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 4 to 10 July 2006 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The architectural ensemble of the Brusa bezistan (Rustem Pasha bezistan, Small bezistan)  with shops in Sarajevo is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 754, 755, 756, 757 and 758,  title deed no. 438, cadastral municipality Sarajevo I (new survey),  Municipality Stari Grad, Sarajevo, 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 measures are hereby stipulated, which shall apply to the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision.

• all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, including works designed to display the 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.

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 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

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. 539.

X

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.06.1-2-55/05-3

5 July 2006

Sarajevo

Chair 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.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a decision to add the Townscape of Sarajevo to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 546. The Brusa bezistan is located within the townscape of Sarajevo.

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 para. 4 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:

• 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.
• An inspection of the current condition of the property
• Copy of the cadastral plan
• 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 Brusa bezistan is on the right bank of the river Miljacka, in the heart of the commercial centre of Baščaršija. It is bordered to the north by Čurčiluk veliki street, to the west by Bazardžani street, to the east by Abadžiluk street, an to the south by Kundurdžiluk street.

Historical information

The records of the land-holdings of Isa-bey Ishakovic dating from 1455(1) refer to Tornik or Utorkovište(2) as the most advanced settlement that Turks came upon in the župa (county) of Vrhbosna. According to sources dating from 1462 and 1468/9, this place, which began to acquire the urban features still identifiable in the urban matrix of present-day Sarajevo with the construction of Isa-beg’s endowed properties, gained the status of a kasaba (small town) or šeher (city), and went by several names such as Staro Trgovište, Stara Varoš, Trgovište, Saraj, Saraj-ovasi(3), and Saraj-kasabasi Bosna-saraj(4). Its current name – Sarajevo – was used for the first time in 1507(5).  

Sarajevo flourished and grew in the 16th century. Commercial life developed thanks to trade and crafts. Merchants from Dubrovnik were present in Sarajevo, their business acumen and connections making a major contribution to the development of trade in Sarajevo. Various textile goods, rice and paper were imported; the fine-quality cloth known as čoha was highly valued. Wax, livestock and leather were exported. To promote trade, three bezistans were built: the Mehmed-beg bezistan, the Gazi-Husref beg bezistan, and the Rustem Pasha (Brusa) bezistan.

There were six bezistans in Bosnia: three in Sarajevo, one in Banja Luka and two in Travnik. All three of Sarajevo’s bezistans were built between 1463 and 1551; Banja Luka’s was built after 1587 but before 1659; and those of Travnik were built in the 1750s. ...” (6)

The first bezistan in Sarajevo was built in the first half of the 16th century by Mehmed-beg, son of Isabeg Ishaković. It was located beside Kolobara han, on Trgovke(7), north of the Brusa bezistan. It was burned down(8) in 1697 during the campaign by Eugene of Savoy(9), and in was demolished in 1842. There is no reliable information concerning its appearance(10). 

During the restoration of Trgovke, while the foundations of the shop were being dug, the old foundations of a larger building were discovered, but they were not sufficiently well preserved for the rectangular shape of the bezistan to be identified, and the remaining structures of that building were destroyed when Trgovke was built. It was therefore deduced that the first bezistan had no vaults or domes, since a structure of that kind would certainly have required stronger foundations, the remains of which would indubitably have survived to the time when Trgovke was being built. Presumably, therefore, the Mehmed-beg bezistan had a lightweight timber roof frame(11).

The Gazi Husrev-beg bezistan, also known as the Old bezistan and the Large bezistan, was built in the first half of the 16th century; the earliest documentary reference to it dates from 1555.  From World War I on it was largely in ruins, and between the two world wars serious consideration was given to removing the ruins of the bezistan altogether and building a large modern palace on the site.  Finally, in early 1968, work began on the restoration of the Gazi Husrev-beg bezistan.  The works were conducted to a project design by architects Džemal Čelić and E. Jahić and funded by the Housing Corporation of Sarajevo.

The Brusa bezistan was built in 1551. Its founder was Rustem Pasha(12), a native of Sarajevo or its environs(13). The Brusa bezistan was without doubt the most significant edifice he endowed in his native region.

As soon as it was completed in 1551, the sale of expensive textile products began in the Brusa bezistan: Vizier Rustem Pasha was not only a statesman but was also involved in the silk industry in Brusa.  Indeed, the building acquired its name of Brusa bezistan from the silk from Brusa that was sold there.

In 1658 two French travel chroniclers, Poullet and  Quiclet, spent some time in Sarajevo and left a fascinating description of Sarajevo at that time:

The great market or čaršija is a wonder. On Sunday, which is market day in Turkey, countless people and all kinds of merchandise for sale can be found there. There are also very handsome covered markets that are locked at night like earthly palaces; they call them bezistans. Here cloth, wax, linen, leather, fine furs and linings, silk and other merchandise from Venice, and other merchandise and products from the country." (14)   

The travel chronicler Evliya Çelebi, who spent some time in Sarajevo in the 17th century, describes only one bezistan, built in the heart of the Sarajevo čaršija, whereas the Gazi Husrev-beg bezistan was on the western boundary of the čaršija at that time: “There is a very handsome solid domed bezistan.  It contains all kinds of expensive Indian, Sindi, Arabic, Persian, Polish and Bohemian merchandise.  Dubrovnik and the great Venice bring countless different valuable merchandise on pack horses, to be sold here.” (15)

