1791 by Molla Bey and completed by his son Haxhi Et'hem Bey in the 1820s, it is famed for frescoes of trees, waterfalls and bridges rarely seen in Islamic art. In January 1991 it became a symbol of the return of religious freedom in Albania.
Practical info
- Entry Fee
- Free
- Best Season
- April – October
- Typical visit
- 1–2.5 hours
- Outdoor
Did You Know?
Unusually for an Ottoman mosque, its frescoes depict trees, waterfalls and bridges rather than only geometric or calligraphic motifs, and its 1991 reopening for worship drew a crowd of around 10,000 people as communist-era religious bans collapsed.