GAZI-MEHMED-PACHA MOSQUE

The largest of the thirty-six mosques in Prizren (Xhamia e Gazi Mehmet Pashës, Mehmed-pašina džamija) was built in 1573. It is also called Bajrakli mosque (Xhamia e Bajraklisë, Bajrakli džamija), a name derived from the Turkish bayrakli ("with a flag") which indicates that it was the mosque that gave the signal by means of a flag to the other mosques for the calls to prayer. It was the center of a vast complex that included two Koranic schools, a library, stores and workshops as well as the hammam Gazi-Mehmed-Pasha. This complex was built from 1563 as part of a vakuf (religious foundation) financed by Gazi Mehmed Pasha (c. 1540-1596). This wealthy Sunni Albanian nobleman belonged to a line of high ranking Ottoman officials, descendants of the famous Catholic Dukagjin family who controlled southeastern Kosovo and northern Albania in the 15th century. He himself was governor of the sandjak of Shkodra (Albania) in 1573-1574 and died during a battle in Hungary against the Habsburgs. The mosque occupies an important place in the history of the country, since it was here that the first meeting of the League of Prizren was held on 10 June 1878. One of the houses in the complex now houses the Museum of the League of Prizren.

"A heavenly garden". Dominated by a minaret of 40 m high, the mosque has been little altered, except for its decorative paintings, redone in the 1990s. It is surrounded by an enclosed garden of 1.2 hectares with nine fountains, several tombs and a large empty türbe. This mausoleum was to house the remains of Mehmed Pasha, but he was buried in Hungary. Square in shape (about 20 x 20 m) and pierced with 47 windows, the mosque is surrounded on three sides by a large closed wooden porch. The dome is 25 m high, mounted on a drum and 11 m in diameter, and is covered with lead plates. Above the doorway is the inscription of the patron written in thuluth (Arabic calligraphy): "Gazi Mehmed-Pasha built the mosque in the year 981 AH. He did not build it for his glory, but in the name of Allah. This magnificent mosque has turned Prizren into a garden paradise." The prayer hall is decorated with floral and geometric patterns right down to the wooden mahfili (balcony). The mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and the minbar (lectern) are made of marble.