Evliya Çelebi compares the Sarajevo čaršija with those in Brusa and Aleppo: "There are a thousand and eight shops in all in the čaršija, which are a paragon of beauty.  The čaršija itself is very attractive and laid out to a plan. Each individual part of the čaršija is covered like the čaršijas in the cities of Aleppo and Brusa, except that the roofs are not of durable materials but only of thick beams.  The main streets and clean and cobbled, and in one handsome building made of durable material is a bezistan. Here all kinds of merchandise from India, Arabia, Persia, Poland and Bohemia can be purchased very cheaply. Since Dubrovnik and Venice are only two or three overnight stays from here, in two days an infinite variety of merchandise are brought to this city from Zadar, Šibenik and Split – expensive cloth and fine silk fabrics that iridesce like marble – and are sold here. The cloth-makers’ čaršija and coppersmiths’ bazaar are very lively."

Sarajevo sidžil (court record) of the Gazi Husrev-beg library XXIX, 10 and 114, records the following information: “The erudite gentleman Fejzulah-effendi, muteveli [manager] of the Rustem Pasha vakuf in Sarajevo, after greetings, is notified: that since the great fire that occurred there previously in Sarajevo, ravaged the bezistan of the said vakuf which needs to be repaired, the owners of the dolafs and shops around it have requested that the rent from the dolafs be collected for the said bezistan and that the rents be used to carry out the repairs. After an inspection by the Shari’a court and the detailed bill of costs was established as 189,50 groschen, the Shari’a court issued a permit for the repairs in line with the bill of costs, which has been handed to you, and this murasela [official communication from a qadi] has been written and sent.  When it reaches you, repair the said bezistan in that way from the collected rents. Greetings, 27 Rajab 1203 (23 April 1788), Sejid Ali, qadi, Sarajevo.” (16)

With the passage of time, the  Brusa bezistan grew impoverished, the sale of expensive goods ceased, and the shops that ringed the bezistan were transferred from the ownership of the Rustem Pasha vakuf to that of small private owners. The revenue from the bezistan collected for the rental of the shops it contained(17) was designed to maintain the vakif’s (legator’s) endowments, and the management of these funds was one of the duties of the muteveli of the vakuf. In the case of the muteveli of Rustem Pasha’s vakuf, he was never based in Sarajevo, but in Istanbul; he merely had a representative in Sarajevo. After 1878, Rustem Pasha’s muteveli no longer took care of Rustem Pasha’s endowments in Bosnia, which was certainly the principal reason for the distribution and break-up of the vakuf.

In the mid 19th century the shops in the bezistan belonged to dealers in second-hand goods, and the shops outside were in a ruinous state and replaced by timber-built ones.

After the Austro-Hungarian occupation the bezistan was turned into a depot for military uniforms, for which purpose it was used until 1902. After that it was out of use for a while, and then again became a market for manufacturered goods, until 1926, when it was again closed down.  Just before World War II it contained a steam mill, after which it was again used for storage purposes, and about ten years later as a dairy products market, until 1968.

In 1967 works began on repairing, restoring and adapting the building for the purpose of modern trade. The works were carried out to a project by eng. arch. Husref Redžić and eng.arch Radivoj Jadrić and were funded by the Housing Corporation of Sarajevo. In 1968, following the conservation and restoration works, the interior of the bezistan was opened, housing a store selling souvenirs and cottage-industry products, Bosna-folklor. The works continued with the reconstruction of the shops on all four sides of the bezistan.» (18)  

During the 1992-1995 war the building suffered no major damage since it took no direct heavy artillery hits.  Small-calibre bullets and shrapnel mainly damaged the roof cladding and, in part only, the roof cornice.

Following the Project to refurbish the Brusa bezistan for a museum display, in 2000-2001, the interior of the Brusa bezistan was refurbished to serve as a permanent display of the Museum of the City of Sarajevo. The project was under the auspices of the Cantonal Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo, the investor was the Government of Sarajevo Canton, the initial design was by architect Kemal Hrustanović, the designers of the working design were employees of the Cantonal Institute for the Protection of the Cantonal, Historical and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo, architects  Pavle Mašić and Emir Softić, and the building works were carried out by the firm "KUVET" of Sarajevo.

2. Description of the property

“Bezisten is a compound word, from the Arabic bezz and the Persian suffix (i)stan, meaning a place where bez or fabric is sold. In our part of the world they are known as bezisten or bezistan, in Istanbul as bedesten, and in Konya as bezazija. The word bezistan is often accompanied by the name of its founder, for example the Gazi Husrevbeg bezisten(19). The name of the founder was used in particular among the people when the place in question had more than one bezisten. They were also named for the type of fabric mainly sold in them, or for the place from which the fabric chiefly came. Thus in Istanbul one bezisten was known as the Sandal-bedesten, and one in Sarajevo is still known as the Brusa-bezisten. The first acquired its name from the fabric sandal in which a silk stripe is woven (der Streifen) and the other from cotton.  ....

