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 6 to 10 July 2004 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Beglučka (Lala-pasha, Mustafa-pasha, Beglek) mosque in Livno is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument is located on a site consisting of cadastral plot no. 4/48, title sheet no. 720, cadastral municipality Livno, Livno, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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, 27/02 and 6/04) 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, restore and display the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (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
To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument, the following protection zones are hereby designated:
Protection Zone I consists of the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision. The following protection measures shall apply in this zone:
Ÿ all works are prohibited other than the restoration and conservation of the National Monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),
Ÿ the building shall be damp-proofed following a study to determine the causes of the incidence of damp within the building: on the dome and the entire area around the cornice, on the pointed frontal arches of the trompes and walls; and on the exterior of the building: on the decorative stone carving of the bowl of the šerefe,
Ÿ all protection works, regardless of their nature and extent, shall be based upon the prior approval issued by the ministry responsible for regional planning,
The following urgent protection measures are hereby stipulated to prevent further deterioration:
Ÿ protection of the šerefe of the minaret from the effects of weathering.
Protection Zone II consists of c.p. nos. 4/49 and 4/50, title sheet no. 720, c.m. Livno. Within this zone the following protection measures shall apply:
Ÿ on the site designated as c.p. 4/49 no new building or alterations to the morphology of the terrain shall be permitted,
Ÿ the construction of buildings for the needs of the Islamic Community shall be permitted on a strip 8 m wide from the regulation line of the street, the southern side of c.p. 4/50. These shall have a maximum height of two storeys (ground and one upper floor), or no more than 6.5 m to the roof cornice, subject to previously obtaining the opinion of those issuing this Decision on the conceptual treatment thereof.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.
V
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 or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.
VI
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 to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
VII
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)
VIII
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.
IX
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette 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.
X
On the date of adoption of this Decision, the National Monument shall be deleted from the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02, Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 79/02, Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH no. 59/02, and Official Gazette of Brčko District BiH no. 4/03), where it featured under serial no. 339.
Chair of the Commission
Dubravko Lovrenović
No: 06/1-2-125/2004-5
6 July 2004
Sarajevo
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.
At a session held on 14 June 2000 the Commission issued a Decision to add the Lala-pasha mosque in Livno to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, numbered as 339.
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:
Ÿ Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.
Ÿ An inspection of the condition of the property
Ÿ Copy of cadastral plan
Ÿ 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 property
Location
The Beglučka mosque is in the centre of the town of Livno, Livno Municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The site on which the mosque stands is on the slight slope of the hill descending south-west of Topovi (1) down to the river Bistrica, outside the ramparts of the fort. The site is bounded to the north-west by Queen Katarina street (formerly Ivan Goran Kovačić street).
The position of the Beglučka mosque and the appearance of its setting was described in 1941 by the religious teacher Aličić: «The mosque stands in a green meadow, a former cemetery, whence the crest of the ridge on which Gornji Grad (Upper town) stands merges into the plateau extending above the Bistrica. Below it is one of the town's finest streets which, just a few paces further on, splits into several forks. Opposite the mosque there is a green meadow extending as far as the Bistrica. There are houses scattered around, most of them from the old days. This is the old Lala pasha mosque, nowadays known as Begluk or Beglek.»
Historical information
Before the Turkish army entered Livno in 1463, and Turkish rule was finally consolidated in Livno in the 1480s, to last until the coming of the Austrians in 1878, the history of the human presence in those parts dates back to the earliest evidence found so far of human settlement in the Livno plain, from the prehistoric era 2000 BCE via the Roman era, the Avar campaigns, the coming of the Slavs, its belonging to the early mediaeval Croatian state, to its becoming part of the Bosnian banate.
«Uskoplje, Rama and Livno were ruled by the kings of Bosnia until the fall of the country, as can be seen from a charter issued by Matthias Corvinus in 1463, bestowing these regions upon Vladislav Hercegović. To the west of Velika Straža(2), in Završje, documentary sources refer only to the town of Livno, in regard to natives of Dubrovnik, who halted there on the route from Split to Vesela Straža and the mining basin of central Bosnia. They used this roundabout route to Bosnia particularly at times of conflict with local feudal lords in the hinterland, especially Stjepan Vukčić. The Franciscan monastery in Livno, already known from Bartholomeo of Pisa's travelogue(3), is referred to in the will of the Dubrovnik noble land-owner Mihajl Andrija Sorkočević(4).»
