King Mosque, Elbasan

The King Mosque also known as the Sultan Bayezid Mosque is a mosque, located within Elbasan Castle, in the town of Elbasan, in the Elbasan County of Albania. The mosque was designated as a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1948.

Overview

The mosque was built by the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II between 1492 and 1502; and was named in honour of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. It is one of the oldest active mosques in Albania, after the Fatih Mosque in Durrës, established in 1466 CE.
The mosque consists of a porch with a tiled roof and a prayer hall that is, separated in two by a wooden portico of three pillars. During the Communist rule of Enver Hoxha, the building was converted into a political education center in 1967. Its minaret, that was partially destroyed in 1979, was rebuilt in 2013.