Bezistens are very solidly built structures. They are stone-built with domed or barrel-vaulted roofs. They are usually rectangular or square in ground plan. The walls are a metre or more thick.  One Istanbul bezisten has walls six metres thick. The domes are supported by the walls and thick pillars.  Above each pillar is a smaller dome. The doorways are arched and the doors themselves are iron. The windows are quite small. They were built in such a way as to be as safe as possible from fire.  Within the building, there are shops along the walls and around the pillars, if any, and outside the building too are rows of shops one after another. In some bezistens in Istanbul there were small partitions in the walls, resembling the strongboxes in the banks of today, where the wealthy kept their money, paying for the privilege. As far as I know, there were none in our bezistens.” (20)   

The Brusa bezistan in Sarajevo was built using traditional materials and in the traditional way, similar to the Fatih and Sandal-bezistan in Istanbul. It is a rectangular building measuring 20.15 x 29.40 m, with solid stone walls 130 cm thick to the north, 125 cm to the south, and 115 cm to the east and west, double-faced with quarry and semi-dressed stone. It has six large domes with a diameter of 7 metres (the top of the dome is approx. 12.50 m above ground floor level) and two small domes made of Turkish brick. The domes in the central area are supported on two pillars with a cross-section of 2.30 x 2.75 m. The building presumably originally had a lead roof, but is now clad with sheet copper.  All the windows (two each on the shorter walls and three each on the longer) and doorways (four in all, one at the centre of each wall) have frames of finely worked stone, and the doors and window shutters are of wrought iron.

During works carried out in 1968 the original cobbled floor was replaced by a central area of regular smooth stone slabs with an outer strip of hreša stone between this and the outside walls, thus spoiling the original condition of the building.

The river Mošćanica and its tributary the Buka formerly flowed neaer the bezistan; when in spate, it used to flood Baščaršija(21), which is why the shops surrounding the bezistan were raised.

The Brusa bezistan, endowed by Rustem Pasha Hrvat in 1551, is the only example of a domed bezistan in former Yugoslavia.

3. Legal status to date

By Ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of Sarajevo, no. 513/50 of 10 May 1950, the Brusa bezistan in Sarajevo was designated as a cultural monument, and by Ruling of the City Institute for the Protection and Furbishment of Cultural Monuments in Sarajevo no. 79/67 of 7 April 1967, the Brusa bezistan became subject to a protection regime as part of Čurčiluk Veliki street which, as an organic part of the old Sarajevo čaršija, was accorded the status of a cultural monument.

The 1980 Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina listed the property as a Category I cultural and historical property.

At a session held on 14 June 2000 the Commission adopted a decision to add the Townscape of Sarajevo to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 546. The Brusa bezistan is located within the townscape of Sarajevo.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

Description of works 1967-1968

According to the information contained in the available literature(22), the structure of the Brusa bezistan was in very poor condition in 1967. There were wide cracks in the domes, and oblique cracks in the exterior walls, running from the top of the walls downwards.  Rainwater falling from the roof onto the rammed earth of the bezistan splashed the walls, which were damp as a result, the damp rising to a height of approx. 2 metres, while lactic acid was affecting the lower reaches of the walls. The galvanized iron on the domes and other roof surfaces was in a state of dilapidation, allowing the elements to penetrate the dome, soaking the arches of the structure of the domes and undermining their stability.  Only two of the pillars inside the bezistan were undamaged.

Exterior perimeter drainage around the walls of the bezistan protected the bezistan from water penetration. The existing rammed earth floor was removed and a new floor paved with stone slabs was laid. The horizontal structure of the floor was provided with hydroinsulation. This protected the bezistan from the damaging effects of damp.

The domes were structurally repaired by fitting concealed reinforced concrete ring beams in the drum, and then injecting all the cracks in the domes and walls with cement milk at low pressure.  The damaged galvanized iron roof cladding was replaced by sheet copper.

After making good the structure, work began on refurbishing the interior.

The view was taken that the bezistan should retain its historical use as a place where merchandise was sold, and that a project be drawn up to transform it into a large market of handmade local goods, hand-woven kilims, decorative arts products, and local cottage industry products.

The basis for the treatment of the shops within the bezistan was an Austrian survey conducted to determine the number of shops, and their arrangement and ownership. There were 36 shops in all inside the bezistan, around the walls and the two central pillars. This arrangement was retained unchanged.

As a result, the most suitable solution was a timber frame structure, which both defined the former shops spatially and made it possible to bring the unified space back to life as far as possible.  Communications within the bezistan were accentuated by the wooden eaves of the shops, calling to mind the eaves of the shops in the streets of the čaršija.  “The aim was an associative impression, not a copy or imitation.” (23)

A new spatial component was introduced by building a gallery above the shops. A café occupied part of the gallery and premises for the sale of kilims and handmade goods the rest.

The inside walls of the bezistan were rough-plastered with lime mortar. The quality of internal lighting was improved by installing concealed floodlights in niches made in the lower parts of the windows, giving the impression of natural daylight inside the bezistan.

There were two small recesses at the top of the central pillars, below the small domes that separated the central areas of the roof surface; these could be reached only by ladder, and were used as safes for valuables. Following the disastrous fire of 1697, these protected spaces were used until 1852 to house the archives of Sarajevo’s guilds, sidžil (court records) and drape archives.

During the repair works on the structure, four small square rooms were discovered at the four corners on the ground floor, which were also used as safes.  These were turned into cloakrooms and toilets for the staff of the new sales premises in the bezistan.

The conservation and restoration works and reconstruction works on the Brusa bezistan were carried out in two stages.

