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 3 – 9 May 2005 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Hadžijska [Hajjis'] (Vekil Harč) mosque in Sarajevo is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque with harem and fountain in the wall of the mosque courtyard.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 172 (new survey), cadastral municipality Sarajevo IX, corresponding to c.p. nos.1 and 5 (old survey) c.m. Mahala XCIX Sarajevo, Land Register entry no. XCIX/64, Municipality Stari grad Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The provisions relating to protection 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, 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 on the site defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),
The protective zone consists of the area bounded by the adjacent plots bordering on the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision. In this protective zone the following measures shall apply:
- the construction of new buildings and the execution of any works that could have the effect of altering the townscape are prohibited;
- the only works that shall be permitted are repairs to and the adaptation of existing buildings, subject to retaining their existing dimensions, and in every case under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority.
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 relevant ministry, the 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.
No: 06/2-02-57/05-4
4 May 2005
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Ljiljana Ševo
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.
0n 27 April 2005, the Commission received a petition from the Majlis (Council) of the Islamic community for the architectural ensemble of the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque with harem and fountain in the wall of the mosque courtyard.
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
- Details of legal protection of the property to date
- 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.
- 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
Together, the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque below Alifakovac, with its tall stone minaret, burial ground, fountain, and the Šeher-ćehaja bridge, the surrounding rows of houses on the slopes of Alifakovac, and the large Alifakovac burial ground with its turbes and fountain, constitute an attractive townscape and picturesque ensemble in old Sarajevo (Mujezinović,1998, p. 337.)
The Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque stands between Toplik and Veliki Alifakovac streets, on the left bank of the river Miljacka, close to the Šeher-ćehaja bridge. This part of town now lies within Sarajevo's Stari grad (old city) municipality.
The building stands on c.p. no. 172 (new survey), or c.p. nos. 1 and 5 (old survey), and is the property of the Islamic Religious Community in Sarajevo.
The mosque occupies an area of 184 m2 and the harem of 492 m2. The plot is surrounded by a high wall, and the entrance to the mosque harem is from Alifakovac street.
The entrance to the mosque itself is to the enorth-west, from the harem area. The harem lies to the south-west and north-west of the Hadžijska mosque.To the left of the entrance, in the harem wall on the street side, is a fountain.
Historical information
The earliest reference to the mahala of the mosque of Vekil Harč Mustafa is in a cadastral defter in Istanbul dating from after 1561 (photocopy in the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, inventory no. 76). It has been ascertained that the mahala could have come into being between 1540 and 1545, and that the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque was built between 1541 and 1561. The defter is not dated, but records that the mahala had sixty houses with thirty-one inhabitants.
According to local tradition, Vekil Harč Mustafa was the commissary (Vekil-Harč) of the Bosnian governor, Gazi Husref-beg.
The mosque is known to the people of Sarajevo as the Hadžijska or Hajjis' mosque, because it was from here that Sarajevo's hajjis used to leave for Mecca, via Alifakovac and Kozja ćuprija (Goat bridge), to perform the hajj or pilgrimage. Their departure would be preceded by prayers in the mosque for their safe journey there and back. The local people would accompany them to Goat bridge and the place known as Hadžijska ravan, a level piece of ground. (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 337).
The custom has now been revived, and hajjis again set off for Mecca (via Sarajevo airport) outside the Hadžijska mosque, inside which hajji du'a [prayers] are said for them all.
In addition to Vekil Harč Mustafa, the legator of this mosque was the wealthy Saraje merchant Hajji Bešlija Mustafa, who endowed much of his estate for charitable purposes. He built a bakery and mekteb beside the mosque; these were pulled down after World War I. His vakufnama or deed of endowment dated 27 February 1779 provided for an income to maintain the mosque.
The Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque was among the buildings damaged by the great fire that swept through Sarajevo following Prince Eugene of Savoy's campaign, but the inhabitants of the mahala soon repaired it.
The mosque was renovated on several occasions, and has an inscription over the entrance on major renovations carried out in 1938. That year, Hajji Hasan-aga Neziragić ordered restoration works to be carried out on the mosque. The timber roof structure was replaced and the hollow tiles replaced by red tiles. The sofas and musanderas were replaced, and broken nišan tombstones in the mosque harem were repaired.
In 1959 the courtyard wall was replaced by a new wall, which is still standing (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 337).
2. Description of the property
In layout, the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque in Sarajevo is a single-space mosque with open portico, hipped roof and stone minaret(1). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, this type of mosque has been built without a break since the mid 15th century (Bećirbegović, p. 43).
