Mustapha Pasha Mosque - Jamija, Skopje

4 more images

The Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Skopje is on Samoilova close to the main entrance of the Kale Fortress.

The mosque was built in 1492 and is most ornately decorated of all the mosques in Skopje.

Unfortunately, when we visited Skopje in 2007, and in May 2008, the mosque was closed due to restorations. Currently (2011) the mosque is open again.

In the old part of the city this monument of the Islamic culture attracts the attention with its size and beauty. The mosque was built by Mustafa Pasha in 1519, the vizier of the Sultan Selim I. Particularly attractive part of this building is the tall minaret, made of cut stone, whereas the expanded part is decorated with ornaments...

this mosque is one of the most beatiful in the Balkans, it was made during the Ottoman times

many Albanians, Turks, Bosniaks... live in this capital city... generally ethnic minorities who live in the east of FYR Macedonia and rural areas who migrate to Skopje in searching of good level of life

the muslim population in FYR Macedonia represent near to the 30% of the population... and most of them are Albanians

2 more images

The Mustapha Pasha Mosque is a large Ottoman place of worship that is visible from Skopsko Kale and that was, unfortunately, under massive construction when I visited Skopje. For that reason, it was not possible to enter the building and see what is supposed to be a beautiful interior. The mosque was built in 1492 and has not been substantially modified since. My suggestion, if you’d like to get pictures of the Mosque, is to do so from the Kale or some other point above it. Otherwise, you will end up getting the construction equipment in the shot as well. Supposedly the compound also includes an imaret (a communal dining hall) and a graveyard that also has the tomb of Mustapha Pasha’s beloved daughter.

1 more image

The Daut Pasha Amam was built under Turkish rule in the 15th century as a bath house (amam). The story goes that the amam was built by Daut Pasha as a sign for his love for an unknown girl, the two domes symbolizing the perfection of her breasts. On the top, the nipples were made of transparent alabaster. At night dozens of candles were burning under the alabaster nipples, sending their light into the sky as a sign of the love that should burst like a flame from the girl´s chest. They say that during the summertime, swarms of fireflies in fine silk nets were used instead of candles.

1 more image

I made it to the Mustafa Pasha Dzamija in a bit of a roudabout way, going first through Pit Bazaar, then along a big street and into an Albanian neighbourhood only to have to walk through a group of playing kids to enter the Mosque. The Mosque itself was under cleaning, although some of the men were sitting on the grass in front. I was suddenly confronted by a rather angry Albanian man who wanted to known what I was doing there. He calmed down a bit when I explained in Macedonian that I just wanted to see the mosque, but he still dismissed me and said there was nothing to see. Nevertheless, it is a spectacular example of Ottomoan architecture and its beautiful grounds (both architecture and the greenery) are ideal for taking lots and lots of pictures.

3 more images

The grand old mosque of Skopje was built in the 15th century by the Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha of the court of Sultan Selim I. It hasn't changed much since. There's been few additions, and it even retains the crack in its dome that it received after the earthquake of 1963. It's easily the finest of Skopje's mosques, and you can catch glimpses of it from all over the Old Bazaar. Climb up to the Kale for the best views.

The mosque was built by Mustafa Pasha in 1519, the vizier of the Sultan Selim 1st. Particularly attractive part of this building is the tall minaret, made of cut stone, whereas the expanded part is decorated with ornaments.
It is the firts mosque i've ever been to!

thats th Mustafa-pasha mosque, situated at an elevation that as a terrace overviews the Old Skopje Bazaar, across the Skopje Fortress.
It was built towards the end of the 15th century, in 1492, by the Skopje commander Mustapha Pasha, a renowned person from the times of the Sultans Bayazit II and Selim I. The data about its building we find in the inscription in prose in the Arabic language that is placed over the entrance to the mosque. It reads: "The benefactor has erected the mosque for prayers, for Allah to enlighten the place in its tomb. When finishing (the building) I said the chronogram: Let the just increase the reputation of the benefactor Mustapha, son of Abdulah. Written at the beginning of Moharrem in the year 898 (21 - 23 November 1492).

This project is one of the most prominent monuments of the Islamic profane architecture. The Turkish bath was built by the grand vizier of Rumelia, Daut Pasha in the 15thV century. In the first time it was used for the needs of its harem, and later it served as a public bath. Today, the Turkish bath is turned into an art gallery with a wide choice of Macedonian icons of the 14th to the 19th century, collective works of Macedonian artists - pictures, sculptures, graphics, and drawings and more recently in the rooms of the Turkish bath also concerts are held, promotions of books, theater performances with chamber orchestra etc.