Meeting regarding the restoration of Ćejvan Ćehajin hamam in Mostar

The meeting in the premises of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments was held on May 7, 2004, at 14:00. Beside the members of the Commission, the meeting was attended by Mirela Mulalić Handan, executive officer; Branka Mekić, assistant executive officer, Damir Bačvić, technical coordinator; Sead Avdić, chairman of the State Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO; Mulija Tabak-Abedpour, associate in the Federal Ministry of Physical Planning and Environment; Sabira Husedžinović, advisor to the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports; and Muhamed Hamidović, Dean of the School of Architecture in Sarajevo.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.       It was noted that the invited representatives of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments, part of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, did not attend (Ferhad Mulabegović, Azer Aličić, Aleksandar Ninković and Dženana Šaran), as well as Siniša Šešum, representative of the UNESCO office in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Suada Hasagić, director of G.D. «Architect» Mostar.

2.       In the letter dated 04.05.2004, which the representatives of the Institute for Protection of Mnuments within the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports (Ferhad Mulabegović, Azer Aličić and Dženana Šaran), sent to the Federal Minister of Physical Planning and Environment, which was forwarded to the Commission by Siniša Šešum, representative of the UNESCO office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of the Institute refused to accept the authority of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, which is in accordance with Annex 8 of GFAP, decisions of the Presidency and the law, and tried to transfer the problem to the personal level.

3.       Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay presented an exhaustive report about the works conducted so far for the restoration of Ćejvan-ćehajin hamam in Mostar (More...Presentation).

4.       Participants of the meeting concluded that the works for the restoration of Ćejvan-ćehajin hamam in Mostar were not completely conducted in accordance with international principles of conservation and restoration.

5.       Participants of the meeting agreed that it was necessary to cease restoration works immediately, in order to correct the restoration project and fulfill the following technical conditions:

-         Re-compose the wall of the entrance façade that used to be a joint wall for the rooms of kapaluk and šadrvan by making it partly taller than the remaining walls;

-         Re-compose the arch portal and the entrance door in such a way as not to threaten the look of the entrance façade. The portal must end in a segment arch;

-         Close the openings on the eastern side of the building;

-         Restrooms to be returned to their original location in the eastern part of the building;

-         Deconstruct horizontal posts between the central part and the iwan, and reconstruct the arches and walls based on photo documentation and other documents;

-         Design ends of steam pipes (which were wrongly designed as chimneys in the project) in a way that is historically and architecturally justified;

-         Conduct archeological research works in the entrance part of the hamam and adequately present the findings;

-         If feasible, remove concrete layers from the floor of the hamam and conduct archeological research of the central part of the hamam;

6.       If the above mentioned technical conditions are not met, the Commission would use all its legal powers to implement its decision.

7.       The Commission to Preserve National Monuments and the State Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO would hold a joint meeting in order to reach solutions for the given case and avoid future misunderstandings in communication with UNESCO.

8.       Considering that one of the reasons that led to problems regarding the restoration of Ćejvan-ćehajin hamam were insufficiently precise provisions of the existing laws in the field of cultural heritage, the Commission would, while working on the draft Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, consider in detail the levels and authorities and responsibilities of individual institutions in the system for the protection of heritage.