Old Mosques of Old Town Sarajevo.
Emperor’s Mosque
The Emperor’s Mosque is Saravejo’s oldest mosque and one of the oldest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is presumed that Isa Bey Ishakovic, the founder of Saravejo, had this place of worship built soon after the city’s founding in 1462 in honor of Sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror”. Saravejo was attacked in 1460 by the despot, Vuk Grgurevic, leader of King Matija Korvina’s Hungarian troops. The mosque suffered extensive damage an da total reconstruction was carried out during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and it was at this time that the mosque took its current form.
During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule, some of the adjacent structures were knocked down and a new building was erected which would come to house the seat of the Reis-ul-Ulema, office of the Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is a cemetery behind the mosque where prominent Sarajevans were buried, such as Sheik Ibrahim Bistrigija; Mula Muhamed Emin and the Bosnian muhafiz, Abdulah Pasha. It is believed that also contains the grave of Isa Bey Ishakovic.
Gazi Husrev Beg’s Mosque
Gazi Husrev Beg’s Mosque is the most monumental mosque of the Ottoman period and one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mosque was built for Gazi Husrev Beg and designed by Ajam Asir Ali, who was the chief architect in the Ottoman Empire at that time. Above the entrance to the mosque, an epigram was engraved on a tablet of stone on the occasion of the building of the mosque. The numerical values of the Arabic letters in the last verse (chronogram) give us the year in which the mosque was built, i.e 938, according to the Hijri (lunar) calendar or 1530/1531 according to the Gregorian (solar) calendar. The central space of the mosque, which is 13 m in width and length, is vaulted by a dome which is 26 m in height. The central space, on its left and right side, extends into tatimas (side spaces), both of which are square-shaped and 6.5 m in width and length and both of which separate entrances. The frontal part is dominated by marble pillars which carry the arches of the portico of the mosque. The arches separate the portico into five rectangular domed spaces. From the minaret, which is 45 m in height, the voice of the muezzin five times a day calling the believers to prayers, and this has been a tradition ever since the mosque was built.
Bascarsija Mosque (Carsijska Dzamija)
Havadza Durak Mosque, better known as Barcarsija Mosque, is located on the main square of Saravejo’s old trading center – Bascarsija, built 1528. Traders left their property to the Bascarsija mosque in order to keep the vases (sermons) in it. While the courtyard of the mosque is not very large, it’s quite pretty and is like an oasis in the center of Bascarsija, with its small fountain, roses, and two tall poplar trees.
Muslihudin Cekrekcija Mosque
Muslihudin Čekrekčija Mosque is the second oldest domed mosque in Sarajevo. Constructed in 1526, in the Baščaršija area of the city., at the foot of Kovač (the center of the old trading center of Sarajevo). It is raised in the mahala of Isa-Bey's turn. From the Vakufnam of the founder of the mosque, we learn that Hajji Mustafa, the son of Ishakov, is known to the people as Muslihudin Čekrekčija, her builder. This is also the oldest known original document written in Sarajevo. It was found in the legacy of Muhammad Enveri ef. Kadic.
In the Vakufnam, in connection with the establishment and construction of the mosque, it's written:
"... When a man dies, his work is cut off, apart from trifling: the science that is used, the valued child that brings him and the permanent herbs" -translation by Mehmed Handzic.
Since 2004, the mosque has been under the protection of Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision was made by the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments at the session held from 2 to 8 November 2004 in the following composition: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović (Chair), Dubravko Lovrenović ), Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik, declared the mosque for the National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today the links with its commercial past remain, as it is surrounded by shops.
Tabacki Mosque Saravejo
Nearly 440 years ago, one of Sarajevo's residents, Hajji-Osman, built a masjid, now known as Tabak Masjid - was built in 1561. It originally bore the name Masjid Osman-effendi, after the name of the founder the wakif.
The mosque was repeatedly burned, the biggest fire was by Eugen Savoy when he conquered Sarajevo in 1697.
The mosque was located in the area of Taback čaršija, so tabac workers used it the most. They smelled because of their work and didn’t want to disturb others with their smell, so they avoided going to other mosques. The mosque kept its name
In May 1998, a group of young men - students and students with the support of several people from the Islamic community - began organizing youth forums and lectures at Tabak Masjid.
This is the third generation of youth gatherings since World War II.
Currently, Taback's masjid is coordinated by a group of students working under the Hrasno Youth Center.
Every other Saturday lectures are given by imams, professors and other prominent members of our society. Also, regular activity in Tabak masjid is halka hadith, which is led by hfz on most Thursdays.
Hadzijska Mosque
The Bosnian: Vekil-Harač ili Hadžijska džamija/Vekil-Harrach or Hadžijska mosque is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Alifakovac, a neighborhood in Babića bašća local community, one of the oldest urban settlements in Sarajevo.
Built between 1541 and 1561 by Gazi Husrev-beg's quartermaster, Vekil-Harrach after whom it was originally named. It was used by pilgrims (hadžije) in the city before their joinery Mecca from here, it was named the Pilgrim's mosque.
It is fenced by a wall, inside which there is a stone fountain, which was renewed at the beginning of the 19th century by Sarajevo judge (kadija) Mustafa Fevzi, which is what the inscription is about.