In the design of their layout, mosques of this type are identical to domed mosques (entrance portico and prayer space), but the different execution and the handling of space gives them an entirely new architectural expression. In their case the entrance portico and central prayer space are spanned by the hipped roof so as to constitute a single entity, giving them entirely new proportions in spatial terms (Bećirbegović, p. 43.)
The mosque consists of the main prayer space, the portico with sofas along the north-west entrance wall, and the stone minaret. The main prayer space and portico share the same hipped roof.
The basic masonry section of the mosque is rectangular in shape, with exterior dimensions of 12.25 x 11.00 m. The walls of the mosque are 90 cm thick, with the lower part stone-built and the upper of unbaked (adobe) brick with wooden tie beams. All the walls are plastered and painted white inside and out.
The hipped roof is high and steeply pitched, with timber roof structure and red tile cladding.
There is a total of 16 windows in the walls of the mosque, set in two horizontal rows. The lower windows are rectangular, and the upper are arched. There is the same number in both rows – four each on each façade. The openings of the lower windows are approx. 85 x 140 cm, while those of the upper windows are rather greater in height, measuring approx. 85 x 170 cm; they are set directly above the lower windows.
In addition to these windows, there are another three glazed, circular windows in wooden frames, on each of the façades other than the entrance. These are approx. 50 cm in diameter, and set between and level with the top of the upper windows.
The portico is on the north-west entrance side of the building, and has stone sofas measuring 11.00 x 4.59 m, below the same roof as the main part of the building, so that the overall south-east/north west length of the building is 17.00 m.
There is a passageway 1.80 m wide between the sofas, leading to the entrance to the mosque.
The sofas are raised approx. 60 cm above ground level by a stone wall, to which is attached a wooden substructure to which in turn the floorboards are nailed.
To the sides (south-west and north-east) and front (north-west), the sofas have a wooden railing about 1.00 m in height. This railing is very similar in appearance to the railings seen on the mahfils inside mosques, consisting of a series of uprights and terminal newels, moulded at the apex.
On the north-west entrance site are six pillars forming a total of five openings. These pillars are the same height as the storey of the building. They have decorative wooden corbels on which the roof beam rests, with the rest of the roof structure of the building supported in turn by this beam. The area between the pillars from the eaves to the top of the portal is wood-panelled on all three sides of the entrance portico.
The entrance to the mosque is at the centre of the building, between the third and fourth pillars, i.e. in the third opening. The pillars are square in section, ranging from 18 x 18 cm in measuring. The sofa area has a total of 8 pillars.
The entrance portal dominates the central area of the north-west façade, occupying in width the entire area between the sofas of 1.80 m. The portal is approx. 4.30 m in height, and projects outwards from the surface of the mosque wall by approx. 15 cm. The frame, which is 50 cm wide, is painted light ochre yellow. Above the arched opening of the door is a niche in the form of an equilateral triangle, painted light green. In the areas to the left and right of the niche are triangular panels painted white, with the moon and a star painted in gold. All the coats of paint aere later additions, but it is not known whether the original stone was painted and, if so, whether the original decoration survives under the later coats. There is a plaque above the door with an inscription on major renovations to the mosque in 1938.
The entrance to the mosque is through double wooden doors measuring 150 x 230 cm in a wooden frame. Each half of the door consists of three rectangular panels with no particular decoration.
The stone minaret of the Hadžijska mosque is built against the south-west façade wall. The base of the minaret is a cuboid measuring 2.30 x 2.30 with a height of 5.50 m. The transition from the square base to the body of the minaret is via a trapezoid prism, with a shallow moulded stone string course.
The base of the body of the minaret is accentuated by a simple string course and decorated with stylized designs painted green. The minaret is twelve-sided in section. The diameter of the minaret at the point of transition to the octagonal section is approx. 1.65 m. The shaft of the minaret has a slight entasis.
The floor of the šerefe is at a height of 16.73 m. The šerefe parapet is approx. 85 cm in height. Below the šerefe is a horizontal half-roll string course and decoration in the form of blind arcades painted green.
The total width of the minaret at the top of the masonry section is 1.20 m. The part below the steeple is decorated with blind arcades painted green.
The total height of the minaret from ground-level to the final is 24.60 m. The minaret is clad with sheet copper and topped with an alem (finial) of tin-plated copper, with five equal-measuringd pommels.
