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Decisions on Designation of Properties as National Monuments

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Čaršija (Gazi Ferhat-bey’s) mosque, the architectural ensemble

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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 16 to 22 January 2007 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The architectural ensemble of the Čaršija (Gazi Ferhad-beg) mosque in Tešanj is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the mosque, Ferhad-beg’s turbe (mausoleum), a well and the harem.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 966, cadastral municipality Tešanj, Municipality Tešanj, 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, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated, which shall apply to the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 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 (hereinafter: 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 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 nos. 617 and 619.

 

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: 07-2-2-248/04-4

17 January 2007                                                                     

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.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments adopted a decision to add the Čaršija (Gazi Ferhad-beg) mosque in Tešanj and the Gazi Ferhad-beg turbe to the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH, under serial nos. 617 and 619. 

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.
  • Inspection of the current condition of the property
  • Copy of 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 Čaršija (Gazi Ferhad-beg) mosque is in the centre of old Tešanj – the Tešanj čaršija. The plot on which it stands is bounded by Trg oslobođenja to the east and Šehagić passage to the west.

It is located on c.p. no. 966, Municipality Tešanj, Tešanj, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical information (1)

There are four domed mosques named Ferhadija after their founders in Bosnia and Herzegovina: in Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Tešanj and Žepče.

While Ferhad-beg Sokolović(2), founder of the Banja Luka mosque, is now well known, very little is known of the founders (or founder) of the other three mosques. It is only quite recently that some information concerning the builder of the Sarajevo Ferhadija has come to light. Mujezinović supposes that it was founded by the Bosnian governor Ferhad-beg Vuković-Desisalić(3).

Evidence for dating the Tešanj mosque, down to the rough date when it was built, can be found in the epitaph on the sarcophagus of its founder, Ferhad, son of Skender, which bears the date of his death – 29 January 1568 (975 AH)(4).

According to some sources(5), the Čaršija mosque was built in 1564, and its founder, Ferhad-beg, was čifluk-sahibija (lord of a feudal landholding) of the town of Tešanj from 1526 on. After the battle of Mohács, on 29 August 1526, he lived in the town for a long time, and was appointed as supervisor of the Gazi Husrev-beg waqf (perpetual endowment) established on the left bank of the river Usora. While there he founded his own waqf on the right bank, endowing a mosque, medresa (Islamic school), caravanserai and 32 shops, two gardens and a house, as recorded in the transcript of his vakufnama (deed of endowment), transcribed by the qadi of Tešanj, one Abdulkerim(6). (Details from file on on the property in the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport).

The mosque has been damaged on several occasions during its long history, and is known to have been set on fire during Eugene of Savoy's campaign in 1697. 

Based on the inscription above the entrance door, Mujezinović gives the year 1300 AH (1882-83) as the year when it was rebuilt.

The report compiled in 2001 by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Cultural and Sport on the investigative works carried out that year notes that one of the figures on the inscription was misread, and that the actual year when the mosque was rebuilt was 1200 AH (1785/86) (Details from Report).

The mosque is believed to have originally had a masonry dome. Đoko Mazalić is of the same opinion. He notes that the dome of the Tešanj mosque was stripped of its lead cladding during World War I and that the dome then began to deteriorate, after which a wooden hipped roof was built(7).

According to the Institute, there were four copper candlesticks in front of the mihrab, one of which bore a note to the effect that the candlesticks were a legacy in 1891 from one Hava, daughter of Firusbeg and wife of Captain Hamza-beg of Doboj.

The mosque was badly damaged during the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

2.  Description of the property

The architectural ensemble consists of the mosque and harem with Ferhad-beg's turbe.

Mosque

The Čaršija (Gazi Ferhad-beg) mosque belongs to the type of mosque with an interior wooden dome, open exterior portico and abutting stone minaret. The mosque is rectangular in ground plan, measuring 10.50 x 14.52 m.

The north-west front has a portico with sofas measuring 10.48 x 4.30 m. The structure of the portico is supported by the north-west wall of the mosque and eight wooden columns, circular in section, standing on square bases. The columns are of various diameters, with an average of 14 cm. The columns are topped by elaborately decorated headtrees. Until 2001, the columns were concealed by a facing of boards. The columns in the portico form three bays, those to the side 3.85 to 4.00 m in width, while the central bay, through which the mosque is entered, is 2.73 m wide. The portico is 4.75 m in height to the cornice. All the wooden elements – the columns and horizontal beams – date from the most recent major renovation of the mosque. The sofas are made of quarry stone with lime mortar, and are raised about 60 cm above the level of the courtyard.