After conquering Klis in 1537, the Turks founded the Klis sandžak(5) from districts in north-western Bosnia, Dalmatia, Krbava and Lika, and the sandžakbegs or governors resided in Livno until the end of the 17th century. In the 16th century, Livno underwent its greatest expansion, evolving into a larger settlement, a kasaba or town.
«The Begluk mosque was built in 985 (1567/8 CE). Tradition recounts that it was built by the Klis sandžakbeg Lala pasha. Evliya Çelebi refers to the Lala pasha mosque, and the vakufnama of Mustafabeg, son of Ibrahimaga, dating from 1052 (1642 CE) refers to the Lala pasha mahala(6). »
Although the builder of the mosque is referred to in various sources under three different names (Mustafa-pasha or Lala Mustafa-pasha Sokolović), the man in question was the Klis sandžakbeg, who held the post from 1574 to 1577. Although the official seat of the Klis sandžak was in Klis, the sandžakbegs resided in Livno, which was the largest and most highly developed town in the sandžak. It was for this reason that Mustafa-pasha decdided to build a mosque in Livno. (7)
The vakufnama of the founder of the mosque has not survived. «The vakufnama has disappeared or been mislaid, so we do not know what the benefactor endowed for the maintenance of the mosque. Today, in addition to the slope on which the mosque stands, this vakuf possesses another meadow below Prisp in the Livno plain. However, the vakuf must have been much wealthier, as befits such a benefactor, except that we have no information at all about it. (8)»
According to the defters for the Klis sandžak for 1603-1617(9), the revenues of the vakuf of the Mustafa-pasha (Lala-pasha) mosque were retained as capital, cash amounting to 123,326 akčas, plus annual revenues from the rent for eight shops amounting to 1,280 akčas. The defters provide information about the outgoings, too: the imam and hatib received ten akčas a day (Ahmed-halifa), the first muezzin six akčas a day with the requirement to recite Surah «Tebareke» (Hadži Mustafa), the second muezzin two akčas a day with the requirement to recite «Amme juz», the muarrif two akčas a day, the kajim 2,5 akčas a day, the second kajim two akčas a day, the mutevelija five akčas a day, the nazir 200 akčas a year, costs for lighting the minaret during the month of Ramadan forty akčas(10). The mahala of the Mustafa-pasha mosque had 38 households and two mudžereds. The following artisans were registered: two ćurčijas (furriers), four tabaks (tanners), four tailors, one sarač (saddler) and one mimar (builder). (11)
Beside the mosque there was a mekteb, known as the Beglučki, erected by Mustafabeg, son of Ibrahimaga, founder of the Livno Darul-Hadis(12). This benefactor writes in his vakufnama, dated 1052 (1642), that he has erected a mekteb in the Lala pasha mahala. The subjects to be taught in the mekteb are specified: Qur'an and tajwid(13) according to the children's abilities, language – poetry and prose – and penmanship. These subjects were to be taught by a mualim who must be skilled in writing, and who was to be assisted by a kalfa. The mualim would receive eight akčas a day(14), and the kalfa (assistant) four akčas a day. The vakif further stipulated that thirty orphans and thirty poor children, good pupils of his mekteb, be taught each year from the vakuf revenues. (15)
There was a Musalla(16) opposite the Lala-pasha mosque, which Evliya Çelebi reported was erected by the “former Bosnian valija Sejid Ahmed-pasha” (1656-1658) (17). The musalla remained in use until 1878, and even after that date du’as were recited for hajjis prior to departure for the pilgrimage to Mecca(18).
The travel chronicler Evliya Çelebi stayed in Livno in 1660, and writes in his travelogue that there were 13 mosques, seven of which were large, three medresas, six dervish tekkes, six mektebs, one large han, one baths and several fountains. (19)
Among the officials of this vakuf, documentary sources refer to Hajji Jusuf, son of Muhamed, a native of Livno, who lived in the first half of the 17th century and was muezzin of the Lala pasha mosque in Livno(20). He was also engaged in astronomy(21), and is the earliest known astronomer in this part of the world. He was followed only later by Shaikh Jujo, Husein Muzaferija, Mula Mustafa Bašeskija and others. He is regarded, with good reason, as the creator of the sundial on the Beglučka mosque(22).