During the first stage, in 1968, the conservation and restoration works and the refurbishment of the interior were completed, and during the second, in late 1969, the shops outside the bezistan were reconstructed. Once both stages had been completed, the Brusa bezistan had regained its principal architectural features: the outward appearance of its monumental, horizontal block, with its six domes, surrounded on all four sides by a ring of outside shops. The gradual transition from the ground-floor volumes of the shops to the domes poised on high is one of the main features of the spatial composition of the Sarajevo čaršija.

Before work began on renovating the outside shops of the bezistan, they did not even exist, having been previously demolished. There was not even any trace of the former shops on most of the block of the bezistan, and the entire building gave an entirely different impression from its original 16th century appearance.

It was only at the north-east corner that a few transverse walls of the original shops and part of the roof had survived.

After a detailed survey of these surviving structures and an analysis of earlier drawings made for the purpose of restoration and used to make the model of the Brusa bezistan in the huge model of the entire old Sarajevo čaršija, it was found that these drawings did not correspond to the original exterior structural complex of the bezistan. This pertained to the four entrance doors, the intersection of the main vault by transverse vaults, and the number of outside shops around the building.

After removing later buildings abutting onto the property, it was possible to determine exactly the position and form of the vaults over the entrance portals, but the designers had a good deal of trouble in resolving the problem that arose of how to drain precipitation waters away from above the entrance portals.

Nothing on earlier drawings, photographs or descriptions indicated what the roofs over the portals originally looked like. Finally, after a study of the walls of the body of the bezistan at the points above the vaults of the portals and photographing these parts of the walls, the outlines of a gabled roof and its exact height were discovered on one photograph of part of the wall above the north portal, giving the designer guidelines on how to resolve the problem of roofing over the portals.

It was hard to determine the structure of the roofing over the transverse walls of the shops, which were perceived in the existing blueprints of the ideal restoration as arches linking the transverse walls of the shops. However, an analysis of the ratio between the height of those arches and the main vault resting on the walls of the bezistan revealed that the structural solution proposed in these blueprints for the restoration of the outside shops did not correspond to the actual condition.

A study of the minor remains of the main vault revealed the only possible solution in this case.  The actual structure of the ideal restoration was revealed by intersection, by piercing the main longitudinal vault by transverse barrel vaults meeting the main vault at right angles. It was not a matter of arches, therefore, but of vaults. The error was perceived and rectified both in the blueprints of the ideal restoration and in realization.

The architect conserver gave the following reasons for the reconstruction of the shops: the excavated foundations provided the answer to the position and number of transverse walls of the shops. This also resolved the problem of the outer line of the ring of shops. With the building line defined, the kerbs determined the depth of the wooden parts of the shops. The pitch of the pent roof above the main longitudinal vault was determined by the profile of the vault, and this in turn determined the height of the exterior wooden parts of the shops.

The reconstruction of the outside shops of the bezistan was thus determined as regards the structural solution, materials, dimensions and forms.

It was also necessary to provide a solution for the facades of the wooden shops. It was known that they had had ćepenak shutters. To ensure that the oak facade was in harmony with the monumental masonry block of the bezistan, oak was chosen as the material for the framework and ćepenak shutters of the shops.

The ćepenak shutters were reconstructed for the sake of historical authenticity, but it was also necessary to make glazed partitions facing the street, both because of heating the shops and to suit modern business methods. In the old days, buyers did not enter the shop. The merchant or artisan sat in his shop and served customers as they stood in the street. The modern work methods of traders and artisans led to certain changes and alterations to the facade and interior of the shops.

A boiler-room was made available in a nearby building to provide heating for the entire Brusa bezistan, both the interior premises and the outside shops(24).

Description of works 2000-2001

Adaptation

According to the project statement, the interior of the Brusa bezistan was to be converted into a museum display area for the Museum of the City of Sarajevo. The project aimed to use the space as effectively as possible for the proper presentation and protection of the exhibits on display, while ensuring that the proposed interventions were not detrimental to the interior appearance of the building, and to retain as much as possible of the existing interior wooden structure dating from 1967-1968: the timber framework and the structure of the gallery, floors and existing staircases.  Only the east entrance is in use: the north and south entrances to the bezistan have been closed off, and the west entrance is used only in emergencies, otherwise remaining closed(25).

The wooden partitions on the ground floor of the bezistan were partly dismantled.

The oil paint was stripped off the floors and the differences of level of various parts of the gallery (dating from the 1967-1968 design, with the floor levels differing by approx. 10 cm) to ensure unimpeded movement; the existing floor was carefully dismantled, all the secondary structure was removed, and the floor was then relaid on the basic gallery structure.

Interpolation

The museum premises were resolved functionally and aesthetically as far as the existing structure and layout of the building itself allowed in its existing condition, dating from the reconstruction carried out in the 1970s. For the museum area to operate properly and to provide future visitors with the appropriate impression and information, it was important to provide it with ancillary premises, from a controlled entrance area to premises for the museum’s technical and professional personnel, a sales area for goods and articles directly associated with the museum, catering, the necessary sanitary facilities for visitors and staff of the museum, and storerooms.

The east and west sides of the ground floor of the building were set aside for the museum’s ancillary premises, bearing in mind that the existing entrance to the building was located there; this was retained in the design for the conversion of the interior into a museum. The east side was reserved for the custodian’s premises and a coffee shop and patisserie(26) with the usual offices, and the west side for the technical control premises.