In 2001, arabesque designs were discovered on the walls of the sofas, along with a cypress design on the oldest coat of plaster. The arabesques featured stylized floral motifs in hatayi and rum styles(8). They are well preserved bearing in mind their date of origin and later interventions, since it is highly likely that some smaller surface areas were either touched up or altered in appearance because of fire. The painted layers are symmetrically composed in space and adapted to the architectural treatment of the entrance facade.

At the centre of the portico is an elaborately decorated portal which belongs in general design and typological features to the first group of portals (as classified by A. Andrejević). It stands proud of the wall face of the mosque by approx. 0.20 m, and in width occupied the entire space between the sofas. It is divided from the wall face by a simple cornice and a 40 cm wide frame. The entrance to the mosque is accentuated by decorated stone doorjambs topped by a pointed arch. Both jambs and arched lintel are elaborately decorated with floral designs, with the top of the lintel and the centre of the pointed arch bearing rosettes similar to those on Ferhad-beg's sarcophagus in the mosque harem. The wooden double doors are also richly decorated.

There is an inscription over the main entrance to the mosque, written in black ink on a whitewashed ground, reading:

„Allah is one, and Muhammed is His prophet. Year of renovation 1300.“ (1882/83)(9).

The inside corners of the niche are adorned with painted stalactite decoration.

The central prayer area of the mosque is rectangular in plan, measuring 9.05 x 13.10 metres and occupying an area of 118,60 m2. This area is roofed over by a wooden dome with a diametre of more than 8.75 m, and three smaller domes, also wooden, above the mahfil.

The central dome is supported by the tiebeams of the north-east, south-east and south-west walls. At the east and south corners of the building, it is supported on diagonal 16 x 16 cm beams.

At about 1/3 of the span of the mosque is a transverse wooden ceiling joist, by means of which the builder achieved the square base required to construct the dome. This transverse joist rests on the side walls of the building and on the pillars of the mahfil. Inside the building, this gives rise to corner trompes, accentuated in the zones below the central sections by wooden stalactites. For structural reasons, the central dome is also suspended from the roof frame by iron straps. The hooks that formerly held a light fitting can be seen on the underside of the central dome. These hooks are set in three radiating rows(10).

The side domes [over the mahfil] are 2.40 m in diameter, and the central dome is 3.40 m in diameter. The structure on which these domes are supported is similar to that of the main dome.

The domes are composed of arched, hand-finished hewn timber measuring approx.5/9 cm, around which is wood-strip wattle as infill, overlaid with clay plaster. Earthenware acoustic cups were mounted on the upper part of the domes.

The mahfil, which measures 9.05 x 4.15 m, is set along the north-west wall of the mosque.  The place for the muezzin is midway along the mahvil; it is 1.80 m wide and is cantilevered outwards by 60 cm. The load-bearing structure of the mahvil is supported on the south-east side by a horizontal wooden beam and four wooden pillars and on the tiebeas in the north-west wall and two pilaster. The pillars terminate in wooden headtrees finished in the same manner as those of the exterior columns, suggesting that they are of the same period. The mahfil is reached via a spiral wooden staircase, 85 cm in width, in the west corner of the mosque.

The mihrab of the mosque is exactly in the middle of the front wall and level with the floor of the mosque. It projects outwards from the wall face by approx. 35 cm. The mihrab is 2.60 m wide, and approx. 3.50 m in height.  In the centre of the mihrab is a semicircular niche, terminating in five rows of stalactite decorating that narrow gradually to enclose the recess of the niche. The mihrab is edged by a stone frame with simple moulding. Five coats of plaster have been discovered in the mihrab, as well as several thin whitewash base coats. The mihrab was made of stone blocks of very poor workmanship, and the stalactite decorations are carved in stone. There are traces of fire on the stalactites. The mihrab has been overpainted in yellow, brownish-violet and blue oil paint.

There is a wooden ćurs in the east corner of the mosque, and a mimber, also wooden, in the south corner. The walls are plastered with lime plaster on the inside(11).

