Status of monument -> National monument

Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 1 to 7 July 2003 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The architectural ensemble of the old wooden mosque in Bužim is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument is located on cadastral plot 1303, cadastral municipality Bužim, Municipality Bužim, Federation of BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The National Monument consists of the mosque, a harem (courtyard) with mezarje (burial ground), Hudut-česma (fountain),  an area with hajji stones by the western edge of the mosque harem, and movable items: two levhas (calligraphic inscriptions) of Abdurahman Siri-baba, an original transcript of the mosque vakufnama (deed of endowment) of Vedžihi-paša, the mosque tarih (chronogram) in the form of a levha, the work Menakib-i čehar-i jar-i guzin, an original manuscript on salāwat, du'a and healing, and an original Ottoman edition of the periodical Behar.

The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of  BiH nos. 2/02 and 27/02) shall apply to the National Monument.

II

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

III

Protection Zone I, consisting of the plot specified in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision, is hereby defined:

• all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, including works designed to display the monument, carried out with the approval of the relevant Federal Ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of BiH (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority);
• the interior of the mosque building shall be restored to its original appearance, with the removal of the later addition of the deal panelling with which the walls, pillars, ceiling joists and mimber have been clad,
• replace the current roof tiles with wooden shingles,
• remove the present sofa balustrade and reconstruct the original,
• document the epigraphs in the burial ground, set the harem in order and repair the damaged tombstones,
• replace the existing fence around the harem with appropriate wooden fencing
• In regard to the movable items specified in Clause 1 para 3 of this Decision, the following measures shall apply:
• translate the 1838 tarih from the Ottoman language
• reconstruct the tarih from its copy in levha form which is kept in the mosque, and place it in its original position above the portal,
• conserve and restore the vakufnama of Vedžihi-paša,
• conserve and restore the two levhas of Abdurahmana Siri-baba,
• restore the original m.s. on salāwat, du’a and healing,
• restore, bind and cover the original Ottoman edition of the periodical Behar,
• restore the work Menakib-i čehar-i jar-i guzin,
• all movable property must be kept in adequate conditions and displayed within the mosque.

Protection Zone II consists of the land designated as c.p. nos. 1268,. 1213, 1211, 1210, 1310, 1307/1, 1307/2, 1304, 1306, 1305, 1302, 1301, 1300, 1299, 1298, 1297, 1296 and 1295, c.m. Bužim.

In Protection Zone II the rehabilitation and adaption of existing buildings shall be permitted, as may the interpolation of new residential buildings, provided that they do not exceed a maximum of ground floor and one upper floor (6.5 m in height to the roof cornice), maximum horizontal dimensions of 12 x 10 m, and have hipped roofs with a pitch of at least 40 deg., with the use of original materials and roof cladding (whitewashed plastered walls, wooden roof structure, all  windows and doors on the facades of unpainted wood.

The construction of industrial buildings and facilities, major infrastructure, or potential polluters as defined by regulations, is prohibited.

IV

The removal of the items of movable property from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.

By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Clause, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable items for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Permission for the temporary removal of the movable items from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the Commission, if it is determined beyond doubt that it will not jeopardize the said items or the National Monument in any way.  In granting permission for the temporary removal of the movable items, the Commission shall stipulate all the conditions under which the removal may take place, the date by which the items shall be returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the responsibility of individual authorities and institutions for ensuring that these conditions are met, and shall notify the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relevant security service, the customs authority of  Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the general public accordingly.

V

All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.

VI

Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument specified in Clause I of this Decision or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.

VII

The Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II, III and IV of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

VIII

The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba) 

IX

Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

X

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH and the Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH.

This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović,  Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.

No: 07-6-547/03-1

2 July 2003

Sarajevo          

Chairman of the Commission

Amra Hadžimuhamedović

E l  u c i d a t i o n

I - INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of  BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

On 4 March 2003 the Commission received a petition from the Islamic religious community of Bužim, Stari Grad congregation.

Pursuant to the provisions of the law, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION

In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

• Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property
• Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs,
• Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the site are as follows:

1. Details of the site

Location

The old wooden mosque in Bužim is at the foot of the mediaeval fortified town of Bužim, some 125 m to the south-west of the fort, c.p. 1303, c.m. Bužim, municipality Bužim, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical information

A levha dating from 1838 (1254 AH) in the mosque notes that in 1838 Vedžihi paša restored the mosque and the Hudut česmu. This is corroboratd by a vakufnama dating from 1840 (1256 AH), also in the mosque.  It is not known when the original mosque was built.  The oldest surviving nišan in the mosque harem dates from 1856 (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 87).

2. Description of the monument

Architecture

The wooden mosque building, of rectangular ground plan wider than it is long, and exterior dimensions of some 14 x 18 m + 2.5 x 18 (portico), and a total usable area of 414 sq.m. (225 sq.m. ground floor + 162 sq.m. mahfil), is the largest wooden mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Its size and interior height (from ground floor level to the šiše ceiling) of some 5 m, dictate its horizontal and vertical articulation.  Like the wooden mosques in Priluk and Poljice, this mosque is a sizeable wooden structure with facades articulated horizontally and vertically.