Sanitary facilities were introduced at the corners of the east end of the building, one for museum employees and another for visitors. 

The longer sides of the building are reserved the showcases, which extend along almost the entire length of the inside of the building, with gaps where access to the first-floor gallery of the museum is required.

The central area of the ground floor of the Bezistan is intended for education, with the possibility of holding lectures there.

The total interior ground floor space is approx. 476 m2.

The gallery area is intended solely as a display area, and is reached via the existing wooden staircases in the south-west and north-east corners of the building. The wall surfaces on the gallery are reserved for showcases of various heights to contain the exhibits, and the corners, which have been closed off at an angle of 45 degrees, following the walkway taken by visitors to the museum, are used for showcases where articles of clothing are displayed and for an Austro-Hungarian room. To the left of the staircase, representative panels have been mounted to exhibit photographs and drawings of major architectural properties, with panels for the explanatory notes facing the staircase.

Given the relatively small usable area, modern equipment is used to provide multimedia presentations: a point close to the entrance door with a computer monitor on a stand, which works as a touch-screen, and two displays on the gallery, one above the east and the other above the west entrance portal. The displays are connected to the central command counter, which also provides video surveillance of the entire building by means of ten cameras.

The materials used in realizing the project for the museum display were medium-density fibreboard and plasterboard, white pine, beech laminate, classic beech flooring, glass, plexiglass, and stainless steel.  MDF and plasterboard were used to part panel the wall surfaces and ceilings and for parts of the showcases. The fixtures and fittings of the ancillary premises and the benches on the gallery are of white pine. Beech boards and beech laminate were used for the floors in the ancillary premises and the gallery. Various types of glass, ordinary, ground and opaque, depending on the functional requirements, were used for the front, top and back of the showcases, and for some of the wall surfaces.

The same applied to the use of plexiglass. Stainless steel was used to clad the frames and some of the wall surfaces, showcases and panels that were made of MDF.

Method of displaying the exhibits. The shelves in the showcases have been treated in two ways.  In the first, 6 mm thick ground glass extend along almost the entire length and width of the showcase at one or two levels, depending on the size of the exhibits on display. In the other, the shelves can be mounted on brackets on the back of the showcase, with horizontal slots setabout 20-25 cm apart heightwise. The backs of the showcases are treated in various ways, depending on the exhibits themselves: slotted, of solid MDF, of mirror glass or of opaque glass with the entire surface backlit with the source of light behind the opaque glass.

Conservation

All the damaged roof cladding of sheet copper was made good, the existing wooden partitions in the interior of the bezistan were cleaned, and the walls and floors were cleaned – painter-decorator’s work. Snow barriers and lightning conductors were installed, and the interior damage to the wall and dome surfaces caused by damp was made good.

All the woodwork now in the interior of the Brusa bezistan also dates from the latest reconstruction (1967-68), and is mainly oak – for the structural components of the gallery, balustrade and part of the staircases – and juniper, used for the floor of the sales area, the šiše ceilings and the floor of the gallery.

Various damaged areas of the gallery structure were secured using nuts and bolts.  The floor structure of the gallery was reinforced with 10/20 and 8/18 cm beams and joists attached to the existing structure.

5. Current condition of the property

During an on site inspection of the state of the property on 29 June 2006 it was found that the Brusa bezistan and shops are in good condition, well maintained and in use.

The original idea of the designers to close off the areas in front of the south and north entrances (which for practical reasons, to control entry to the museum, are no longer in use as entrances) “transparently“, and to “straighten“ the building line at these points and exhibit models in them, which could be viewed from Čurčiluk Veliki and Kundurdžiluk streets respectively, was not adopted.

The area of these “niches“ now serves no purpose, and some passersby at night use them as urinals, which is unacceptable, creating a poor image of the city and the property both for the owners of the shops surrounding the Brusa bezistan and for visitors and staff in the museum.

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.vi.      value of construction

D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.i.       material evidence of a lesser known historical era