The height of the usable interior space of the mosque from floor to ceiling is approx. 5.30 m.
The interior prayer space measures 9.20 m (south-west/north-east) x 10.30 m (south-east/north-west). It has a flat wooden ceiling with šiše of deal boards painted green. The part of the ceiling near the mihrab has moulded laths set at an angle of 45 deg. across the deal boards. This part of the ceiling is not painted, but has been coated with wood preservative.
The floor of the mosque is of deal boards. The interior walls of the mosque are plastered and whitewashed, with the first 1.00 m or so from floor level up painted yellow ochre.
The mahfil is at the front, and occupies the entire length of the north-west wall of the mosque. It measures 9.2 x 2.55 m. The mahfil structure is timber, and rests on four wooden pillars measuring 14 x 14 cm, two of which are by the side walls of the mosque and the other two in the central part of the mahfil, 1.80 m apart. In the centre of the mahfil above the central pillars is a semicircular projection for the muezzin. The front of the mahfil area, facing the prayer space, has a wooden partition wall, with the lower part, to a height of about 90 cm, made of boards and the upper part composed of caissons with glazed windows. The mahfil is reached by a wooden staircase on the inner side of the north-west wall of the mosque, to the right of the entrance door. The area below the mahfil and staircase has a wooden railing about 90 cm high.
The minaret is entered from the mahfil area.
The mihrab area is approx. 1.85 m wide and projects outward from the wall surface by 25 cm. The mihrab is approx. 3.30 m in height. The mihrab frame is rectangular, with very simple moulding, and painted light ochre yellow and light green. The semicircular mihrab niche is approx. 134 cm wide, with a radius of 70 cm, and is round-arched at the top with moulded horizontal bands, which are painted light ochre yellow and light green. To either side of the mihrab niche are a gold-painted moon and star. The mihrab contains an inscription in gold lettering on a black background:
Whenever Zachariah went into the Sanctuary [mihrab] (Holy Qur’an, III, 37).
The names of the caliphs Abu Bakr, Uthman and Hasan are inscribed on the right-hand wall above the mihrab, and those of Umar, Ali and Husain on the left-hand wall. These inscriptions are of recent date. Among the portable levhas, one on the mimber is worth noting. Inscribed in black lettering in thuluth script on a gold background, it reads:
There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet.
The mosque walls below the windows and around the mihrab were subsequently painted. The window sills are painted light pink, much of the mihrab is light green and the edge is pink. The remaining wall areas of the mosque are painted white.
The mosque ceiling is clad with šiše (tongue and groove wooden boards). The part of the ceiling by the walls consists of green-painted boards, with the remainder in the natural colour of the wood; a rosette of floral ornaments is painted at the centre.
The mimber is wooden, and of recent date. It measures 3.25 m in length, 0.71 m in width, and 4.50 m in height.
The ćurs is in the corner to the left of the mihrab, and is made of wood.
Harem of the Hadžijska mosque in Sarajevo
The burial ground is located to the south-west and north-west of the mosque, and contains 56 nišan tombstones, of which 21 have epitaphs. The nišans on this site are of varying measurings and shapes: 31 denote the graves of men, with differing types of turban: four mušebek-nišans, five with an aga’s turbans, four with the ulema čatal turban, and six with a fez. The other twelve have ordinary folded turbans. Among the twenty-five women’s nišans, three have a woman’s cap, two of which are finely decorated with floral designs, and the rest are ordinary steles.
One of the undated nišans stands out on account of its shape. It is 1.90 m high, 23 x 24 cm in cross section, and with a turban 50 cm across. The footstone on this grave is octagonal in section and rather shorter than the headstone. The tombstone has no epitaph, but local tradition ascribes it to the founder of the mosque, Vekil Harč Mustafa.
Another striking nišan is one with an aga’s turban on which a helmet plume and sword are incised. Again, this tombstone has no epitaph, but tradition relates that it marks the grave of the famous Morić brothers. The information to be gleaned from the tombstones in this burial ground does indeed indicate that many members of the Morić family, which lived close to the mosque, are buried here.
The oldest dated nišan bears the date 1731 and the newest 1873 (Mujezinović, 1998, pp. 339-346).
Mujezinović counted 56 nišan tombstones in the harem of the Hadžijska mosque, of which 21 had epitaphs. There are now 51 tombstones, 23 of them with epitaphs. Two of Mujezinović's epitaphs are now missing, but there are four that Mujezinović did not record (Numanagić, May 2005).
1. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 40 x 18 x 125 cm with the following epitaph:
المرحومه و المغفوره لها حامده بنت مصطفي اغا مورو زاده روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1254
Hamida Morić, daughter of Mustafa-aga, may she be pardoned and forgiven. Fatiha for her soul. 1254 (1838/39).
2. Man’s nišan with mušebak turban, square in cross-section 19 x 19 cm, height 90 cm.
علم و فضيله مشهور انام, و مقتداي خاص و عام, المرحوم و المغفور مدرس عثمان افندي ابن محمد روحيجون
الفاتحة سنة 1252 في 7 ل
Renowned for his knowledge and goodness, leader of scholars and commoners, muderris Osman efendi, son of Mehmed, rest his soul, may he be forgiven. Fatiha for his soul. 1252, 7 Shawwal. (16 January1836). (Mujezinović, p. 343)
3. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 32 x 10 x 80 cm, with no epitaph.
4. Nišan with woman’s cap, square in cross-section 15 x 15 cm, height 72 cm. The right hand side of the nišana simply bears the epitaph:
الفاتحة 1176
Al Fatiha. 1176 (1762/63).
5. Man’s nišan with mušebak turban rectangular in cross-section 20 x 21,5 cm, height 153 cm. The epitaph is incised in verse in six panels on two sides of the tombstone, and is in nasta’liq script, not naskh as Mujezinović says.
هو الحي الباقي
ذاتي سراي بوسنه ده اولمش ايدي فتوي كرين دار فناي ترك ايدوب ايتدي يرين دار جنان
بولمش ايدي سني كمال اكر جه ذات اكرمن هر فنده حل مشكلات ايلدي بي ريب و كمال
بو بلده ايجره قالمدي مثل و نظيري بردخي فضل و معارف ذاتنه حقدن وير لمشدي همان
علم و حديث و فقهده تفسيرده ما هرايدي بر عالم يكتا ايدي سيد كبي المشدي شان
فاضل خلوصيله ديدي تاريخ تامن بي قصور مقام سراي عدن لوله شاكر افندي يه مكان
في 10 ذي الحجه سنه 1275
“He [God] lives eternally. In issuing fatwas he was a known figure in Sarajevo. He has left this transient home in exchange for paradise. He lived to a great age and was honoured and respected. In various disciplines he resolved the most difficult questions, And he had no equal in this city of ours. He was blessed by God with knowledge and goodness, Learned in Hadith, Fiqa and Tafsir, And of repute as a unique scholar. Fadil sincerely expresses this full chronogram for him: May Šakir-effendi’s place be in the palace of the garden of Eden. 10 Dhu l-Hijjah 1275.”
(11 July 1859).
Mehmed Šakir-effendi, of the famous Sarajevo family of Muidović, was a prominent figure and highly educated man. From 1826 to 1855, with brief interruptions, he was the mufti of Sarajevo. He distinguished himself during the reform period of Sultan Mahmut and the uprising of Husejin-kapetan Gradščević, when he was invited to an audience with Sultan Mahmut. In 1847, Muidović endowed some real property in the Kazandžijska čaršija (coppersmiths' part of the commercial area) for the Vekil-harč mosque. (Mujezinović, p. 344).
6. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, rectangular in cross-section 16,5 x 18 cm, height 105 cm, with epitaph in nasta’liq script.
مرحوم و مغفور محمد بن علي علمدار روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1176
Deceased Mehmed, may he be forgiven, son of Alija, bajraktar [standard-bearer]. Fatiha for his soul. 1175 (1762/63) (M. Mujezinović, p. 346).
7. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 33 x 13 x 74 cm, with no epitaph.
8. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, measuring 19 x 19 x 160 cm, with the following epitaph:
اه من الموت المرحوم و المغفور له مورو زاده مصطفي اغا بن ابراهيم اغا روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1230
O, death. Deceased Mustafa-aga Morić, may he be forgiven, son of Ibrahim-aga. Fatiha for his soul. 1230 (1814/15). ( Mujezinović, p. 346)
9. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 29 x 12 x 90 cm, with no epitaph.
10. Man’s nišan with čatal turban, with no epitaph, sunk into the ground, measuring 14 x 16 x 65 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
11. Man’s nišan with turban, with no epitaph, measuring 25 x 23 x 180 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround. The footstone nišan is octagonal in cross-section. Tradition has it that this could be the nišan of the founder of the mosque, Vekil-Harč.
