The most beautiful mosques to visit Romania

Close to Piaţa Ovidiu, this elegant reinforced concrete mosque is the main Muslim place of worship in Romania. It was built in 1910 in Arab-Byzantine style, with elements of Romanian architecture. It was a gift from King Carol I to the Muslim community in the region. The interior houses the largest oriental carpet in Romania: with an area of 144 square metres, it is over two hundred years old and weighs almost 500 kg. You can climb the approximately 140 steps of the 47-metre high minaret: from there, the view of the city is superb.

Built in 1573, it is one of the country's oldest mosques. It bears the name of its founder, Princess Esmahan, daughter of Sultan Selim II and wife of a vizier, who took refuge in Mangalia at the time. This handsome, thick-walled, carved-stone edifice is surrounded by a small cemetery where prominent figures of the time are buried. Some of the stelae are over three centuries old. Also note the ablutions fountain in the courtyard. The mosque still serves as a place of worship for the town's Turkish-Tatari community, which numbers some 3,000 worshippers.

It is the largest mosque in Romania, with an imposing minaret. It was built in 1865 by the Muslim community of Tulcea, with the approval of the Sultan of the time, Abdülaziz (hence its name). At the time, Dobrogea was part of the Ottoman Empire. The interior is sober, with a light green wooden ceiling and carpeted floor. The mosque is now used by the small Muslim community of Tulcea, consisting of the historic Turkish and Tatar minorities, plus a large number of Roma.

It is one of the oldest monuments of Muslim architecture in Romania. This beautiful mosque was built at the very beginning of the 17th century by General Ali Gazi, when Dobrogea was under Ottoman administration. Moreover, the mausoleum that stands in the courtyard houses the bones of the general. The building was beautifully renovated at the end of the 1990s. Its minaret is more than 20 m high. Inside, you can admire beautiful wooden ornaments and old Persian carpets.