Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque

The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque stands on Sarači Street in the Baščaršija quarter of Sarajevo, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was built in 1530 and 1531 as the endowment of Gazi Husrev-beg, the Ottoman governor of Bosnia, and is regarded as the largest and most significant historic mosque in the country. The design is credited to the architect Ajem Esir Ali and follows the classical Ottoman style, with a single large dome, a portico of three small domes and a slender stone minaret. The interior was decorated with painted floral and geometric patterns in the 19th century and has since been conserved. The mosque stands within a wider complex funded by the same endowment, which includes the Kuršumli Madrasa, the Gazi Husrev-beg Library, a covered bazaar known as the Bezistan, a hamam, a clock tower (Sahat-kula) and the shadirvan fountain in the courtyard. The graveyard behind the building contains the turbe of Gazi Husrev-beg and his companion Murad-beg Tardić. The mosque suffered damage during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and was restored after the war, with the interior and courtyard returned to their historic appearance. It is an active place of worship and welcomes respectful visitors outside prayer times. Women are asked to cover their hair, and shoulders and knees should be covered for both sexes; scarves are sometimes available at the entrance. Shoes are removed before entering the prayer hall. Visitors typically admire the carpets, calligraphy and domed ceiling, and may also visit the adjacent museum and the clock tower, whose old timekeeping tradition follows lunar time. The mosque is the heart of Sarajevo's Ottoman quarter and an essential stop on any walk through Baščaršija.