12. Broken headstone nišan. The footstone nišan is octagonal in cross-section, with the sides 10 cm wide, and the nišan is 103 cm in height. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
13. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, square in cross-section 17 x 17 cm, height 125 cm.
مرحوم و مغفور مورو زاده محمد جلبي روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1171
Deceased Morić Mehmed Čelebija, may he be forgiven. Fatiha for his soul. 1171 (1757/58).
( Mujezinović, p. 342)
14. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 41 x19 x 100 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
15. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, sunk into the ground, measuring 18 x 18 x 64 cm.
المرحوم الحاج عمر ارواحيجون ...
Deceased hajji Omer. For his soul ..... [the rest of the epitaph is underground].
This is probably hajji Omer who died in 1150 (1737/38). ( Mujezinović, p. 345)
16. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 32 x 12 x120 cm, with the following epitaph:
هو الحي الباقي مرحوم مفتي محمد شاكر افندينك كريمه محترمه عطيه منليه خانمك روحيجون رضاء لله الفاتحة في 29 ذا سنه 1289
“He [God] lives eternally. The well-respected Atija Munlija-hanuma, daughter of the late mufti Muhamed Šakir-effendi. 29 Dhu l-Qa’dah 1289.” (28 February 1873).
Atija-hanuma studied under her father Mehmed Šakir-effendi Muidović, and received her ijazet (diploma) from him; she was known for her learning. It is said that her father said she would have been capable of being a mufti. The honorific “munlija” that accompanies her name is further evidence of her erudition, since it is bestowed on scholars.(Mujezinović, p. 345)
17. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 40 x 16 x 70 cm, with no epitaph.
18. Small man’s nišan with mušebak turban, measuring 12 x 12 x 46 cm, with no epitaph.
19. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 36 x 14 x 104 cm, with the following epitaph:
هو الحي الباقي موالي كرامدن قضاتن عبد الله اغانك حيا.. شريفه مريم خانم بنت السيد الحاج محمد اغا روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1275 في ن
He is the Living, the Eternal. The well-respected Merjema-hanuma, daughter of Sejid hajji Mehmed-aga, wife of qadi Abdulah-aga. Fatiha for her soul. 1275, Ramadan. (April/May 1859) (Mujezinović, p. 345)
20. Man’s nišan with fez, measuring 18 x 11 x 66 cm, set on a stone sarcophagus measuring 73 x 108 x 35 cm.
الباقي بوسنه مجلس كبيري باش كاتبي ... كمال بكك مخدومي محمد نائل بكك روحيجون فاتحة سنة 1275 في ن 19
Eternal. Mehmed Nail-beg, son of Kemal-beg baškatib [chief secretary] of the Majlis-kabir [Grand Council]. Fatiha for his soul. 19 Ramadan 1275 (23 April 1859). (Mujezinović, p. 345)
21. Man’s nišan with fez, measuring 20 x 12 x 83 cm, set on a stone sarcophagus, measuring 75 x 117 x 38 cm.
الباقي بوسنه مجلس كبيري باش كاتبي ... كمال بكك مخدومي مصطفي رشدي بكك روحيجون فاتحة سنة 1278
Mustafa Rušdi-beg, son of Kemal-beg baškatib in the Majlis Kabir. Fatiha for his soul. 1278 (1891/92). Mujezinović reads the year as 1275. (Mujezinović, p. 345)
22. Man’s nišan with turban, sunk into the ground, measuring 19 x 19 x 67 cm, with no epitaph.
23. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 20 x 8 x 38 cm, with no epitaph.
24. Man’s nišan with fez, measuring 17 x 17 x 39 cm, sunk into the ground.
اه من الموت سراي بوسنه ..... مخدومي حومر احمد .....
O, death. ....... forgiven Homar Ahmed .... (remainder underground).
25. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, sunk into the ground, measuring 19x16x67 cm.
26. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 16 x 15 x 84 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
مرحوم قروي زاده مسطفي افندي روحيجون فاتحه سنه 1144
Deceased Kurevija Mustafa-efendija. Fatiha for his soul. 1144 (1731/32).
( Mujezinović, p. 339)
27. Man’s nišan with mušebak turban, square in cross-section 18 x 18 cm, height 84 cm (this has sunk by 16 cm since it was measured by M.Mujezinović). The grave is edged with a santrač surround.