More recently the imams of the mosque were the Insanić's, during the Ottoman period; after them, Hafiz Salih Duran, who held the post of imam for more than 45 years, and died on 11 April 1937, is of particular note. As well as the office of imam, he was also mualim. (23)
As recalled by older Livno people, the last ikindija ('asr, afternoon prayer) was prayed in April 1941. That same month, Italian soldiers forced open the mosque doors and used the mosque as stabling. After some prominent Livno citizens intervened with the Italian commanding officer, the mosque was cleared, but remained in a vandalized state. (24)
There are documentary accounts of the life and work of the officials of the Beglek mosque: «Hafiz Salih ef. Duran, son of Bećir, was imam and hatib of the Begluk mosque and mualim of the Beglučki mekteb. He is said to have been an honourable man, a good hafiz [person who knows the entire Qur'an by heart] and conscientious religious official. He also made a name for himself as a good vaiz [preacher, predicator]. He died in Livno in 1932. . . Mehmed Meho Mulić was born in 1883 and served as muezzin in the Lala-pasha mosque (until it was hit by a cannon shell in World War II), and also from time to time in Perkuša and Ćurčinica. He had a powerful and melodious voice, and wore the ahmedija turban and a beard. He was muezzin from 1900 to 1950. From time to time he stood in for the imam during prayers. . . Smail and Mahmut Mulić were still almost boys when they served as muezzins in Perkuša and, during Ramadan, in the Lala-pasha mosque and Ćurčinica (until 1947). They also recited muqabala [recitation of the Qur'an by several hafiz during Ramadan]. (25)»
During the 1992-1995 war the Beglučka mosque was hit by small-calibre weapons, resulting in damage. There was also damage from a shell on 21 July 1993. (26)
2. Description of the property
Livno has the second largest number of domed mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Sarajevo – more than Mostar, Banja Luka or Foča. This is evidence of Livno's past, and of its importance and rapid expansion, because domed mosques are a major form of architectural expression. Of the all the mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina, only 35, erected in nineteen different towns, are domed(27).
Of Livno's four mosques outside the ramparts, only the Lala-pasha mosque was domed(28).
All Livno's domed mosques "belong to the type of single-space mosque with a portico with three small domes, a very common type in the outer regions of the Ottoman Empire." The tall, «almost ovoid(29) » dome (to the height of the šerefe), low drum and short minaret with a short cone, are features of Livno's domed mosques, constituting a distinct group among the mosques of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Parts of the building appear compressed or condensed, and the interior prayer space is emphasized, with the other parts of the structure subordinate to it. With the compression of all the components, high domes and short minarets, and given the date of their construction (second half of the 16th century), they appear archaic, recalling in structure the first Ottoman single-space domed mosque, dating from the 14th century, in Iznik (Nicaea), belonging to the Brusa early Istanbul style.
As a result, Prof. Husref Redžić postulates that the Livno mosques were built by local craftsmen and that none of the famous builders of the mimar-Sinan school, which was the dominant school in the Turkish Empire in the second half of the 16th century, were involved in their construction.
In addition, Livno's specific climate, with long, snowy winters and strong storm winds, required all the components of the building to hug the central core as closely as possible, and for the minaret to be of proportions that would withstand the battering of gale-force winds(30).
«The archaic appearance of Livno's domed mosques, (31) » in Orman Rapko's view(32), was a consequence, too, of the siting of the mosques, almost all of which were built on hillocks and elevations, further emphasizing the height of these edifices.
The conclusions drawn by Prof. Husref Redžić and Orman Rapko in regard to the impact of the microclimate and topographic position of the mosque on the one hand and the height of the minaret on the other, are well founded, particularly if the vertical dimensions of existing Livno mosques are considered in association with their situation and topographical position in the town: in the case of Glavica mosque on Topovi and Balaguša mosque below the Džephana, erected on Livno's hillocks, the šerefe is almost at the same height as the top of the dome; in the case of the Lala-pasha mosque, built where «Gornji grad merges into a plateau», the top of the šerefe is approx. 3,75 metres above the top of the dome; and the Perkuša mosque, built in the level part of Livno, had the tallest minaret(33) in the town.
