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Wooden mosque in Solun, the architectural ensemble

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Status of monument -> National monument

            Published in the Official Gazette of BiH, no. 84/09.

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 7 to 13 July 2009 the Commission adopted a

           

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

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

The National Monument consists of the wooden mosque, a turbe, a mekteb, the old stone trough of a fountain, and the harem with burial ground.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1960, title deed no. 624cadastral municipality Solun I, Municipality Olovo, 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, 6/04 and 51/07) 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 providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection, conservation and presentation of the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and erecting signboards with basic details of 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, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

-          all works are prohibited other than routine maintenance works, works designed to ensure the sustainable use of the property, investigative works, 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);

-          repair works shall be carried out on the façade of the wooden mosque and the mekteb building shall be repaired, drawing up repair projects for each, to be approved by the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-          during restoration, conservation and repair works on the buildings, their original appearance shall be preserved, using original materials and applying original methods of treating the materials and original building techniques.

 

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 day following its publication in the Official Gazette of BiH.

 

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

 

No: 06.1-2-40/09-40

8 July 2009

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.

On 26 May 2008 the Mayor of Olovo Municipality submitted a proposal/petition to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to designate the old mosque in Solun near Olovo as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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.

 

Statement of Significance

Wooden mosques were once widespread in the central regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly because of the ready availability of good quality timber. Very few have survived, and since the 1992-1995 war their numbers have dwindled still further.  Before the war there were still thirty such mosques, but now only a few are still extant, of which the best known were in Karići, Podzvizd, Priluk, Poljice and Bužim. According to documentary evidence (now lost), the original mosque was built in 1546, and inscriptions on the present building reveal that it was altered and decorated at various times in the 19th century. Oral accounts confirm that the mosque was thoroughly renovated in 1935. There is no written record of this, but a detail study of the building suggests that much of the fabric of the old building (the door and parts of the interior) were re-used.

The architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo is remarkably well preserved. Built by an anonymous, probably local dunđer (general builder), it is heir to the experience and tradition of older surviving wooden mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

            In addition, the turbe, mekteb, old stone trough of the fountain and harem with burial ground have also survived, so preserving the integrity of the architectural ensemble.

 

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:

-          Details of 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

The architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun is about 760 m as the crow flies from the village of Solun, which is 8 km to the north-west of Olovo, in the river Krivaja valley, by the Olovo-Zavidovići road. A steep macadam road that forks off this road leads to the site of the National Monument.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1960, title deed no. 624, cadastral municipality Solun I, Municipality Olovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical information

There is no reliable information on the date when the old wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo was built.

According to the information provided by the Islamic Community of Olovo, the original mosque was built in 953 AH (1546), as recorded on the tarih (chronogram) of the mosque, but the tarih has not survived(1).

What is certain is that the mosque was renovated in 1935(2).

All that has survived of the original mosque is the original entrance door, now at the entrance to the mahfil, in the wall separating the mahfil from the upper storey of the outside portico, where the oldest surviving inscriptions, dating from 1216 (1801) and 1246 (1830) are located (for details, see Description of the property).

According to the information obtained from the muezzin of the Solun jama'at, Jusuf Čolaković (born 1938), the wooden building erected about 16 m north-east of the mosque, which was used as a resting place and coffee house after juma [Friday] prayers, was converted into a mekteb in about 1960. Here Hamid ef. Hadrović held religious education classes until 1983, when the mekteb closed down.

According to an oral tradition passed down the generations among the Solun congregation, the stone trough of the fountain in the harem of the mosque and the stone threshold at the entrance to the mosque were brought from Očevija in Vareš Municipality.

 

2. Description of the property

The village of Solun is 8 kilometres downstream from Olovo on the left bank of the river Krivaja. About 760 m from the centre of the village is a hill where the old wooden mosque stands.  Nowadays, since a new mosque was built in the village(3), it is used only at Bajram ['Eid] and at the time of traditional dova [du'a](4).

There are another two wooden buildings in the harem beside the mosque, a turbe and the mekteb, along with an old stone trough and fountain. There are several dozen nišan tombstones in the burial ground, most of them of recent date, but including about ten older ones still resisting the ravages of time.

Wooden mosque

The strong influence of traditional architecture led in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the development of a distinctive architecture of wooden mosques. Whereas such buildings in Istanbul and some places in Romania have shallow-pitched roofs clad with hollow tiles, no such buildings are to be found in Bosnia: all the mosques have steeply pitched roofs, and most were clad with shingles(5). 