قروي زاده سليمان افندي حيفا
كتدي دنيا دن ايدوب عظم سراي عقبا
ايتمدي منصب فاني يه انكجون رغبت
كه سليمانه دخي قلمدي بو جاه فنا
عمريني علم و هنر نحوينه هب صرف ايتدي
او مرام رحمت حقه اوله محشرده سزا
ارتحالن ايشادوب ميلي ديدي تاريخني
قروي زاده افندي ايده خلدي ماوا
سنة 1190
the nišan.
“O sorrow, Kurevija Sulejman-effendi has left this world and passed away into eternity. He did not aspire to a transient position, for not even the prophet Solomon could retain his position. He dedicated his entire life to science and his skills, and thus earned God’s mercy on Judgment Day. When Mejlija heard of his death he wrote this chronogram for him: May Kurevija find sanctuary in eternal heaven.1190.” (1776/77).
( Mujezinović, p. 343)
28. Man’s nišan with fez, sunk into the ground, measuring 19 x 19 x 46 cm.
29. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 27 x 10 x 62 cm, with no epitaph.
30. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 14 x 14 x 64 cm, with no epitaph.
31. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 32 x10 x 36 cm, with no epitaph.
32. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 31 x11 x 58 cm, with no epitaph.
33. Woman’s nišan of which only the cap topping the nišan can be seen above ground.
34. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 20 x 18 x 60 cm.
مرحوم موريك زاده ابراهيم اغا روحيجون الفاتحه سنة 1242
Deceased Morić Ibrahim-aga. Fatiha for his soul. 1242 (1827).
35. Woman’s nišan with finely decorated cap, square in cross-section 15 x 51 cm, height 66 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
الفاتحه دختر صالحه مورو محمد جلبي حيف كيم تازه ايكن اخرته اولدي روان كلدي تعظيما انكقولتغنه كيروي وبا قالديروب ايليه تا عزت ايله عزم جنان ارتحالن ايشيدوب ميلي ديدي تاريخن محفل قرب اول روح عطيه شايان سنة 1176
“Al Fatiha. The good daughter of Muhamed-čelebija More, sadly, in the flower of her youth passed on to the other world. The plague came stealthily and crept in under her armpit, uplifting her with honour and taking her to the garden of Eden. When Mejlija heard of her passing he wrote this chronogram for her: May the soul of Atija be worthy to be close to God. 1176.” (1762/63)
( Mujezinović, p. 342)
36. Man’s nišan with mušebak turban, square in cross-section 22 x 22 cm, height 186 cm.
اه من الموت الموت شراب كل ناس شاربه و القبر دار كل ناس داخله مرحوم رشدي زاده محمد افندي ابن ابراهيم افندي روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1280
O death. Death is a beverage that all shall drink, the grave is an abode which all shall enter. Deceased Rušdić Mehmed-efendi, son of Ibrahim-efendi. Fatiha for his soul. 1280 (1863/64).
( Mujezinović, p. 345)
37. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 30 x 9 x 83 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
38. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, measuring 20 x 23 x 117.
مرحوم و مغفور مورو زاده ابراهيم اغا روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1170
Deceased Morić Ibrahim-aga, may he be forgiven. Fatiha for his soul. 1170 (1757)
( Mujezinović, p. 340)
39. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, measuring 19 x 19 x 90.
مرحوم و مغفور مورو زاده الحاج محمد روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1170
Deceased Morić hajji Mehmed, may he be forgiven Fatiha for his soul. 1170 (1757)
(Mujezinović, p. 340)
The graves of the Morić brothers, nos. 38 and 39, are edged with a single stone santrač surround.
These two Morić brothers, Mehmed and Ibrahim, were executed in March 1757 as leaders of the famous ten-year insurrection of the people of Sarajevo and the Bosniacs against the Turkish authorities. There is still a plaque on the wall of the mosque burial ground as a memorial to their execution.
40. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, measuring 21 x 20 x 120 cm, with no epitaph. There is sablja on the right side of the nišan tombstone. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
41. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 18 x 19 x 80 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround
42. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 22 x 19 x 65 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
43. Man’s nišan with fez, measuring 22 x 22 x 56 cm, sunk into the ground, illegible epitaph inscribed on two sides of the nišan.
44. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 37 x 10 x 94 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
45. Man’s nišan with čatal turban, measuring 16,5 x 15 x 77 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
مرحوم احمد اغا روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1171
Deceased Ahmed-aga. Fatiha for his soul. 1171 (1757/58). ( Mujezinović, p. 346)
46. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 17 x 17 x 58 cm, with no epitaph.
47. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 27 x 11 x 70 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
48. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 27 x 10 x 41 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
49. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 35 x10 x 88 cm, with no epitaph. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
50. Woman’s nišan with cap, measuring 14 x 14 x 44 cm. The grave is edged with a santrač surround.
51. Simple nišan in the form of a stele, measuring 30 x 10 x 93 cm. The grave is edged with a stone santrač surround.
الفاتحة سنة 1176
Fatiha. 1176(1762/63)
(Numanagić, May 2005)
Courtyard wall with entrance and fountain
The harem of the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque is to the south-west, facing Veliki Alifakovac street, and to the north-west (facing Toplik street), and is surrounded by a high wall of unbaked brick with tile coping. According to Mujezinović, the present-day courtyard walls were built in 1959 (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 337). The mosque walls are plastered and painted white. The walls have twelve rectangular window openings with iron bars. The entrances to the mosque courtyard are to the south-west and the north-east.
The main entrance, with large wooden double doors, is in the south-west mosque wall facing Veliki Alifakovac street. The entrance is given additional emphasis by the extra height of the coping.
The south-west wall facingt Veliki Alifakovac street also has a fountain, known as the fountain “pod Alifakovcem” (below Alifakovac).
The fountain is made of blocks of the local stone known as hreša and has a large stone trough carved out of a single block of the same stone.
The fountain is 2.08 m. high, 1.65 n. wide and 0.9 m. deep. It projects outward from the wall surface facing the street by 18 cm. The waterpipe is of cast iron, and is 66 cm above ground level. The stone trough measures 1.28 x 0.70 cm.
A pointed arch is carved into the stone at the centre of the fountain, at a height of 1 m. above ground level; within it is a plaque with an inscription.
The plaque measures 35 x 20 cm and bears the following chronograph, incised in nasta’liq script in Turkish verse. The epitaph is set in eight square panels edged with lines with decorated terminals.
1215
INSCRIPTION ON THE FOUNTAIN BY THE VEKIL-HARČ MOSQUE
“The owner of this property is the son of the Mostaran Hamdi-effendi, muderis,
Mustafa/Fejzi, kadija in Binfše, who renovated this fountain.
Those who drink the water, like the waters of Kawsar
[the spring in paradise] will say:
May the Almighty accept this good deed.
Hašim came and wrote this chronogram for it:
The benefactor has deserved paradise, Firdaus.
1215.” (1800/1801).
The inscription records that the fountain by the Vekil Harč mosque below Alifakovac was renovated by Mustafa Fejzi, which means that there was previously a fountain on this spot (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 347).
1170
MEMORIAL TO THE EXECUTION OF THE MORIĆ BROTHERS
The text of the chronogram, in Turkish verse, is incised on a stone plaque measuring 45 x 30 cm, set in the mosque courtyard wall. The script is nasta’liq, with the letters quite shallowly incised.
“To the famous and well-loved Morić brothers,
Hajji Mehmed and Ibrahim-aga,
Of a sudden the wind of death blew
And destroyed them both in a flash.
They leave a mother in deep grief and mourning,
But may the Lord receive them in His mercy.
In a single breath this chronogram was composed for them:
May this be an eternal memorial to them as martyrs (shahids).
1170.” (1757).
This memorial plaque, the epitaphs on their tombstones, and many folk songs about the Morić brothers, indicate how popular they were among the people.
Morić hajji Mehmed, known as Pašo, and his younger brother Ibrahim-aga, were the sons of Mustafa-aga and the grandsons of Hasan-aga. Both their father and their grandfather were aga serdengečdijas (Janissary officers), as apparently were the brothers themselves, as may be deduced from the aga turbans on their tombstones. They lived in Vekil Harč mahala, in a house now owned by the Kamenica family.
In 1747, insurrections broke out in Bosnia, which were to last for ten years. Contemporary chroniclers relate that the insurrections were prompted by, or the chief cause of them was, pashas and viziers themselves, who had begun to act harshly towards the people, and in particular the poor. Describing these turbulent events, Bašeskija says that no one obeyed or respected the pasha, the kadija (judge) or the scholars at that time.
Among the leaders of the uprising in Sarajevo were the Morić brothers, as a result of which it is known in the city as the “Morić revolt.” When circumstances altered, the leaders were rounded up and strangled in the Sarajevo fort in March 1757. As well as the Morić brothers, Halil-Bašić, Sari-Murat and another 19 rebel leaders were executed (Mujezinović, 1998, pp. 340-41).