There are two rows of window openings in the mosque. The south-east and north-west facades each have two pairs, and the other two facades each have three pairs of window openings.  The window openings on the bottom row are rectangular in shape, measuring 77 x 110 cm, and those of the top row are round-arched. In the interior, test drillings conducted in 2001 revealed that the present size of the window openings is considerably smaller than the originals, which were 100 x 130 cm on the bottom row and 79 x 139 on the top row. The outlines of an opening leading to the mahfil, which was walled up at some later date, can be seen on the north-east side of the building(12).

The mosque was built of cut stone blocks of unequal size and average workmanship. Only the north-west entrance facade is rendered. The walls of the mosque are approx. 80 cm thick.

In one of the many interventions on the building, the joints between the stone blocks were accentuated and painted, giving the wall structure a heavy, ungainly appearance. There is arched roof boarding under the eaves on all four sides of the building, except where the minaret stands.

The entire mosque has a hipped roof. Until 2001, ordinary grooved tiles were used to clad the roof. During the works carried out in 2003 the roof of the mosque was clad with plain tiles.

Minaret:

The minaret is 27 m in height (17 metres to the šerefe – balcony). The base of the minaret is polygonal, with a width of 2.30 m. The šerefe is divided into five horizontal bands, the middle two of which are richly decorated with stalactites; the composition is finished with a rope-twist below the stone balustrade. Its height is 90 cm. The minaret is topped by a conical spire with an alem (finial). The entrance to the minaret is inside the mosque.

Harem of the mosque

The Ferhadija mosque is surrounded on three sides by a small burial ground with about twenty nišan tombstones. The oldest dated tomb is the

Turbe of Ferhad, son of Skender:

Ferhad’s turbe (mausoleum) stands on the east side of the complex. The monument, with its sarcophagus, stands on a raised plateau measuring 4.50 x 3.50 m. The plateau is paved with stone slabs, and is about 50-70 cm higher on the west, to compensate for the sloping site. The sarcophagus is made of precisely cut stone slabs, and measures 1.90 x 0.80 m, with a height of 1.20 m. All four sides are elaborately decorated with a design of circles with carved rosettes inscribed within them, Solomon’s seal and a row of intersection circles. These designs are arranged so that the narrower ends of the sarcophagus each have one and the longer side each have two ornaments.

The headstone nišan is of marble, with a folded turban and a overlap over the turban. The nišan is square in section, measuring 13 x 13 cm, and is 1.50 m in height.

The nišan bears a carved epitaph in Arabic, arranged in twelve rectangular 11 x 13 cm panels on all four sizes.

The epitaph reads:

„Deceased and laid to rest ...[damaged] in need of God’s mercy...[damaged] Ferhad, son of Skender, died 29 of the holy month of Rajab in the year 975“

(1.1.-30.1.1568).

The text was visibly damaged, making it very difficult to decipher what was written in three of the panels on the nišan(13).

Nišan of Ibrahim-aga

This small nišan tombstone with a simple folded turban is carved on two sides with an epitaph in rhyming prose in Turkish. The grave probably belongs to the dizdar (commander) of the Tešanj fortress (Mujezinović, p. 254).

The epitaph reads:

„Passed away in 1180 (1766), May

Allah receive him in His mercy,

Oh God have mercy on Ibrahim-aga.

(Visitors) remember the deceased with

Fatiha

And recitation of the Qur’an day and night.

For God’s pleasure,

Do good to the deceased..“

Other epitaphs on the nišan tombstones beside the mosque reveal that the following are also buried here:

-          Mustafa, son of Mehmed-aga 1200 (1785/86)

-          Mehmed Nago, son of Osman, 1200 (1785/86)

-          Ebu Bekir ef., son of Mešić Hajji Ibrahim, 1211 (1796)

-          Abdulah, son of Mustafa, 1245 (1829.)

-          Ferhad Salih, son of Abdulah, 1270 (1853.).

 

3. Legal status to date

The 1980 Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina listed the nišans of Ferhad son of Skender in Tešanj as a Category I monument.

The Čaršija (Gazi Ferhad-beg) mosque in Tešanj and the Gazi Ferhad-beg turbe in Tešanj are on the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH under serial nos. 617 and 619. 

 

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

There is no information concerning the works on the building in 1785/86 or 1882/83, as the case may be.