In terms of layout, the wooden mosque in Solun belongs to the type of wooden mosque with front mahfil, with an open(6) exterior portico with gallery, and a hipped roof pierced by the wooden minaret.

The entrance portico, measuring approx.2.94 x 7.84 m, at the north-west side of the building, and the central prayer hall, measuring approx. 7.84 x 7.93 on the outside, are under the same steeply pitched hipped roof, giving the building exterior dimensions of approx. 7.84 x 10.87 m.

It is clear from an inspection of the building, a study of its structural details and the carpentry joints of the structural elements of the wooden portico that it was open.

The wooden entablature of the exterior gallery of the portico was mortised into double horizontal 16 x 16 + 16 x 22 cm beams at the front of the portico. The gallery is supported by four bearing wooden posts, four of 16 x 16 cm, level with the front of the portico, and two by the wall face of the perimeter wall of the central prayer hall.

Originally the spaces to a height of approx. 98 cm beneath the double horizontal beams were open, but they have now been closed by a wooden board partition(7) about 27 cm in height and fixed windows(8). At gallery level, the portico has five bearing 14 x 14 posts supporting the roof timbers by means of double horizontal beams(9). The space above the railing of the exterior portico gallery is closed by fixed windows as described above.

The 145 cm wide passageway through the portico is centrally placed in relation to the building, and is finished with cement screed. The passage is flanked on either side by sofas clad with floor boards, raised about 20 cm above floor level.

The single-flight wooden staircase (9 x 25/25 cm) leading to the exterior portico gallery is on the west sofa, against the front railing of the portico. The stairs consist of two 5 x 20 cm string-boards set approx. 70 cm apart into which the treads (wooden 5 x 25 cm boards) are mortised.  The steps have no risers; instead, wooden boards following the incline of the string-boards have been nailed to the string-boards and treads.

The steep wooden ladder leading to the loft space is in the south corner of the exterior portico gallery. This ladder is fitted with a wooden trapdoor between the gallery and the loft space.

The entrance to the central prayer hall, which measures approx. 7.64 x 7.55, is through a double-valved wooden door measuring approx. 117 x 182 cm. The daylight height of the prayer hall (floor to ceiling) is approx. 4.19 m.

Light enters the central prayer hall through four windows, two above and two below, on all four outside walls. All the windows measure approx. 58 x 97 cm, except those facing onto the exterior portico gallery, which measure approx. 47 x 58 cm. The parapet height of the ground-floor windows of the prayer hall is approx. 68 cm. The windows are fitted with grilles on the outside.

The front mahfil of the mosque, which is approx. 2.86 cm deep, is supported by a central wooden post approx. 14 x 14 in section and 199 cm in height. The daylight height of the mahfil is approx. 200 cm. A wooden railing approx. 45 cm high is set between five wooden 10 x 10 cm uprights 176-180 cm apart between the floor and ceiling of the mahfil.

The mosque has transverse ceiling joists (parallel with the mihrab wall) faced on the underside with šiše: wooden boards approx. 22-25 cm wide nailed to the ceiling joists abutting tightly against each other, with the longitudinal joints concealed by moulded slats.

On the upper side, a wooden “okagača”(10) beam approx. 20 x 16 in section is set longitudinally, midway along the span of the ceiling joists.

The floor of the mosque consists of floor boards approx. 3 cm thick.

The mihrab is in the south-east wall of the mosque. Measuring 35 cm deep, 144 cm wide and 244 cm high, it had no particular decoration. The semidomed niche is elliptical in horizontal section, and is 44 cm deep, 95 cm wide and 212 cm high.

In the south-east corner of the mosque is a wooden ćurs [platform from which sermons are delivered in the mosque] measuring 102 cm long, 76 cm wide and 107 cm high, of simple workmanship. On either side of the mihrab, about 70 cm from the mihrab wall, is a torbozanluk(11) approx. 69 cm in height.

            To the south-west of the mihrab is the wooden mimber dating from the 19th century, measuring 74 cm wide, 253 cm long and 105 cm high to the canopy, plus the canopy. It consists of three parts: the portal with steps up to the podium and wooden railing, the upper canopy (an eight-sided canopy approx. 105 cm high) on the podium, and the triangular sides below this and the stair railing. The sides are completely enclosed with vertical wooden boards. The passageway beneath the podium is closed by a carved wooden partition.

The decorations on the wood of the mimber, mahfil railing and torbozanluk as well as the ćurs are identical and all date from the same period. The vertical joints of the boards of the torbozanluk and mahfil and mimber railings are pierced with teardrops giving them a degree of transparency; the other surfaces are pierced with crescent moons or small round-headed apertures. The posts of the torbozanluk and railing are topped by stylized wooden orbs.