The remains of pointed frontal arches on the north-west wall and side walls of the portico, and of a supporting grooved wooden(34) beam to the right and left of the entrance portal, suggest that the portico of the mosque was formerly domed.
An analysis of a photograph of the mosque taken in 1933 (35) suggests that the portico of the mosque had a pent timber roof frame clad with shingles.
The mosque has solid walls, approx. 110 cm thick, built of cut limestone («žestac» stone(36)).
The interior enclosed space is roughly square in plan, measuring approx. 8.60 x 8.65 metres. The existing wooden mahfil (368 cm deep x 860 cm wide) runs along the entire length of the north-west wall. It is made of pine wood, treated with timber preservative; it is supported in front by two timber pillars(37), and at the back by a horizontal beam set along the north-west wall. The mahfil is of the frontal mahfil type, and has a semicircular projection in the centre for the muezzin. To the right of the entrance, by the walls, is a double-flight wooden staircase leading to the mahfil gallery.
According to blueprints of the ground plan of the mosque drawn up in the early 1970s, the mosque had a mahfil 202 cm deep and 325 cm wide, to the right of the entrance. The new mahfil was built in 1997.
The transition from the square ground plan to the circular drum(38) (the walls of which are approx. 60 cm thick, the height approx. 147 cm(39), and the inside diameter approx. 870 cm) is effected via corner trompes(40), which are divided into tripartite slices and emphasized, in the areas below the central slices, by stalactite decoration. Each trompe is also emphasized at drum-height by a shallow niche in the form of a blind window with pointed arch. The drum of the mosque is not emphasized; during repair works to the mosque in 1997, the cornice(41) at the horizontal level of the top of the drum was not renovated. The transition from the square to the circular plan is also emphasized by the pointed frontal arches(42) of the trompes and by eight pendentives(43), also emphasized by blind pointed arches. The start of the drum is emphasized in the interior by a simple string course about 15 cm in height, set at a level of approx. +793 cm above floor level (measured to the base of the string course).
The inside diameter of the dome at drum level is 870 cm, and the height, measured on the exterior from the top of the drum to the top of the dome, is 490 cm, which corroborates Prof. Husref Redžić's observations on the ovoid shape of the domes of Livno's mosques.
A total of fourteen windows in the facades of the building are set in three horizontal rows. There are seven lower windows (measuring approx. 120 to 125 x 140 + 85 – width x height), four at the central level (measuring approx. 90 x 143 cm – width x height) and three upper windows (measuring approx. 80 x 130 cm – width x height).
The lower row of windows have stone frames on the outside and are fitted with wrought iron grids, and terminate in pointed stone arches of regular cut stone set flush with the facade. There are pointed stone arches of cut miljevina limestone on the exterior above the second and third rows of windows. Inside, above the first row of windows, are relieving pointed arches emphasized in relief (44) (the area below the pointed arch was set back a few centimetres fromn the wall surface). During repair works in 1997, all the windows were fitted with stone transennas(45), which were not there in the 20th century(46).
There are no second-row windows on the north-west entrance facade or the north-east facade, and no upper-row windows on the north-west entrance facade. In arrangement, the windows are set symmetrically on the north-west, north-east and south-west facades, and assymetrically on the south-east facade, where the rhythm of the windows differs.
To the right and left of the entrance portal of the mosque are exterior sofas, the left-hand sofa measuring 3.36 m wide x 3.10 m deep, and the right-hand 3.50 m wide x 3.10 m deep, raised approx. 50 cm above the level of the central passageway, which is 228 cm wide. The sofas have wooden floorboards. The timber structure of the pent roof of the portico rests on six wooden pillars (3 + 3 at the front of the portico) with a cross-section of 16 x 16 cm.
The entrance to the central area of the mosque is emphasized by a portal 267 cm wide and approx. 460 cm high. The entrance aperture itself measures approx. 112 cm wide x 175 cm high. The high stepped arch above the entrance is decorated with a row of stalactites.
A shallow segmental arch was made above the entrance, with pointing in the shape of curved mouldings, forming an almost rigid arched beam. The portal projects out from the wall surface by 20 cm, and has a moulded frame. The inside edge of this moulding terminates at the base with an hour-glass design.