D.ii.      evidence of historical change

D. iv.     evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

D. v.     evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

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

G. Authenticity

G.i. form and design

G.iv.     traditions and techniques

G.v.      location and setting

H. Rarity and representativity

H.i.       unique or rare example of a certain type or style

I. Completeness

I.i.        physical coherence

I.ii.        homogeneity

I.iii.       completeness

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

• Copy of cadastral plan, scale 1:500, c.m.Sarajevo 1, plan no. 4, 7 The Brusa bezistan is on a site designated as c.p. nos. 754, 755, 756, 757, 758,  title deed no. 438, c.m. Sarajevo I (new survey), Municipality Stari Grad, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Copy of cadastral plan issued on 8 February 2005 by the Department of Property and Geodetic Affairs and Cadastre, Municipality Stari Grad, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Copy of land register entry (issued by Land Register office of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, February 2005):
• Land Register entry order no. 5328/05, entry no. XII/16, for plot no. 20, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5329/05, entry no. XII/17, for plot no. 21, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5330/05, entry no. XII/18, for plot no. 22, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5331/05, entry no. XII/19, for plot no. 23, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5332/05, entry no. XII/50, for plot no. 24, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5333/05, entry no. XII/47, for plot no. 25, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5334/05, entry no. XII/20, for plot no. 26, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5371/05, entry no. XIII/10, for plot no. 11, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5372/05, entry no. XIII/11, for plot no. 12, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5373/05, entry no. XIII/12, for plot no. 13, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5374/05, entry no. XIII/13, for plot no. 14, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5375/05, entry no. XIII/14, for plot no. 15, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5376/05, entry no. XIII/15, for plot no. 16, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5377/05, entry no. XIII/16, for plot no. 17, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5378/05, entry no. XIII/17, for plot no. 18, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5379/05, entry no. XIII/18, for plot no. 19, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5380/05, entry no. XIII/19, for plot no. 20, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5381/05, entry no. XIII/20, for plot no. 21, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5382/05, entry no. XIII/21, for plot no. 22, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5383/05, entry no. XIII/22, for plot no. 23, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5384/05, entry no. XIX/4, for plot no. 19, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5385/05, entry no. XIX/5, for plot no. 20, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5386/05, entry no. XIX/6, for plot no. 21, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5387/05, entry no. XIX/7, for plot no. 22, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5388/05, entry no. XIX/8, for plot no. 23, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5389/05, entry no. XIX/9, for plot no. 24, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5390/05, entry no. XIX/10, for plot no. 25, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5391/05, entry no. XIX/11, for plot no. 26, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5392/05, entry no. XIX/12, for plot no. 27, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5393/05, entry no. XIX/13, for plot no. 28, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5342/05, entry no. XVII/1, for plot no. 1, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5343/05, entry no. XVII/2, for plot no. 2, 27 and 33, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5344/05, entry no. XVII/3, for plot no. 3, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5345/05, entry no. XVII/4, for plot no. 4, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5346/05, entry no. XVII/5, for plot no. 5, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5347/05, entry no. XVII/6, for plot no. 6 and 12, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5348/05, entry no. XVII/7, for plot no. 7, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5349/05, entry no. XVII/8, for plot no. 8, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5350/05, entry no. XVII/9, for plot no. 9 and 38, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5351/05, entry no. XVII/10, for plot no. 10, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5352/05, entry no. XVII/11, for plot no. 11, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5353/05, entry no. XVII/12, for plot no. 13, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5354/05, entry no. XVII/13, for plot no. 14, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5355/05, entry no. XVII/14, for plot no. 15, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5356/05, entry no. XVII/15, for plot no. 16, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5357/05, entry no. XVII/16, for plot no. 17, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5358/05, entry no. XVII/17, for plot no. 18 and 32, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5359/05, entry no. XVII/18, for plot no. 19, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5360/05, entry no. XVII/19, for plot no. 21 and 31, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5361/05, entry no. XVII/20, for plot no. 21, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5362/05, entry no. XVII/21, for plot no. 22 and 23, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5363/05, entry no. XVII/22, for plot no. 24, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5364/05, entry no. XVII/23, for plot no. 25, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5365/05, entry no. XVII/24, for plot no. 26, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5366/05, entry no. XVII/25, for plot no. 28 and 29, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5367/05, entry no. XVII/26, for plot no. 30, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5368/05, entry no. XVII/27, for plot no. 34, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5369/05, entry no. XVII/28, for plot no. 35 and 36, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5370/05, entry no. XVII/29, for plot no. 37, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5335/05, entry no. XV/14, for plot no. 2, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5336/05, entry no. XV/15, for plot no. 3, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5337/05, entry no. XV/16, for plot no. 4, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5338/05, entry no. XV/17, for plot no. 5, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5339/05, entry no. XV/18, for plot no. 6, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5340/05, entry no. XV/19, for plot no. 7, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo
• Land Register entry order no. 5341/05, entry no. XV/20, for plot no. 8, Cadastral Municipality Sarajevo

• Photodocumentation:
• current condition as of 29 June 2006, photographed by architect Emir Softić using Canon PowerShot G3 digital camera
• Drawings:
• main project for the museum exhibits in the Brusa bezistan, commissioned by the Government of Sarajevo Canton, Ministry of Culture and Sport; designed by Museum of Sarajevo: chief designer Kemal Hrustanović, grad.eng.arch; designers: Pavle Mašić, grad.eng.arch, Emir Softić, grad.eng.arch; Sarajevo, April 2001
• architectural documentation of the current condition
• ground plan, ground floor
• floor plan, gallery

• architectural documentation: new design

§         ground plan, ground floor indicating floor surfaces being dismantled

§         ground plan at elevation + 0.10

§         ground plan at elevation + 1.00

§         floor plan, gallery indicating surfaces being dismantled

§         ground plan at elevation + 4.30

§         cross-section 1-1

§         cross-section 2-2

§         cross-section 3-3

§         cross-section 4-4

§         cross-section 5-5

§         cross-section 6-6

§         details of café – ground plan of café

§         cross-section 1-1

§         cross-section 2-2

§         detail of wc

§         ground plan of wc

§         cross section

§         details of showcases

§         details of café fixtures and fittings

§         details of facings

§         details of base of pillars

§         details of staircase

§         details of information panels

§         details of plan of ceiling and floor of corner showcases in gallery

§         water supply and drainage system

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Brusa bezistan (Rustem Pasha bezistan, Small bezistan with shops in Sarajevo as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1935.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija,  Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini (1464-1878) (Guilds and trades in BiH [1464-1878]), Zagreb, 1935

1937.    Skarić, Vladislav, Sarajevo i njegova okolina od najstarijih vremena do austrougarske okupacije. (Sarajevo and environs from ancient times to the Austro-Hungarian occupation) Selected Works, bk. I. Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1985.

