Mirahori Mosque

The Mirahori Mosque, also called the Iljaz Bey Mirahori Mosque, anchors the south end of the old bazaar. It is one of the oldest mosques in Albania, dating to 1484–1494, and one of the few in the country to survive the communist destruction of religious buildings.

The exterior is simple: a square stone prayer hall with a low dome and a single minaret rebuilt in the 1990s after damage. The interior is modest — whitewashed walls, a small mihrab, traces of original 15th-century decoration. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times; remove shoes and dress respectfully.

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A story
Built in 1494 by Iljaz Bey Mirahori, the founder of the city, the Mirahori is one of the oldest mosques in Albania. It survived Enver Hoxha's 1967 anti-religion campaign only because it had already been recategorised as a 'cultural monument' — Hoxha's bureaucrats found that label harder to overturn than the mosque itself.

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