Prizren's most prominent mosque, towering over Shadërvan square from a raised level, is from 1615. Lovers of Ottoman architecture admire it for its strength, compactness, gracefulness and elegance, and know that the type of architecture represents a rarity in Islamic art. The mosque is delicately decorated with geometrical designs, still life paintings and curtains. A lengthy restoration project that ended in 2010 saw the building completely renovated. It was believed that the stones used to build the mosque originated from the Holy Archangels' Monastery, and in 1919 Serbian authorities started to dismantle the mosque in order to rebuild the monastery. The porch stones were removed, with the columns thrown in the river, but mass protests stopped the demolition, and the porch was finally rebuilt in 2009.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Drilon5" title="User:Drilon5">Drilon5</a>
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