[AP]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Tirana, Albania, on Thursday to attend the inauguration of the Namazgah Mosque, the largest in the Balkans.
The mosque, built in Ottoman style with four 35-meter minarets, began construction in 2015. It will also house a cultural center, library, exhibition hall, conference room, “museum of coexistence,” and a Quran school.
Erdogan is also expected to meet Edmond Brahimaj, also known as Baba Mondi, the global leader of the Bektashi sect, a prominent Sufi Muslim order.
The visit follows reports of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s controversial plan to establish a sovereign Bektashi state in Albania, similar to the Vatican, which has faced opposition from Turkish Bektashi leaders.
Erdogan’s official agenda has not been released; however, it is expected he will meet both Rama and the Albanian President Bajram Begaj.
