Muradie Mosque

The Muradie Mosque, also known as Xhamia e Plumbit (the Lead Mosque) for its distinctive lead-covered dome, sits in the older part of Vlorë close to Flag's Square. Built in the 16th century during Ottoman rule, it is architecturally striking — the dome is unusually large for a regional mosque of this period, and the interior retains original painted decorations.

Visitors are welcome outside prayer times. The mosque is a working place of worship, so dress modestly and remove shoes before entering. The surrounding neighbourhood has a pleasant scale — narrow streets, old houses — that contrasts with the more modern boulevards near the waterfront.

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A story
The Muradie Mosque was built in the 16th century and is one of the finest surviving Ottoman buildings in Albania. It takes its name from Sultan Murad II, and its lead-sheathed dome — unusual in Albania — gives it the local nickname "the Lead Mosque." When the Communist regime banned religion in 1967 and declared Albania the world's first atheist state, the mosque was repurposed as a cultural club, then a sports hall. It was returned to religious use after 1990.