The mosque was built between 1537 and 1542, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and is believed to have been designed by Mimar Sinan, the great Ottoman architect behind the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. Its minaret, about 18 metres tall, was completed in 1557, and the building is protected as a Cultural Monument of Albania.
What sets the mosque apart is its masonry. The prayer hall is built in layered two-tone brickwork, which contrasts with the large white dressed stones of the slender minaret. A portico that once stood at the front has been lost, but the compact proportions and careful craftsmanship of the original building still speak of the classical Ottoman style of Sinan’s era.
Visitors can admire the exterior at any time; if you go inside, dress modestly and avoid prayer times. It is a quiet, rewarding glimpse of Vlorë’s Ottoman past.
