Gjin Aleksi Mosque
The Gjin Aleksi Mosque is a mosque, located in the village of Rusan, near Delvinë, in the Vlorë County of Albania. Completed during the 17th century CE, the mosque was designated as a Cultural Monument of Albania. The mosque is distinguished for the high quality of acoustics, obtained through casks that are strategically placed in holes in the walls.
Description
The mosque consists of a columned prayer hall with tile-covered domes, a minaret which does not have a roof anymore and a gallery for the muezzin. There is also a gallery for women on the side of the entrance. The hall has a frieze with the names of God in Islam. Due to walls covered with ceramics, the mosque has good acoustics.
History
Evliya Çelebi describes Gjin Aleksi as one of the 3 neighborhoods of Delvina. The mosque was built before the year 1670. Many claims about the history of the Mosque are false. The Mosque wasn't built The mosque was built by an Albanian Bey named Abanoz Beu. It was the only mosque in Delvine that was saved from the Communist regime. The structures surrounding the mosques were built for burial purposes, common in Mosques of this region and of Ottoman style mosques. There is no relation to the Bektashi order. It also once had a Medrese in the complex. There are some who claim it was built by two brother named Gjin and Aleks, but this isn't true. There are also those who claim it was built on the grounds of a Church, which Archaeologists found to be false.