1954.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani (Our bezistans) Naše starine II, (Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina),  Sarajevo, 1954

1956.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Saraji ili dvori bosanskih namjesnika 1463-1878.(Serais or courts of the Bosnian governors 1463-1878) Naše starine III, Sarajevo, 1956

1958.    Hamdija Kreševljaković, Esnafi i obrti u starom Sarajevu (Guilds and trades in old Sarajevo) Sarajevo, 1958.

1968.    Mula Mustafa Ševki Bašeskija: Ljetopis 1746-1804 (Chronicles 1746-1804), Sarajevo, 1968 

1969.    Naše starine, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, XII, Sarajevo, 1969

1978.    Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države. (Urban Settlements of the Mediaeval Bosnian State) Sarajevo, 1978.

1983.    Redžić, Husref: Konzervatorsko-restauratorski radovi na Brusa-bezistanu u Sarajevu, Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini (Conservation and restoration works on the Brusa bezistan in Sarajevo, Studies on the Islamic Architectural Heritage), Cultural Heritage Series, Veselin Masleša, 1983, (Novi Sad: Press); 275-286 , Sarajevo

1996.    Çelebi, Evliya, Putopis – odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama (Travelogue – Excerpts on Yugoslav countries),  Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1996.

1997.    Karabegović,  Ibrahim: Sarajevo u očima stranih putopisaca od polovine šesnaestog do kraja sedamnaestog stoljeća  (Sarajevo in the eyes of foreign travel chroniclers from the mid 16th to the late 17th century), academic symposium «Half a Millenniium of Sarajevo», (Sarajevo, 1993)

Contributions to the history of Sarajevo: Papers for academic symposium «Half a Millenniium of Sarajevo», held on 19 to 21 March 1993 in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1997,19-34. [ed. Dževad Juzba šić]. - Sarajevo: Institute for History [etc.], 1997, 231-238

(1) H. Šabanović, Krajište Isa-bega Ishakovića, Zbirni katastarski popis iz 1455. godine [The land-holdings of Isa-bey Ishaković, 1455 cadastral census], Sarajevo, 1964

(2) Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka: Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države [Urban settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state], Sarajevo, 1978, pp. 24, 77, 78, 79, 85

(3) The name which appears in the original vakufnama of Isa-bey Ishaković was Saray ovasi: the name Sarajevo was derived from the Turkish saray – court, and ova – field. A large number of old Turkish geographic names were derived in this way: Ak-ova, Edže-ovasi, Artik-ova, Pasan-ova, etc. This is the earliest reference to the current name of Sarajevo. Earlier, and in the 16th century, local and western sources refer to it as Vrhbosna, Vrhbosanje, etc, and only later as Sarajo, Saraglio, Saraj-Bosna, and so on (Šabanović, Hazim: Vakufnama Isa-bega, sina pokojnog ishak-bega, Waqfname iz Bosne i Hercegovine, XV i XVI vijek, [The vakufnama of Isa-bey, son of the late Ishak-bey. Vakufnamas in the 15th and 16th century Bosnia and Herzegovina], 1985, pp. 9-27.Sarajevo, 1985, pp. 9-27)

(4) A. Benac and Lj. Mladenović: Sarajevo od najstarijih vremena do danas, bk. I [Sarajevo from ancient times to the present], Sarajevo, 1954, p. 46

(5) The earliest reference in which the name Sarajevo appears in writing is a letter of the Bosnian sanjak Firuz-bey dated 7 March 1507 (Truhelka Ćiro: Tursko-slovjenski spomenici dubrovačke arhive [Turkish-Slavonic monuments in the Dubrovnik Archive], Sarajevo, 1911, p.136

(6) quoted from: Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Sarajevo, 1954, 233

(7) The toponym is also known by the name of Pazarbule. The trgovke (from trg, market) survived until 1949. (Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani [Our bezistans], Naše starine II, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Sarajevo, 1954, 234)

(8) “That day there was a terrible fire in the čaršija. More than 2,000 buildings of various kinds in the čaršija were burnt down, including this bezistan.” (Quoted from Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Annual of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1954, p. 235)

(9)  Eugene of Savoy (16 October 1663 – 24 April 1736) was a French aristocrat. After falling out of favour and being held up to ridicule by King Louis XIV, he served Austria.  After the Poles chose Friedrich Augustus as their king, Leopold I appointed him as commander in chief of the Austrian army in 1697. He defeated the Turkish army at Senta on 11 September 1697, when the commander of the Turkish army, Grand Vizier Mehmed Elmas Pasha, was killed.  In 1698, as a reward for this victory, he received from Leopold I the southern part of Baranja, with its capital in present-day Bilje, where he built a castle in 1707.  That same year he launched a campaign against Bosnia, setting off from Osijek on 6 October 1697 with 6,000 troops and crossing the Sava at Brod. He took Doboj and Maglaj on 16 and 17 October 1697 without resistance, and moved rapidly on to Sarajevo, occupying the city and looting and torching it.  With winter approaching, he withdrew on 25 October 1697, as did many Catholics.

