paulinette
Kulla E Sahatit
The Clock Tower of Tirana is called Kulla e Sahatit, and is in the central square of Tirana, near the Et'hem Bey Mosque. The building was begun in 1821 and was completed only with the financial help of the richest families in Tirana. There is a tradition in Muslim culture that those who have more money should donate, usually this is 10% of their annual income, to projects for the common good, or to the urban poor who need it most. It is thanks to this that many buildings in the Balkans were able to be built, because in many cases the state coffers were not full enough to finish them. The position of the clock tower was due to the work of the Tufina family.
In 1928 the Albanian state bought a modern German clock, and the tower was enlarged to a height of 35 meters. The Kulla e Sahatit was damaged during the Second World War, but was among the first buildings to be re-built at the end of the war, as it is an iconic landmark of the city. You can climb up it to see the city for a charge of 1 euro.
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