The structure of the walls of the mosque consists of vertical wooden 12 x 12 beams set one against the other, across which  1.5 x 3 cm laths are nailed at an angle of 45 degrees both inside and out. These form the base for a coat of lime plaster which once dry was whitewashed with thick lime milk. The walls are 16-17 cm thick overall.

            A wooden ladder leads from the mahfil to the loft space, from which the minaret is entered. Here 33 steps with risers of approx. 25 cm lead to the šerefe of this minaret with covered gallery.

            The šerefe is approx. 182 cm in diameter on the outside. The bearing structure consists of eight equidistant 8 x 8 cm posts(12). The floor of the šerefe is of 5 x 24 cm wooden boards set by the wooden walls of the šerefe and resting on the bearing uprights of the minaret. The daylight height of the šerefe from floor level to the base of the roof is approx. 183 cm. The šerefe and the minaret are both faced with weatherboarding is laid vertically over horizontal wooden 3 x 8 cm crossbars fixed to the posts. The šerefe has a round-headed window, 50 cm wide and 63 cm high, on each side, at about 80 cm above floor level; these windows are fitted with movable shutters.

The central wooden mast(13) consists of a wooden trunk with a diameter of about 14 x 14 cm(14). The vertical structure of the minaret consists of eight wooden outer posts of 14 x 14 cm in section, resting on a base in the form of a wooden grill: three horizontal 16 x 20 cm beams parallel with the entrance-mihrab with a rebate joining them to two horizontal 16 x 20 cm beams.  This allows each of the eight bearing posts of the minaret to rest on one of the beams of the grill.  The grill rests on and is fixed to the ceiling joists, with its north-west edge resting on the end of the north-west perimeter wall of the central prayer hall.

Another interesting feature is the way the dunđer who built the mosque resolved the problem of protecting the mosque from damp. The building is completely dry, with no signs of rising damp or even mould inside. The floorboards are laid over hewn transverse beams set into the perimeter walls of the mosque and resting on stone underflooring in the central zones. Since the width of the mosque is approx. 7.64 cm, the floor joists consist of several sections joined together lengthwise. Vents of approx. 16 x 21 cm, with the top approx. 15 cm below the mosque floor, were placed in all the perimeter walls, allowing for constant air circulation and keeping the walls and floors dry.

Inscriptions inside the mosque

The interior decoration of the mosque is of modern date (post World War II). Two texts are inscribed on the front mihrab wall: to the right, “Almighty God,” and to the left, “Muhammad, peace be upon him.”

At the top of the mihrab is part of verse 39 of Sura 3 of the Qur'an, Ali Imran, the House of Imran:

فنادته الملئكة و هو قائم يصلي في الكحراب

And the angels called to him, standing in the Sanctuary, at worship

            The mihrab niche contains part of verse 37 of the same Sura:

كلما دخل عليها زكريا المحراب

Whenever Zachariah went in to her in the Sanctuary.

The most interesting inscriptions in the mosque are on the double-valved wooden door (the door opening measures approx. 106 x165 cm) in the wall dividing the mahfil into two, an outer and an inner area. The door belongs to the mosque that stood here before its complete renovation in 1936. The inscriptions are in ink written straight on the door, are damaged and faded by time, and are now hard to decipher.

At the top of the right valve of the door is an inscription in thuluth Arabic script:

عجلوا بالصلوة قبل الفوت

Hasten to salah before its time is past.

The most striking inscription on the door is in the form of a tughra, in black ink on the white surface of the door.

الله محمد رسول الله

Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

Below this is the signature of the person who composed the tughra, one poor(15) hajji Mustafa. Unfortunately the year when he did so is illegible.

To the right of this inscription are two texts in pencil, on which the first words “endowed as waqf” and the year can be read. One dates from 1958 and records that hafiz Ahmed Hamdi Gogić endowed something in the mosque – the part of the text which relates what he endowed is illegible. The other inscription dates from 1351 (1932) and is completely illegible except for the words “endowed as waqf.”

At the top of the left valve of the door is another inscription:

و عجلوا بالتوبه قبل الموت

And hasten to repent before you die.

Below this is the phrase bismillah in the form of a tughra. To its right and below it are two illegible inscriptions dating from 1216 (1801) and 1246 (1830).

