Sinan Pasha Mosque
Domed Ottoman mosque of 1615 on the Lumbardhi river, the landmark of Prizren's old town.
Sofi Sinan Pasha, an Ottoman governor born in the region, endowed this mosque in 1615 on the left bank of the Lumbardhi, where its dome and tall minaret still dominate the centre of Prizren. The square prayer hall measures about fourteen metres a side under a single large dome, with walls more than a metre and a half thick and a minaret rising some forty-three metres. Much of the cut stone is thought to have been taken from the ruined monastery of the Holy Archangels nearby.
The building was used as a munitions store between 1919 and 1941 and suffered damage in both world wars. Conservation began in 1948 and continued through the 1970s, with a further campaign of restoration completed in the 2010s that cleaned the interior painting. Inside, nineteenth-century wall decoration of floral panels, medallions and Quranic inscriptions covers the dome and pendentives. The mosque is protected as a cultural monument and remains in daily use.
Highlights
- Single 14-metre dome over a square Ottoman prayer hall
- Minaret of about 43 metres above the Lumbardhi riverfront
- Nineteenth-century painted floral and calligraphic decoration inside
- Stone reused from the nearby monastery of the Holy Archangels
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