The inscription, in Turkish verse, is incised on a stone plaque measuring 70 x 87 cm, mounted in the wall above the entrance to the mosque. «The plaque with this inscription has cracked in several places, but the letters of the chronogram have remained undamaged. The only damage is to the final numeral in the year of the chronogram. Written as it is in unequal, compressed naskh script, the inscription is hard to decipher.
«What a skilled painter would paint,
His Excellent, governor of Liva,
Mustafa-beg, conceived,
Doing a good deed in building this mosque.
In a pleasant and beautiful place
He laid the foundations of a splendid building,
The equal of which, in these parts,
No one had ever seen before.
He erected it where it was needed,
. . . .
This full chronogram adorns it still more,
And has no spelling errors.
It is a wondrous house of God,
And when you regard its dome, it is like the vault of the heavens.
O God! How appealing this place has become:
Is it a mosque, or a heavenly abode.
With the power of God this property is a dedicated temple,
A place where the heart of sincere believers turn to the Kaaba (Qibla),
It is azure, which is a link with God.
With all the heart of the blessed benefactors.
Kešfija, that the date it was built be known,
Said this is the finest building.
98(5). [1577/78 CE]
Evliya Çelebi wrongly recorded the year as 875 instead of 985. We know nothing of the author, Kešfija, other than this inscription. (47)»
The interior height of the mosque is approx. 14 m. from floor level to the highest point of the ceiling of the dome. All the inside walls are plastered and whitewashed except for the stone arches of the trompes.
The mihrab is of stone, is of semicylindrical form, with the radius of the wall niche approx. 55 cm, and vaulted. The height to the top of the mihrab niche is approx. 320 cm. It is emphasized (with a projection forward from the wall surface of approx. 15 cm) by a moulded rectangular frame (193 cm x 372 cm) with a crown 130 cm in height. To the right of the mihrab is a new wooden mimber. In 1997, wooden wainscoting was installed all the way round the walls on the inside of the mosque to a height of 80 cm(48), except in the mihrab niche where it was fitted to a height of 180 cm.
In the article published by the religious official Ahmed Aličić in 1941, there is a meagre description of the state of the building at that time: «This mosque appears on the outside to be an ordinary building. The walls are black and somewhat uneven, the dome and sofas, the roof of which is supported by two insigificant pillars, are covered with rotting shingles. The whole thing gives off a sense of dilapidation creeping over this mosque. The interior, on the other hand, creates a different impression. Despite the blackened walls, despite the quite tasteless wooden mimber and mahfil, certainly made with haste, the observer will be vanquished by the exquisite high dome...» (49)
The door leading to the minaret (measuring 105 x 170 cm) is in the north-west wall, at the corner of the right-hand sofa of the portico.
The minaret, which is sixteen-sided, is of regular cut stone, set on an octagonal base. The length of the sides of this octagonal base is approx. 128 cm, the height of the base is 650 cm, the transition from the octagonal to the sixteen-sided section is effected by the «waist» of the minaret, which is 107 cm in height (the «waist» consists of four horizontal rows of the cut stones of the minaret, set off pyramidally to achieve the required reduction in diameter). A string course 20 cm in height separates the shaft of the minaret from the waist. The next string-course, 21 cm in height, is set 7.92 m above the first, and is followed by, in ascending order: the transition to the bowl of the šerefe, with a height of 62 cm, the bowl of the šerefe with a height of 110 cm (decorated with five horizontal rows of stalactites, a system based on a combination of prismatic, pyramidal and other geometric bodies forming a relief design in space), the solid stone balustrade of the šerefe with a height of 100 cm, the barrel of the minaret with a height of 340 cm (from the top of the balustrade), the copper-clad cone, with a height of 175 cm, and the alem. The total height of the minaret from the bottom of the base to the alem is 23.80 m. A spiral staircase, with steps 65 cm wide, set on the south-eastern side of the minaret, leads through a round-arched door to the šerefe.
The builders of Livno's mosques demonstrated their skill as stone masons in the masonry of the main body, the minaret, and the carved stalactite decorations of the mimber, mihrab, mahfil, portico, portal and bowl of the šerefe. The execution of the stalactite decorations on Livno's mosques is evidence that they were fully familiar with the decorative elements of the Ottoman school and of the artisanal mastery(50) of local master-craftsmen.
