Photos

Tirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920.
Taken outside the Et'hem Bey Mosque.

The Et'hem Bey mosque is located in the center of the Albanian capital Tirana. Construction was started in 1789 by Molla Bey and it was finished in 1823 by his son Haxhi Et`hem Bey, great-grandson of Sulejman Pasha.

During communist rule in Albania the mosque was closed until January 18, 1991, when, despite opposition among communist authorities, ten thousand people entered carrying flags. This was at the onset of the fall of communism in Albania.