Šarena Mosque
{{Short description|Ottoman-era mosque in Tetovo, North Macedonia}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Šarena Džamija
Xhamija e Pashës
Alaca Camii
Painted Mosque
| image = Kalkandelen - Alaca Cami R01.JPG
| image_size = 300px
| caption =
| map_type =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| location = Tetovo, North Macedonia
| geo = {{coord|42|0|21|N|20|58|0|E|region:TR_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| latitude =
| longitude =
| religious_affiliation = Sunni Islam
| status =
| functional_status =
| heritage_designation =
| leadership =
| website =
| architecture = yes
| architect = Isak Bey
| architecture_type = Mosque
| architecture_style = Ottoman Architecture
| capacity =
| length = 10 m
| width = 10 m
| dome_quantity =
| dome_height_outer =
| general_contractor =
| facade_direction =
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = {{start date and age|1438}}
| minaret_quantity = 1
| minaret_height =
| spire_quantity =
| spire_height =
| materials = Natural stones and colours
}}
Šarena Džamija, ({{langx|mk|Шарена Џамија}}; {{langx|sq|Xhamia e Larme}} or {{langx|sq|Xhamia e Pashës}}; {{langx|tr|Alaca Cami}}) meaning Decorated Mosque in English but also variably translated as Painted Mosque, is a mosque located near the Pena River in Tetovo, North Macedonia. The mosque was originally built in 1438 and later rebuilt in 1833 by Abdurrahman Pasha. Unlike other mosques of the Classical Ottoman period, the Šarena Mosque is more characteristic of traditional mosques in Anatolia, as it was constructed before the conquest of Constantinople, when Byzantine-influenced mosque domes became the standard design.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081229175126/http://www.xhamiaepashes.com/historiku.htm Xhamia e Pashes]}}
History
File:Türbe near Colored Mosque, Tetovo.jpg near the Colored Mosque]]
The Šarena Džamija was originally built in 1438.Pg 106 - {{cite book | last = Institut za nacionalna istorija (Skopje, Macedonia)| title = A history of the Macedonian people|edition= 1979| year=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mtpAAAAMAAJ&q=painted+mosque+tetovo | publisher = Macedonian Review Editions}} The architect behind the Šarena Džamija was Isak Bey.
Most mosques of the time had sultans, beys or pashas financing their constructions, but the Šarena Džamija, however, was financed by two sisters from Tetovo.[http://julianhoffman.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/enduring-time/ Enduring Time « Notes from Near and Far] As with many mosques, a hammam was built nearby across the river.
The site used to include an Inn as well as a bathhouse on the other side of the river. The current courtyard of the Šarena Džamija is filled with many flowers, a fountain, and a Türbe. The octagonal "türbe" houses the resting places of Hurshida and Mensure, the two sisters who financed the construction of the mosque in 1438. {{cite book | title=Macedonia | author=Thammy Evans | year=2007 | publisher=Bradt Guides (Second Edition) | pages=213 | isbn=978-1-84162-186-9}}
Abdurrahman Pasha, a great enthusiast of art who was fond of Tetovo, reconstructed the Šarena Džamija in 1833.{{cite web | url=http://www.tetova.gov.mk/en/q/13/50.html | title=Historical Monuments: Painted Mosque | access-date=2010-12-17 | publisher=Municipality of Tetova}}
In 1991, the Islamic Community in Tetovo built walls around the mosque in the typical classical Ottoman style.
In 2010, a renovation of the exterior paintings was completed{{cite news | url=http://www.utrinski.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=C7C63CC894C2584C9A3D3CB41708BB8E | title=Заврши обновувањето на Шарена џамија | access-date=2010-12-17 | date=2010-07-29}} and, with a €94,700 grant from the United States State Department, the façade was reconstructed and preserved in 2011.{{cite news | url=http://www.build.mk/?p=9721 | title=Преубавата Шарена џамија ќе се реставрира со американска помош | access-date=2011-09-16 | date=2011-09-15}}
Architecture
File:Niz Tetovo Stari kuki (45).JPG with-in the complex of the decorated mosque]]
Unlike the traditional Ottoman ceramic tile decorations in mosques, the Šarena Džamija has bright floral paintings.[https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSBrPoGf-8C&dq=painted+mosque+tetovo&pg=PA297 Lonely Planet Western Balkans – Google Books]
More than 30,000 eggs were used to prepare the paint and glaze that went into the elaborate decorations.{{cite web |url = http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/211|title = Tito, Teto and Some Troubled Tourism Await You in Tetovo, Macedonia|publisher = Balkan Travellers| access-date = December 12, 2010 }}{{cite journal | url=http://www.vagabond-bg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=710%3Awelcome-to-tetovo-&catid=93%3Awestern-balkans&Itemid=42 | title=Tito, Teto and some troubled tourism await you in Macedonia | author=Trankova Dimana | journal=Vagabond - Bulgaria English Monthly | date=August 2007| issue=11}} Another major difference between the Šarena Džamija and other Ottoman mosques is that the Šarena Džamija does not have a distinctive exterior dome,[http://www.balkanology.com/macedonia/article_skopje.html Balkanology :: Macedonia :: Skopje and Surroundings] as the architecture of the mosques styles the early Constantinople Ottoman Architecture.
The distinguishing feature of the mosque is its painted decorations. Abdurrahman Pasha commissioned, for this purpose, masters from Debar who painted the ornamentation with oil paints. In addition to the geometric and floral ornamentation, landscape is also encountered. Among the pictorial decorations, especially attractive is the depiction of Mecca, a rare and perhaps the only example of the illustration of the shrine of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, in southeast Europe.
Gallery
File:Facade of Pasha's Mosque - Tetova (Tetovo) - Macedonia.jpg|Details of the painted walls of the Šarena Džamija.
File:TetovoSarenadzamijadvor.jpg|Courtyard.
File:Шарена џамија 2.jpg|Šarena Džamija.
File:Šarena Džamija vnatrešnost 01.JPG|The interior of the Šarena Džamija.
File:Oldtetovo1.gif|Šarena Džamija.
File:Interior of Pasha's Mosque - Tetova (Tetovo) - Macedonia - 02.jpg|The interior of the Šarena Džamija.
File:Шарена Џамија.jpg|Šarena Džamija.
File:Mirhab der Bunten Moschee.jpg|Mihrab.
File:Шарена Џамија-Тетово (1932).jpg|Šarena Džamija in 1932.
File:The Colorful Mosque of Tetovo , Шарена џамија Тетово 19.jpg|Inside the Šarena Džamija.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{commonscat|Šarena Džamija (Tetovo)}}
{{Mosques in North Macedonia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarena Dzamija}}
Category:Ottoman mosques in North Macedonia