What makes this mosque unique is its arrangement, achieved by the use of four horizontal rows of load-bearing wooden pillars with corbels bearing wooden joists lying parallel with the mihrab wall.

The wooden pillars are set at varying distances apart, and the joists set at varying heights take the weight of the mahfil floor, the ceiling structure above the central area, and the roof structure.  The first row of load-bearing wooden pillars consists of eight and the second row of six pillars; there are two between the second and third rows, and four in each of the third and fourth rows. Mosques with rows of wooden pillars are  very uncommon, and derive from the Seljuk mosques of Anatolia, among which the most important are the mosque in Bejišeher (Bey şeher) dating from 1299, with seven rows of wooden pillars, and the Ali Elvan mosque in Ankara, with three rows of wooden pillars.

Access to the mosque is from the north-west, through a covered single-storey entrance portico with a pent roof.  Part of the portico to the left of the entrance has been walled in and turned into an abdesthana (premises for ritual ablutions; built between 1960 and 1980). The prayer space on the ground floor has an area of approx. 252 sq.m., considerably increased by the mahfil running along three walls. The front mahfil is 5 m. deep and the side mahfils are 4 m. deep, making a usable mahfil area of 162 sq.m. and a total usable area within the mosque of 414 sq.m.  The use of a deep mahfil added to the central ground floor area considerable increased the total area and thus the number of worshippers who could pray together in the mosque, the result of the specific political, economic and military circumstances prevailing in western Bosnia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Bećirbegović, 1999, pp. 58-63 and pp. 127-129). According to available information, as many as 700 horsemen would assemble outside the mosque from surrounding settlements and villages for Friday prayers (Karanović, Milan, Pounje u Bosanskoj krajini, Belgrade, 1925).  

The mahfil is reached by a single-flight wooden staircase along the wall to the left of the entrance door, which is in the centre of the north-west wall.  At the centre of the front mahfil is a rectangular projection for the muezzin.  In the light space in front of the mahfil, surrounded on three sides by the mahfil, measuring 10 x 9 m, are six wooden pillars about 5 m high (the height of two storeys).  All the other pillars are of the normal single-storey height of approx. 2.40 m.  In the ground floor area of the mosque, the space between the entrance (north-west) wall and the first row of pillars has not been turned into sofas with raised floors, but the area between the first row of pillars has been railed off with a low wooden balustrade about 40 cm high.  There is a slightly raised podium in front of the qibla wall, also surrounded by a low wooden railing about 40 cm high.  An unusual feature of the mihrab is that its niche projects outward from the wall on the outside (the outside wall is of 7 cm thick planking, so that it was not possible to cut the niche into the wall itself), and is covered on the outside by sheet metal flashing.  The mihrab is undecorated, as is the wooden ćurs (Ar. kursi) to the left of the mihrab.  The mimber is wooden, decorated with moulded arches,  and the stair railing is made in the same way as the railing of the interior sofas. The mimber stair has nine steps.

The mosque has two rows of rectangular windows. On each of the side facades there are three lower and two upper windows. On the south-east facade there are four lower and two upper windows, and on the entrance facade two upper windows only, above the portico roof.  The upper and lower windows are not set in line with each other vertically.  All the windows are double sash, single-glazed with ordinary glass, without exterior mušebak (lattice) or interior shutters.

The mosque walls are made of oak planks 7 cm thick and about 25 cm high, jointed into wooden edging pillars ranging in section from 21 x 21 to 24 x 24 cm.  The wooden walls of the mosque are set on double oak beams 2 x 21 x 21 cm, resting on stone foundations, and the same type of rough structure was used for the floor of the mahfil.  Inside the mosque, struts were used to take the horizontal load, so that they have a structural role.  Four long struts along the length of the two storeys lie parallal with the entrance door/mihrab axis, two of which have the additional function of taking the horizontal load of the minaret. The remaining four struts are shorter (the length of a single storey) and are level with the second horizontal row of pillars.  The wooden structural elements are joined not only with classic carpenter's joints but also with wooden pegs.  The joints between the pillars and the double beams at the corners of the mosque building are reinforced by wrought iron clamps, as can be seen on the facade of the building.

The interior of the mosque was almost entirely clad in 1980 with deal panelling.  Part of the ceiling structure of the šiše, above the open, two-storey-high space of the mosque, has survived in its original form.  In 1981 the mosque was completely rewired for electricity.

The mosque has a steep hipped roof from which emerges a slender wooden minaret.  The pitch of the roof is almost 40 deg.  All the roof flashings and gutters are of galvanized iron.

The roof structure is entirely made of oak, clad with double curved tiles. The original cladding of shingles was replaced by tiles more than 30 years ago. The structural treatment of the roof is a combination of king posts and angle braces.

