Et’hem Bey Mosque is an 18th century mosque located in the center of the capital, the city of Tirana. The mosque was closed during the totalitarianism of the communist period, when Albania was proclaimed to be the world’s first atheist state.
In 1991, despite the prohibition of the authorities, 10.000 people entered the mosque carrying flags. This was the beginning of the fall of the communism and the rebirth of the religious freedom in Albania. The frescoes of the mosque, representing trees, waterfalls and bridges distinguish this holy Islamic temple from the other mosques because these kinds of paintings are a rarity in the Islamic art.