In 1716 he occupied Timişoara, and then defended the Petrovaradin fortress with an army of 70,000 men from attacks by the Turkish army commanded by Damad Ali Pasha.  In 1717 he conquered Belgrade.

(10) “It was built in the second half of the 15th or early 16th century and remained in use until 1842, when it was destroyed by fire, as recorded by Salih ef. Muvelat in 1873, who remembered the event. About 60 shops were built on the site of this bezistan. We do not know what this bezistan was like, for no description of it has survived anywhere.” (Quoted from Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini, 1464-1878 [Guilds and Trades in BiH  1464-1878]. Zagreb, 1935, p. 71)

(11) Redžić, Husref: Konzervatorsko-restauratorski radovi na Brusa-bezistanu u Sarajevu, Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini [Conservation and Restoration Works on the Brusa Bezistan in Sarajevo, Studies on the Islamic Architectural Heritage[, Veselin Masleša, Cultural Heritage Series, 1983 (Novi Sad: Press), Sarajevo, p. 277

(12) Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha Opuković was a contemporary of Gazi Husrev-beg. He was born in the Sarajevo region, and taken as a small child to Istanbul, where he made rapid progress. He married the daughter of Sultan Suleyman II, Mihrima, and became the favourite of his mother-in-law Hurem Sultana – Roxelana.  By 1544 he was already Grand Vizier, and is certainly one of the great figures from Bosnia to hold that post in the 16th century, at the height of the Turkish Empire’s glory.  He was again appointed Grand Vizier in 1555, holding the post until his death in 1561. He left immense wealth. He built a mosque in the old heart of Istanbul, the Mihrimah (built by the greatest Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, in 1561, and famous for its outstanding faience decoration of the interior), a medresa, a caravanserai, a hammam and a library. Mimar Sinan alone, the most famous Ottoman architect, built 19 edifices for him. In his native Sarajevo he built the Brusa bezistan, the bridge over the Željeznica in Ilidža and a han beside the bridge. The rental income from the han and bezistan was used to maintain the bridge. Rustem Pasha’s brother Mehmed beg, known as Karađoz beg, built several edifices in Mostar, of which his mosque is the best known.  Another brother of Rustem Pasha’s built a mosque in Sarajevo, where his sister also lived.

(13) Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Veliki vezir Rustem paša (Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha), Naroda Uzdanica, calendar for 1939, Sarajevo, 1938, 77-94

(14)  details from:

-          V. Skarić, Selected Works, I, p. 111 (The original French text with translation was published in the Jnl. of the National Museum in 1908 by Vjekoslav Jelavić under the heading Doživljaji Francuza Pulea na putu kroz Dubrovnik i Bosnu godine 1658 [Experiences of the Frenchman Poullet on his journey through Dubrovnik and Bosnia in 1658]).

-          Midhat Šamić Francuski putnici u Bosni na pragu XIX stoljeća i njihovi utisci o njoj (French travellers in Bosnia on the eve of the 19th century and their impressions of the country), Sarajevo, 1966, [. 39 (Title of Quiclet’s travelogue: Les Voyages de M. Quiclet à Constantinople par terre, enrichi d'annotations par le sieur PML, Paris 1664.)

(15) Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Sarajevo, 1954, 240

(16) from: Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Sarajevo, 1954, 240

(17) “Since all the vakuf properties were leased out annual by public auction, when their leases expired every lessee was at risk of having a higher rent imposed on him or being forced out of the shop he had been occupying.  In 1613, to put a stop to this, Istanbul lawyers found a special modus for leasing vakuf premises for a double rental, known in the profession as IDŽARETEIN [Ar. ijara + dual suffix].The basic principle of idžaretein was that the vakuf remained owner of the land and the shop, and furthermore right of inheritance by direct descent. …” (from: Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Sarajevo, 1954, 243)

(18) from Naše starine, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, XII, Sarajevo, 1969, p. 208

(19) Although the name bezistan has become the established usage, it would be more correct to use the word arasta for this building. There were certain differences among commercial buildings in the oriental čaršija: bezistans were stone-built, with a rectangular ground-plan and domed roofs, whereas arastas were elongated buildings with shops along both sides of the roadway, and a barrel-domed roof. Arastas were usually associated with a nearby han or caravanserai, as was the case with the Gazi Husrev-beg arasta, linked to the west with the Tašlihan.

(20) quoted from: Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Naši bezistani, Naše starine II, Sarajevo, 1954, 233

(21) two such floods were recorded by the chronicler Mula Mustafa Bašeskija: 1767 and 1776.

(22) Redžić, Husref: Konzervatorsko-restauratorski radovi na Brusa-bezistanu u Sarajevu, Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini (Conservation and restoration works on the Brusa bezistan in Sarajevo, Studies on the Islamic architectural heritage), Cultural Heritage series, Veselin Masleša, 1983, (Novi Sad : Press); pp. 275-286, Sarajevo

(23) Redžić, Husref: Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini, 279

(24) boiler room of the former Decorative Arts building in Bazardžani street (op. E. Softić)

(25) There were four entrances for the original use (trade), which was clearly not a problem at that time. The new use of the space as a museum required to ensure that visitors could be properly monitored (op. E. Softić).  

(26) The coffee shop and patisserie has not been completed, so this area too is used as for display purposes.