Burial ground by the mosque

The harem of the mosque contains a wooden minaret in which, local tradition has it, twin brothers from the army of Sultan Fatih [Mehmed II the Conqueror] who were martyred are buried.  To this day, people gather here once a year for traditional dova.

The turbe measures approx. 3.40 x 4.41 m on the outside. Two steps lead to the door, measuring 63.5 x 145 cm. Visitors can throw coins through an opening in the shutter of the window, which measures approx. 44 x 65 cm and is fitted with a wooden grille on the inside. The walls consist of horizontal boards. The turbe has a wooden roof clad with grooved tiles.

The turbe contains two green tombs with two simple dervish's nišans:

1. Man’s nišan with dervish’s turban, square in section with sides of 12 cm and a height of 32 cm. There is no epitaph on the nišan.

2. Man’s nišan with dervish’s turban, square in section with sides of 10 cm and a height of 55 cm. There is no epitaph on the nišan.

 

The burial ground by the mosque contains the following old nišans:

3. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, 12 x 10 cm in section and 60 cm in height, with an illegible epitaph. The nišan is finely worked with a turban with vertical pleats and a hajji's band. Its shape suggests that it could date from the 17th century.

4. Man’s nišan with dervish's cap, square in section with sides of 10 cm and a height of 45 cm There is no epitaph on the nišan.

5. Nišan with aga's turban, partly buried and covered with moss, 17 x 17 cm in section and 46 cm in height.

6. Nišan with pleated turban, partly buried and covered with moss, 14 x 14 cm in section and 35 cm in height.

7. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, partly buried and covered with moss, 14 x 14 cm in section and 72 cm in height. There is no epitaph on the nišan.

8. Nišan with woman's cap, square in section with sides of 14 cm and a height of 45 cm, without epitaph.

 

The wooden mekteb has a footprint of approx. 4.86 x 6.84 m, and consists of a single room with a ceiling height of approx. 203 cm lit by two windows measuring approx. 87 x 113 cm in the south wall and one measuring approx. 53 x 74 cm in the west wall. The entrance is to the east through a doorway measuring approx. 79 x 174 cm. The walls consist of horizontal boards. The mekteb has a wooden roof clad with grooved tiles.

About 6.80 m to the west of the mosque is an old stone trough with a fountain. The stone trough, which was cut from a single piece of stone, is approx. 178 cm long, 85 cm wide and 12 cm deep on the inside, 30 cm on the outside. As measured on the north-east side, it is approx. 56 cm in height from ground level to the edge of the trough.

 

3. Research and conservation and restoration works

There is no information available on any conservation or restoration works.

According to the information provided by the muezzin of the Solun jama'at, Jusuf Čolaković (b. 1938), the exterior sofas of the mosque were glazed in around 1960.

The information available to the Commission suggests that certain renovation works were carried out on the mosque in 1935. Judging from what can be seen on site and from the wooden interior elements of the mosque, these works were not extensive.

The document also provided information to the effect that in 1964 the original wooden shingles cladding the roof were replaced by double grooved tiles, and that in 1969 the old clay water pipes bringing water from the source to the fountain in the harem of the mosque were replaced by PVC pipes. Remains of the clay pipes of the original water supply system survive.

 

4. Current condition of the property

            Generally speaking, the mosque is in good condition. The walls, floors and roof timbers are dry and the woodwork of the door and windows is in good condition. The building is impaired, however, by damage to the plaster on the façade, much of which has fallen away, and which needs urgent remedial work.

            The mekteb is in very poor condition, the result of long-term neglect and disuse, and requires thorough repairs.

 

5. Legal status to date

According to the information provided by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, the old mosque in Solun in Olovo Municipality was neither listed nor entered in the Register of the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of BiH(16).

 

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.iii.      proportions

C.iv.      composition

C.v.       value of details

C.vi.      value of construction

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.iii.      the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site

G.         Authenticity

G.iii.     use and function

G.iv.      traditions and techniques

G.v.      location and setting

G.vi.      spirit and feeling

G.vii.     other internal and external factors

H.         Rarity and representativity

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

I.          Completeness

I.iii.       completeness

 

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-          Copy of cadastral plan, scale 1:2500, c.p. no. 1960, c.m. Solun I, Municipality Olovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued by Olovo Municipal Council;

-          Transcript of title deed no. 624 (for c.p. no. 1960, property of the Board of the Islamic Community, Solun), c.m. Solun I, Municipality Olovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued by Olovo Municipal Council on 17 July 2008;

-          Photodocumentation:

-         photograph of the architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo taken on 11 June 2009 by architect Emir Softić using Canon PowerShot digital camera;

-          Technical documentation:

-         technical drawings of the wooden mosque in Solun, the turbe, the mekteb, the old stone trough of the fountain; measured on 11 June 2009 and drawn by architect Emir Softić;

-          Record of the epigraphic material of the architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo, researched, recorded and processed by Hazim Numanagić, orientalist and calligrapher of Sarajevo, 13 June 2009. 

