Mosque Dome Stock Photo

Slamic monuments in Kosovo are commonly related with the Ottoman arrival in 1389, and respectively with their effective establishment in Kosovo in 1459. However, many historical evidences show that the first encounters of Islam with the Balkans happened well before the arrival of the Ottomans and their establishment in the Balkans. Because of its proximity to the centers of Islam, i.e., Middle East, the Byzantine Empire and parts of the Balkans, including the Albanian territories and Kosovo as well, were exposed to Islam as early as in the 8th century.Moreover, the geographical position of the Balkans enabled its people to be exposed to different missionary activities, as well as trade and military encounters. Thus, the first contacts of the Albanian territories with Islam date back to the pre-Ottoman medieval period. Nevertheless, the process of Albanian transfer to Islam began and was completed during the Ottoman Era, and thus main Islamic monuments in the country appeared during the Ottoman and after Ottoman period.