In 1958, works were carried out on Ferhad-beg’s turbe, as follows:

  • the iron hoops and springs on the nišan were removed;
  • a 20 mm diameter hole was drilled through the centre of the nišan into which iron spikes were inserted and set in molten lead;
  • the nišan was shortened;
  • the cracked parts of the nišan were rejoined using cement mortrar, and the surface of the nišan was coated on the outside with a compound of binder and stone dust over the conserved areas;

In 2000 Prof. Dr. Hamid Dolarović produced a report on the condition of the property in which he made the following observations:

  • the walls of the property are 0.80 m thick;
  • there is minor damage to the walls in the form of vertical cracks;
  • there is a major vertical crack about 3 cm wide on the side of the minaret.  Test drillings were carried out here to the base of the foundations and it was found that the crack does not extend through the foundations;
  • the cracks date back many years and are the result of uneven subsidence of the land.
  • the report recommends that there is no need to conduct any repair works on the walls and foundations apart from filling the cracks with mortar.

In 2000, conservation and restoration works were carried out on Ferhad-beg’s turbe, as follows:

  • fragments were marked;
  • the fragment were dismantled;
  • the base was made good by ramming with clay;
  • the stone plateau was repaired, with deteriorated and badly damaged stone slabs replaced;
  • the slabs of the sarcophagus were cleaned;
  • the slabs were reinstalled;
  • the nišan was reconstructed.

Research works carried out by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in 2001 provided the answers to some questions associated with this property.

Most of the examinations were based on an observation of the structural system of the property – the foundations, walls and roof – and on test sections taken in typical places through to the stone blocks.

This made it possible to establish that there are several coats of lime plaster, suggesting the mosque has been renovated on several occasions. Four coats in all were discovered on the inside walls.

The oldest plaster was laid directly on the stone blocks. It was found on the wall surfaces up to the trompes, on the façade walls in the sofas, and on the mihrab and portal of the mosque.

The plaster was composed of lime, aggregate and fine chaff.  It is very light and porous, and is thus hygroscopic. The plaster had been burned to a depth of a few millimetres over the entire interior surface, indicating that it predates the time when the mosque was set on fire – probably the 1697 fire, since nothing is known of any later fires.

The second coat of plaster was laid over the oldest coat; the plaster used for this second coat was composed of lime, aggregate and thin hemp stems, often added in the 17th and 18th centuries to improve the quality of the plaster.

Test drillings on the interior surfaces found no decoration on the oldest coat of plaster.

Decorations are to be seen on the later coats of plaster, in the form of borders running around the window openings of the bottom row of windows. These decorations were done by stencil.

The mihrab had undergone the most interventions. Here a total of five coats of plaster werediscovered. The mouldings on the mihrab frame were executed in a fairly thick coat of lime plaster.

Arabesque designs were discovered on the oldest layer of the walls of the sofa, along with a cypress motif.

Minor test drillings were conducted on the portal on the central arch left of the tarih (chronogram).  Here too arabesque designs were found.

Nothing was found in the upper reaches of the walls suggesting that there had once been a masonry dome (remains of trompes or other structural elements).

Test drillings of the walls around the window openings established that the present width and height of the daylight opening do not correspond to the original.  For some unknown reason, the opening has been reduced in size.

The interior and exterior appearance of the mosque has been altered on a number of occasions – size of the mahvil, size and shape of the openings, etc.

On the basis of the research works, repair measures were proposed, as follows:

  • install a drainage system around the property drain underground and precipitation waters away from the property;
  • remove all woodwork (wooden panelling) in the sofas to reveal the original structure of the columns, headtrees and beams;
  • uncover and present the opening on the north-east side;
  • remove mortar from the joints, clean the joints and re-point;
  • remove inappropriate concrete additions – window frames…;
  • remove damaged roof boarding from the eaves of the mosque and replace;
  • install underfloor heating;
  • fit wooden sills to the windows;
  • replace roof structure and lay plain tiles;
  • coat the dome with clay plaster;
  • fit guttering;
  • make a pavement around the property;
  • make and fit a finial;
  • install lightning conductors;
  • make a new door for the minaret;
  • reconstruct the light fitting;
  • remove all later coats of plaster down to the oldest coat, under the supervision of a conservator, leaving a cross-section on typical surfaces;
  • remove all later coats on the mihrab in order to reveal authentic parts, would would result in the faithful restoration of the original mihrab;
  • conservation and restoration works on the lime plaster and arabesques.

In 2002 the following works were carried out on the property:

  • exterior refurbishment of the mosque;
  • replacement of woodwork;
  • reconstruction of the roof;
  • works on the sofas – replacement of wooden columns;
  • drainage works.