The base of the minaret, where it meets the soil, has a wider step approx. 10 cm high and wide. At the horizontal level of this stone ring around the base, a horizontal line is incised on the north-west side, where the shadow of the vertical edge of the minaret falls at noon, thus serving as a sundial. Rapko Orman writes of this: «the Beglučka mosque is wholly based on the movement of the sun and the determination of time. The minaret is on a wide horizontal stone base, and the relationship of vertical and horizontal in itself constitutes a gnomon. The minaret and the sun can also be used to determine the spring equinox which, the people of Livno believe, falls on the day when the first rays of the sun light up the top of the minaret. The date when the foundations of the mosque were laid is also significant. According to the chronogram, it fell in 985 AH, which began on 21 March 1577.
A line running north-south (with minor deviations) is incised on the level foundation slab of the minaret (north-west side). The shadow of the vertical edge of the minaret falls on this line precisely at noon, and is the line of the Livno meridian. (51) »
Another researcher writes of the crack in the southern part of the wall of the minaret: «In the documentation of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments we find details of the remains of the gnomon in Livno on the minaret of the Lala-pasha mosque (Mustafa-pasha or Begluk mosque). These remains apparently consist of an incised line on the minaret, representing the Livno meridian. In reality, the remains consist of an iron nail and a crack in the wall. . . The nail is hammered into the wall at the base of the crack. Its head has been hammered in, so that we know nothing of its appearance. It was no doubt used to attach the gnomom to the wall of the minaret. The crack runs between two stone blocks, but not over their entire length; it is 16 cm long and between 1 cm wide at the top and a few mm at the bottom, and is between 1.5 and 13 cm deep. The appearance of the crack suggests that there was a nail in the upper section as well.
The incised line of the Livno meridian could not be seen, since the remains of the gnomon are now about ten centimetres above the mound of material from the mosque. Originally, the gnomon was about half a metre above the surface.» (52) «The gnomon probably consisted of two parts: a metal dial plate, on which the noon line and symbol for 12 o'clock was incised, and the actual gnomon to throw the shadow. There could have been a small plaque at the top of the gnomon with a small hole in it, so producing a point of light as marker. The execution was no doubt technically simple, since it is realistic to assume that the gnomon was made in some local workshop.» (53)"
In reference to mosques that no longer exist, Mujezinović notes that their burial grounds vanished with them: «Beside some of the existing mosques, too, there are large areas where there should be nišan tombstones, as is the case with the Lala-pasha mosque. . .» (54) Just a few pairs of nišans, north-east and north-west of the abdesthana (premises for ritual ablution) and one pair south-west of the mosque building, now stand in the mosque harem. The area around the mosque has been laid to grass, and the harem is well maintained as a whole.
3. Legal protection to date
By Ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR BiH, Sarajevo, no. 443/53, dated 26 May 1953, the building was placed under state protection, and by Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR BiH, Sarajevo, no. 02-874-3, dated 18 April 1962, the Lala-pasha or Begluk mosque in Livno was placed under state protection and entered in the Register of immovable cultural monuments.
The 1980 Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina listed the monument as a Category I cultural and historical property.
The building was listed in the Study of the inventory of the fund of monuments and buildings of townscape value of the town of Livno, drawn up before the 1992 war by the Regional Institute for the Protection of Monuments headquartered in Mostar.
The property is on the Provisional List of National Monuments of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the name Lala-pasha mosque in Livno, serial no. 339.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
According to details from the Study of the inventory of the fund of monuments and buildings of townscape value of the town of Livno, drawn up before the 1992 war by the Regional Institute for the Protection of Monuments headquartered in Mostar, survey sheet/card no. 88, under the heading Replacement of roof and roof cladding, the entry reads: «Previous roof shingled. In 1973(55) repairs were carried out and the large dome was covered with sheet lead.» Under the heading Missing features of the original condition, the entry reads: «Hajat of the mosque with three small domes demolished. Interior damaged, lacking plaster and much of the stone decoration.» Under the heading Architectural elements and details, the entry reads: «Stone columns(56) of the hajat found in pieces in rubble.» A somewhat indecipherable photocopy of a photograph from the survey sheet shows scaffolding around the building to the height of the drum of the dome, from which it may be concluded that the scaffolding had been erected to carry out repair works to the cladding of the dome.