3. Legal status to date
Pursuant to the law, and by ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, no. 542/53, of 1953, the Vekil Harč mosque in Sarajevo was placed under state protection.
Pursuant to the law, and by ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, no. 02-633-3, of 1962, the Vekil Harč mosque with burial ground in the courtyard and fountain in the mosque courtyard wall in Alifakovac street in Sarajevo was entered in the Register of immovable cultural monuments.
The property is part of the urban ensemble of Sarajevo which is listed in the 1980 Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Category 0 group.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
The mosque has been renovated on several occasions, and has an inscription over the entrance recording major renovations carried out in 1938. That year, Hajji Hasan-aga Neziragić ordered restoration works to be carried out on the mosque. The timber roof structure was replaced and the hollow tiles replaced by red tiles. The sofas and musanderas were replaced, and broken nišan tombstones in the mosque harem were repaired (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 337).
In 1959 the courtyard wall was replaced by a new wall, which is still standing (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 337).
From information obtained from the Islamic Religious Community of Sarajevo, there have been no recent restoration works on the mosque apart from repainting the inside walls.
5. Current condition of the property
An on-site inspection in April 2005 ascertained as follows:
- the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque is in quite good condition;
- minor war damage was observed on the building itself and the harem wall, which has yet to be fully repaired;
- the structure of the wooden pillars and beam of the sofas is in good condition;
- the railings of the wooden sofas are in poor condition;
- some of the nišan tombstones in the harem have fallen over;
- the trough of the fountain is damaged in part.
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.ii. quality of materials
C.iii. proportions
C.iv. composition
C. v. value of details
C.vi. value of construction
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.i. ontological 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
F. Townscape/ Landscape value
F.i. Relation to other elements of the site
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
F.iii. the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan
- Copy of land register entry and proof of title;
- Photodocumentation;
- Drawings
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Hadžijska (Vekil Harč) mosque in Sarajevo as a national monument, the following works were consulted:
1953. Bejtić, Alija, Spomenici osmanlijske arhitekture u Bosni i Hercegovini (Monuments of Ottoman architecture in BiH) Offprint – Contributions to oriental philology and the history of the Yugoslav peoples under Turkish rule, Vols. III-IV, Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1953.
1960. Šabanović, Hazim, Postanak i razvoj Sarajeva (Origins and development of Sarajevo) Proceedings of the Scientific Society of BiH, bk. 5, Sarajevo, 1960.
1962. Mujezinović, Mehmed, Stari Alifakovac u Sarajevu (Old Alifakovac in Sarajevo) Naše starine VIII, Sarajevo,1962, 119-138.
1969. Bejtić, Alija, Stara sarajevska čaršija jučer danas i sutra – osnove i smjernice za regeneraciju (The old Sarajevo ćaršija, past, present and future – basis and guidelines for regeneration) City Institute for the Protection and Maintenance of Cultural Monuments of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1969.
1997. Zlatar, Behija, Zlatno doba Sarajeva (Sarajevo's golden age) Sarajevo, 1997.
1980. Institute for architecture, town planning and regional planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, Regionial Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Stage «B» - valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments, Sarajevo, 1980.
1984. Andrejević, Andrej, Islamska monumentalna umetnost XVI veka u Jugoslaviji – kupolne džamije (16th century Islamic monumental art in Yugoslavia – domed mosques) Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Institute for the History of Art, Belgrade, 1984.
1996. Çelebi, Evliya, Putopis – odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama (Travelogue – extracts on Yugoslav lands) Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1996.
1997. Bašeskija, Mula Mustafa, Ljetopis (Chronicle), Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1997.
1998. Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic epigraphics of BiH) bk. I, Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1998.
1999. Bećirbegović, Madžida, Džamije sa drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mosques with wooden minarets in BiH), Sarajevo Publishing, 1999.
2000. Ayverdi Dr. Ekrem Hakki, Avrupa'da Osmanli Mimari Eserlera Yugoslavya II, 3. kitab, Istanbul, 2000.
Documentation of the Cantonal Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo
Documentation of the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.
(1) There are many more of this type of mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina than there are domed mosques. According to 1933 statistics, there were 223, or approximately 20%. Of these 158, or 16%, were in Bosnia and 65, or 51%, in Herzegovina, where they were thus proportionately more numerous. The largest number in a single muftiluk was 101, in the Sarajevo muftiluk, according to the same statistics.
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