With a height of 50 meters (160 feet) and space for around 8,000 worshippers, the Namazgah mosque in Albania's capital Tirana is one of the most impressive Islamic places of worship in the Western Balkans.

It was partly funded with around €30 million ($34 million) by the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. Its architectural inspiration is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

In October 2024, after a construction period of around ten years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to Tirana for the inauguration of the mosque. While there, he signed an agreement to cooperate with Albania on agriculture and education, and donated a number of Turkish-made drones to the country. Diyanet also secured influence on the board of the new mosque and a Turkish imam was appointed, which was cause for dismay among Albanians.

"The Namazgah mosque shows how Turkey is acting as a regional power in the Western Balkans, and working to increase its influence by building places of worship," Nathalie Clayer, a social scientist at the School........

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