In 1997, under the auspices of the Renovation Committee (Ibrahim Borić and Prof. Enes Mastalić) and with the financial support of the Mufti's Office of Mostar in the sum of 10,000 DM, the Rijaset of the Islamic Community of BiH in the sum of 30,000 DM, and a donation from the Government of Malaysia, work began on the renovation of the mosque. The project documentation was drawn up by architect Hasan Dizdarević, and the works put out to tender and awarded to the artisanal and masonry firm of Hasan Husković of Mostara. With the help of džematlija (members of the congregation) and members of the Malaysian battalion (sappers and miners), the works carried out were plastering, whitewashing, the installation of electricity, the construction and mounting of the mahfil and mimber, the laying of the floor, the mounting of windows(57) and doors. On 30 December 1997, on the eve of the first day of Ramadan, the mosque was opened. According to the project documentation, this left the second-stage works of making the portico domes yet to be carried out.
To the north-east of the mosque, approx. 2.80 metres away, the single-storey building of the abdesthana, measuring 4 x 4 metres, was erect. The building was roofed with green bitument shingles and connected to the water main, a fountain with trough has been built against the abdesthana, and the soil has been excavated around the mosque on three sides to a width of 2.50 to 2.80 metres to a depth approximately equal to the floor of the mosque, a concrete retaining wall faced with stone slabs was built(58), and the horizontal surfaces of the dug-out area was laid with poured concrete with expansion grids and prefabricated concrete honeycomb paving.
The surrounding retaining wall of the plot facing the street and the access steps are also of recent date, as are the two candelabra outside the entrance to the mosque.
5. Current condition of the property
On 19 May 2004, during an on-site inspection of the condition of the building, serious signs of mould were observed in the interior of the building in the dome right around the string course at a height of approx. +793 above floor level (measured to the base of the string course), the result of damp. The same signs are to be seen on the pointed frontal arches of the trompes and on the mihrab wall around the crown of the mihrab. The probable reason is that in 1997, when the interior of the building was re-plastered, cement mortar was used, disrupting the original thermal and evaporation characteristics of the wall, which may be assumed to be the cause of extensive condensation and damp in these parts of the interior of the building.
On the exterior of the building, around the string course of the dome and the transition of the dome to the drum, there is obvious physical damage to the stone of the string course, with some pieces of stone missing; it may be that as the result of weather conditions, atmospheric moisture and precipitation has seeped in through the wall into the interior.
There is also obvious damage to the decorative stone moulding of the bowl of the šerefe, with mould and moss, suggesting that atmospheric moisture and precipitation has seeped through the floor of the šerefe into the stone structure of the bowl. The severe continental climate and long, cold winters have certainly exacerbated this problem.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.
The Decision was based on the following criteria:
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
C. Artistic and aesthetic value
C. i. quality of workmanship
C.iii. proportions
C.iv. composition
C. v. value of details
D. Clarity
D. iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
D. v. evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period
E. Symbolic value
E.ii. religious value
E.iii. traditional value
E.iv. relation to rituals or ceremonies
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
G. Authenticity
G.iv. traditions and techniques
G.v. location and setting
G.vi. spirit and feeling
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan
- Proof of title;
- Photodocumentation;
- Drawings
Bibliogoraphy
During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Beglučka (Lala-pasha, Mustafa-pasha, Beglek) mosque in Livno as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1941. Aličić, Ahmed: Livanjske džamije, Prilog povijesti Livna (Livno's mosques, contribution to the history of Livno), Jnl of the Islamic Community of the Independent State of Croatia in Sarajevo, no. 12, Sarajevo, 1941
1943. Aličić, Ahmed: Veliki dobrotvor grada Livna, (A great benefactor of the town of Livno) Jnl of the Islamic Community of the Independent State of Croatia in Sarajevo, no. 3, Sarajevo, 1943
1960-65 blueprints of the current condition of the Begluk mosque in Livno (Site plan and detail of pillars, ground plan, longitudinal section, north-west façade, north-east façade, south-west façade, portal), National institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NRBiH, Sarajevo (Sprem. sign.: 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, 1593, 1594 and 1595.)