5. Current condition of the property

During an on-site inspection it was found that the property is in good structural condition and that it has been exposed to no specific risks. It was observed that failure to take preventive measures and the length of time taken in the procedure to raise funds for repair works had resulted in certain interventions to the property that are contrary to the measures prescribed in the repair works programme. This relates primarily to the works on the sofas, where all the wooden pillars have been replaced, although there was no need for this since the pillars that were previously in place were for the most part in good condition.

To prevent any further such occurrences, and since funds for the restoration works have been approved and made available, work should begin on the interior of the property as soon as possible and a maintenance plan for the property be drawn up later.

 

6. Specific risks

None

 

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 (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.ii.      evidence of historical change

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

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;

  • Photographs from the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of BiH, taken by Mirzah Fočo
  • Photographs taken by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport

-          Drawings

  • Report by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport

1.       Ground plan of ground floor, scale 1:100, drawn by L. Abdijević and M. Fočo

2.       Ground plan at mahvil level, scale 1:100, drawn by L. Abdijević and M. Fočo

3.       Plan of roof, scale 1:100, drawn by L. Abdijević and M. Fočo

4.       Cross-section, scale 1:100, drawn by L. Abdijević and M. Fočo

5.       Façade, scale 1:100, drawn by L. Abdijević and M. Fočo

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted: 

 

1959.   M. Mujezinović, Konzervacija nadgrobnog spomenika Ferhada, sina Skenderova (Conservation of the Tomb of Ferhad, son of Skender), Naše starine VI, 1959.

 

1981.    Ayverdi, Ekrem Hakki, Avrupa'da Osmanli mimari eserleri, Yugoslavya,  Istanbul 1981

 

1983.   Redžić, Husref: Studije o islamskoj arhitektonskoj baštini (Studies of the Islamic Architectural Heritage), Sarajevo.

 

1990.    Bećirbegović, Madžida, Džamije sa drvenom munarom u BiH (Mosques with Wooden Minarets in BiH), Sarajevo 1990

 

1997.    Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine II (Islamic Epigraphics of BiH II), Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1998.

 

2005.    Mehmedović, Ahmed, Gazi Husrev-beg i njegove zadužbine (Gazi Husrev-beg and his endowments), Sarajevo 2005.

 

(1) For more historical background on Tešanj, see the decision designating the architectural ensemble of the Tešanj fort and the historic building of the Eminagić konak as national monuments.

(2) For more details, see the decision designating the Ferhadija mosque in Banja Luka as a national monument of BiH.

(3) Ferhad-beg, founder of the Ferhadija mosque in Sarajevo, whose name is preserved in the chronogram above the entrance portal of the mosque, is assumed to be the same person as the historical figure of the Bosnian sandžak-beg Ferhad-beg Vuković, descended from the famous mediaeval Vuković-Desisalić family.l  He was a major statesman in the Ottoman Empire, and from spring 1568 right through, probably, to 1572, was also sandžak-beg of the Bosnian sandžak.

(4) The complete epitaph on the sarcophagus is given in Section 2, Description of the property

(5) The information in the Report by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport does not cite the source in which the property is dated to this year.

(6) Thanks to these waqfs and their legators, Tešanj began to develop economically, culturally and in terms of communications (Alić, Brkić, pp. 19,20).

(7) See Section 4. Research and conservation and restoration works.

(8) It would appear from the surviving remains of the lines/brushstrokes in black that this is the work of a craftsman who was well acquainted with classical Arabic art.

(9) Mujezinović’s text

(10) The arrangement and number of the hooks indicates that the light fitting formerly in the property was very heavy and elaborate.

(11) For the composition of the plaster, see section 4, Research and conservation and restoration works

(12) According to the older members of the congregation, this entrance was used by women. Access to the mahfil was via a simple wooden staircase with a small landing at the top.

(13) By comparison between this text and similar texts of the same period one can guess what was written. The first panel could have contained the words “ash-shahid,” meaning that Ferhad was killed. The next damaged panel would surely have contained the word “ta’ala” (the sublime), an attribute of the word “Allah.” The third empty panel could have contained the profession or office held by Ferhad.

 



Čaršija (Gazi Ferhat-bey’s) mosque in TešanjČaršija (Gazi Ferhat-bey’s) mosque, archival photoNortheast facadeMinaret
PorchInterior of the mosqueInterior, mahfil (gallery)Mahfil (gallery), domes
MihrabMimberArchival photo of the mosque interiorWorks at the mosque
Harem of the mosqueAbdesthanaDecoration in the mosque porch 


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