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted: 

 

1999.    Bećirbegović, Madžida. Džamije sa drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mosques with Wooden Minarets in Bosnia and Herzegovina), 2nd ed. Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1999.

 

2009.    Record of the epigraphic material of the architectural ensemble of the wooden mosque in Solun near Olovo, researched, recorded and processed by Hazim Numanagić, orientalist and calligrapher of Sarajevo, 13 June 2009. 

 

Details from the Majlis of the Islamic Community, Olovo

 

Web site of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (http://www.rijaset.ba)

 

(1) “Until a few years ago, there was a TARIH, a very clearly visible one, on which the year 953 AH was recorded.”.. (from a letter from Mujo ef. Numanović, imam of the mosque in Solun, dated 13 May 2008)

(2) Recorded a few decades ago from members of the Solun congregation who took part in the renovation of the mosque (op. E. Softić). 

(3) (formally opened on 20 September 2000) 

(4) Traditional dova prayers are held in various places in the Olovo area of the Majlis of the Islamic Community of Olovo. These consist of performing the ritual noon prayer, reciting the Qur'an, the delivery of a vaz (sermon) for the occasion, and the recitation of bereket dova (prayers for barakat or good fortune). The religious part of the event is followed in the early evening by various cultural and entertainment events.

Place and date of dova of the Jama'at of the Islamic Community Olovo 

no.           Place                     Date

1.             Kamensko             third Sunday in May

2.             Vukotići                 third Sunday in May

3.             Kurban Kamen     fourth Sunday in May

4.             Milankovići           first Sunday in June

5.             Olovske Luke        first Tuesday in June

6.             Žunova               second Sunday in June

7              Musići                  second Tuesday in June

8.             Ćuništa                 third Sunday in June

9.             Bakići                     third Tuesday in June

10.           Rijeka                     fourth Sunday in June

11.           Solun old mosque first Sunday in July

12.           Jasik                       second Sunday in July

13.           Martinovići           third Sunday in July

14.           Petrovići                third Tuesday in July

15.           Jelaške                   fourth Sunday in July

16.           Kolakovići             last Tuesday in July

17.           Lišci                        first Tuesday in August

18.           Memagića Stijena first Sunday in August

19.           Dolovi                    second Sunday in August

20.           SHAHIDS' DOVA                20 AUGUST

From web site of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (http://www.rijaset.ba)

(5) Bećirbegović, 1999, 90

(6) The entrance portico was glazed in during interventions carried out in about 1060.

(7) (18-20 cm wide boards set vertically)

(8) (height approx. 69 cm, space between the portico posts; with glazed windows divided into panes: lower rank approx. 23 x 22 cm, upper approx. 23 x 30 cm)

(9) The top beam is also the wall plate, on which the ridge beams [?] and rafters rest

(10) a beam set perpendicularly to the direction of the ceiling joists and serving to take part of the load; usually set in the centre of the load-bearing span of the ceiling joists.

(11) railing

(12) these posts are approx. 82 cm from the mast of the minaret (op. Emir Softić).

(13) The mast is about 5.25 m from the wall plate on the north-east wall, and about 3.79 m from the wall plate on the north-west wall (op. Emir Softić).

(14) It is interesting to note that these bearing posts of the minaret do not taper gradually in section towards the top. At šerefe level they are still 14 x 14 cm in section (op. Emir Softić).

(15) “poor” here is used to express the modesty and religious humility of the scribe, by analogy with similar inscriptions in Christian buildings, using the words “humble” and “unworthy.”

(16) Letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport no. 07-40-4-2866/08, of 16.07.2008, to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.



Wooden mosque in SolunEntrance facadeSoutheast facadeSouth view
Gallery above the porchPorch - interiorInterior of the mosqueMahfil (gallery)
Mahfil (gallery)MihrabMimberĆurs (pulpit)
Shutter on the balcony of the minaretOld door Tugra – Allah, Mohammed is God’s Messenger Mausoleum
Interior of the mausoleumMausoleum - Wooden gridMektebMekteb, entrance facade
Mekteb, interiorNišan tombstoneNišan tombstone 


BiH jezici 
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