1967. Firdus Abas: Livno od najstarijih vremena do 1878. godine (Livno from ancient times to 1878), Sarajevo, 1967, m/s, Gazi Husrev-beg Library, Sarajevo
1982-83. Spaho, Fehim Dž.: Livno u ranim turskim izvorima (Livno in early Turkish sources), contribution to monograph, Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, Contributions to oriental philology 32-33, 1982-83
1978 Spaho, Fehim Dž.: Džamije i njihovi vakufi u gradovima kliškog sandžaka početkom XVII vijeka, (Mosques and their vakufs in the towns of the Klis sandžak at the beginning of the 17th century), Annals of the Gazi Husrev-beg Library, bks. V-VII, Sarajevo, 1978
1983. Redžić, Husref: Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini (Studies on the Islamic architectural heritage), Sarajevo 1983
1988. Mujezinović, Mehmed: Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic epigraphics of BiH), bk. III – The Bosnian krajina, western Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1988
1987. Mulaomerović, Jasminko, Livanjski gnomon, (The Livno gnomon), Hercegovina, periodical for the cultural and historical heritage, Mostar 1987
1989. Fehim Nametak, Pregled stvaranja BiH muslimana na turskom jeziku (Overview of the creations of BiH Muslims in Turkish), Supreme Council of the Islamic Community, Sarajevo, 1989
1999. Orman, Rapko: Blago pod kupolom, Livanjske potkupolne džamije (Domed riches, Livno's domed mosques, Tešanj, 1999
2000. Werner Mueller, Gunther Vogel: Atlas arhitekture (Atlas of architecture), bk. 1, Zagreb, 2000
2001. Domović, Želimir: Rječnik stranih riječi (Dictionary of foreign words), Belgrade 2001
2001. Burek, Ahmet: Pisana riječ u Livnu, (The written word in Livno) Most, Periodical for education, science and culture, Mostar, no. 140-141 (51-52 – new series), Vol. XXVI July-August 2001
prior to 1992 Study of the inventory of the monuments fund and buildings of townscape value of the town of Livno, drawn up before the 1992 war by the Regional Institute for the Protection of Monuments headquartered in Mostar
(1) Toponym – part of the town of Livno in which the Glavica mosque stands
(from Orman, Rapko: Blago pod kupolom, Livanjske potkupolne džamije, Tešanj, 1999, p. 42 (services of the library of the Bosniac Institute, Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation Sarajevo)
(20) Jusuf Livnjak (Hajji Jusuf, sin Muhameda) is the earliest known poet of alhamiado literature in Bosnia and often treated as our first travel chronicler. He wrote of himself: “I, a poor sinner, Jusuf, son of Muhamed, was born in the kasaba of Livno, where I grew up and was muezzin of the Lala-pasha mosque.” The work for which Hajji Jusuf became well known was his account of his travels to Mecca and Medina, in which he describes in clear, vivid language all the places he visited on his way to the holy sites and back. Apart from this brief account of himself, we have no other details concerning Jusuf’s early life. He had two brothers: the rather better educated Omer-effendi, and Hasan. When Džafer-aga Džudža built his mosque in Županj-potok (the earlier name for Duvno, now Tomislavgrad) he moved from Livno, because Omer effendi became imam of the mosque with a wage of 25 akčas, and Jusuf muezzin with 12 akčas a day. Muhamed, son of Omer-effendi of Županj-potok, signs himself scribe in the new Mostar tekke in 1046 (1636-7) (Burek, Ahmet: Pisana riječ u Livnu, Most, periodical for education, science and culture, Mostar, no. 140-141 (51-52 – new series), Vol. XXVI July-August 2001.)
(33) “Suljo Dibek Burhan, muezzin of the Perkuša mosque, very erudite. In the absence of the imam he was a very proper substitute, even for terawiyya. He called the azaan, recited salah and salawah, and also recited muqabela during Ramadan. His voice could be heard far and wide from the tall minaret of the Perkuša mosque (the tallest in Livno) …”(Orman, Rapko: 1999, p. 90)
(58) The facing has been carried out to create the impression of a “cyclopean” wall. The abdesthana building is faced with stone in a similar fashion.
|
