Clock Tower of Kavajë, Ottoman clock tower in Kavajë, Albania.
The Clock Tower of Kavajë is an Ottoman structure with a square base from the early 1800s that served as a public timekeeper for the city. The building has thick walls and houses a clock mechanism with a visible face that was added later to show the time to everyone.
Ibrahim bey Alltuni supervised the construction between 1817 and 1818, marking a moment of architectural growth in Kavajë. This period saw Ottoman building methods bring new functions like public timekeeping to the city.
The tower reveals through an inscription that its mechanism came from Cancani in Venice, showing the trade ties between Albania and Italy. This connection between the Ottoman realm and Italian craftsmen appears in how the building was made and how it worked.
The structure sits in a public area and is easily reached, though it is surrounded by old stone buildings. You can view the building from several sides, with the arched windows and details most visible in daylight.
Three arched windows and a sundial on the structure originally served to signal prayer times and closing hours for local shops. This double purpose shows how the building met both religious and business needs of the town at the same time.
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