“You know the painful tragic history of religion in Albania and at the same time you know what places of worship went through, regardless of which religion they belonged to, throughout the period of communist barbarism,” Rama said.

“And of course in Albania after the fall of the dictatorship the wounds were manifold, the needs were countless, the troubles were innumerable, so this scar was overlooked for a long time,” said Rama.

“But on the other hand I believe that these objects, mosques, churches, tekkes and all the places of worship, which for centuries were built generation after generation in the name of God, do not belong only to those who visit them to perform their rites, they also belong to the treasure of our culture, they belong to our historical memory, they belong to our soul and as such they must be taken care of, they must be revitalized, they must be made available to future generations,” said Rama.

“For Albania, they are also the extraordinary and tangible evidence of a religious coexistence that has continuously defined us as a wonderful example that we have inherited from our ancestors and we have a duty to pass it on to our children. In our effort to revive this aspect of our cultural heritage, we have found in President Erdogan an irreplaceable partner,” Rama said.

“Thanks to his special and direct care, thanks to the commitment of the Turkish cooperation agency, TIKA, thanks to the cooperation with historians, engineers, Turkish and Albanian restorers, today we have some of the most precious gems of our cultural heritage that belong to the Islamic religion restored to their former glory, as the Ethem Bey mosque has been restored to its glory, one of the landmarks of our history, but also one of the mirror images of our old traditional connection with fraternal Turkish people “, said Rama.

“The mosques of the medieval center of Berat, the magnificent mosque of Gjirokastra, which have also been restored and revitalized thanks to this cooperation are today not only places of worship, which serve the Muslim believers, but are also a reference point for all of us, for all communities and for all those who visit Albania in all its diversity. This is an ongoing effort,” Rama said.

Rama added, “that soon, thanks to the agreement and the work that is currently being done for the project, the work for the restoration of Plumbi Mosque in Shkodra, one of the germs of our cultural heritage, will kick off soon.”

The Et’hem Bey Mosque, a gem of our cultural heritage in the heart of Tirana, has been fully restored, thanks to the contribution of the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Turkish President Erdogan attended on Monday the inauguration of the Et’hem Bey Mosque, which serves not only the Muslim believers, but also as a tourist attraction for the capital.

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