The loft area is reached from the mahfil by a single-flight ladder-style wooden stair. The minaret, which has a total height of about 17 m, is reached from the central loft area, and the open gallery of the šerefe is reached by climbing 43 steps. The central wooden mast is made of an oak log with a basal cross section of about 18 x 18 cm, narrowing towards to top to 16 x 16 cm. The minaret is made of eight edging oak pillars, bevelled on the outer edge, and gradually narrowing in cross-section from the base to the top of the minaret. The vertical structure of the minaret rests on a base in the form of a wooden grid laid over three horizontal beams lying parallel with the entrance-mihrab axis, with one end resting on a joist set on two of the pillars of the central mosque area and the other end on the joist of the fourth row of pillars.  In about 2000 a new copper cladding was laid on the bowl of the minaret, the base of the šerefe gallery and the top of the šerefe railing, and the guttering replaced where it was in poor condition.

            The ceiling is made of wide wooden planks in the form of a šiše (wooden planks about 30-40 cm wide attached to the underside of the ceiling beams, with the longitudinal joints of the boards covered by moulded laths 3-4 cm wide, and the frontal joints of the boards of the šiše ending at the same level and covered by laths 10-12 cm wide set laterally and with wavy moulding.  This original šiše has been retained above the central open area.

Alongside the mosque is a burial ground with about 20 so-called krajiški nišans, the oldest of which was erected to Sulejman Šahinović in 1214 AH. To the south-west of the plot where the mosque stands, on the street, is a Hudut česma-bunar or fountain (from Ar. hudud – limit, border, by reference to the fortified town that was on the borders of the Ottoman Empire), erected by Vedžihi paša in 1838 (1265 AH).  By the fence surrounding the burial ground, to the right of the entrance portico of the mosque, is a group of about fifteen hajji stones (hadžin-taš). It is not known how old the tradition is of setting hajji stones, since there is no record of it in religious or historical documents. Surviving witnesses of the last hadžin taš’s say that these stones were places from which hajjis set off on the hajj or pilgrimage, bidding farewell to their loved ones and asking forgiveness of them and the other members of the congregation, relatives and neighbours.  After praying two rakaats (cycles of formal prayer) in the mosque, the hajji and his closest relatives would go to the taš-stone, climb on it, recite a’udhu, the basmala, rabi yassir, give thanks to Allah, recite salāwat to the Prophet and give a speech, asking forgiveness of all those present, showering the children with sweets and small change, give gifts to the hojja, and authorize his wife in his absence to manage his property from home.

Movable property

            Of particular value among the items of movable property in the mosque are the following:

• two levhas (calligraphic inscriptions) of Abdurahman Siri-baba,
• an original transcript of the mosque vakufnama (deed of endowment) of Vedžihi-paša,
• the mosque tarih (chronogram) in the form of a levha,
• the work Menakib-i čehar-i jar-i guzin,
• an original manuscript on salāwat, du'a and healing,
• an original Ottoman edition of the periodical Behar.

Two levhas of Abdurahmana Siri-baba

            During the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the calligraphic holdings of the Oglavak tekke in Fojnica were destroyed, including rare examples of calligraphy (levhas) by Siri-baba in ta’liq script on the usual Ottoman paper (paper that was specially prepared and treated with team, starch and egg-yolk).  Among these levhas was one on the renovation of the Oglavak tekke by Vedžihi-paša, who was then vizier. Since Vedžihi-paša weas a friend of the shaykh of the Oglavačka tekke, Siri-baba, as corroborated by the verses of the tarih from the Oglavačka tekke, it is believed that Vedžihi-paša brought two of Siri-baba’s levhas to Bužim and endowed them. The levhas bear the calligraphic signature Sirija. Oral tradition recounts that Vedžihi-paša was a murid (dervish) of Siri-baba’s as well as his friend.

Shaykh Abdurahman Sirija, the son of qadi Mehmed and grandson of the Fojnica qadi Fadil, was born in about 1785. He studied at the Fojnica medresa under Shaykh Husein, who introduced him to the Naqshbandi Sufi order. He died in 1847 and is buried in a turbe in Oglavak (Mujezinović, 1998, 484-485).

Levha 1 reads :

“fasayakfikahumullah wa huwas-samiu-l-alim.”

(a Qur’anic ayet)

The type of script is jalī thuluth (large variant of thuluth, a round cursive hand, used for inscriptions) istif (in the form of a composition). Signature Siri.  The levha is written in black ink on Ottoman paper, and also has floral motifs.

Levha 2 reads:

“wa mubashirin bi-rasulin ya’ti min b’ad ismuhu Ahmed” – “And I bring you the glad news of a Prophet whose name is Ahmed.”

(Qur’anic ayet)

The type of script is jalī thuluth istif (in the form of a composition). Signature Siri. The levha is written in black ink on Ottoman paper. The istif is surrounded by a curtain, calling to mind a theatre stage. The curtains are blue (typical Ottoman light blue).

            Both levhas are in poor condition, and the paper on which they are written is torn.