The Sarajevo Clock Tower (Bosnian: Sarajevska sahat-kula) is a clock tower in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located beside Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and is the tallest of the 21 clock towers erected throughout the country, reaching a height of 30 meters. The tower was declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006.
The clock shows lunar time, in which the hands indicate 12 o'clock at the moment of sunset, the time of the Muslim Maghrib prayer. [1] A caretaker sets the clock's time manually once a week. [2] [3]
The Sarajevo Clock Tower was constructed by Gazi Husrev-beg, a governor of the area during the Ottoman period. [4] The earliest known documented mention of the tower dates to the 17th century in a work by Evliya Çelebi. It was rebuilt twice, once after fire damage when the city was attacked by Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1697, and again in 1762. [5]
In 1874, the clock was replaced by a mechanism made by Gillett & Bland of London. The previous Turkish mechanism was moved to a mosque in the neighbourhood of Vratnik.[ citation needed ]
In 1967, the clock was repaired, and the hands and numbers on all four clock faces were gilt.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, the clock tower was declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [6]
Sultanzade Gazi Husrev-beg was an Ottoman Bosnian sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He was known for his successful conquests and campaigns to further Ottoman expansion into Croatia and Hungary. However, his most important legacy was major contribution to the improvement of the structural development of Sarajevo and its urban area. He ordered and financed construction of many important buildings there, and with his will bequeathed all his wealth into endowment for the construction and long-term support of religious and educational facilities and institutions, such as the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, and the Gazi Husrev-begova Medresa complex with a Gazi Husrev-beg Library, also known as Kuršumlija.
Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Built in the 16th century, it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkans. Having been Sarajevo's central mosque since the days of its construction, today it also serves as the main congregational mosque of the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Baščaršija neighborhood in the Stari Grad municipality and, being one of the main architectural monuments in the town, is regularly visited by tourists.
Ferhat Pasha Mosque, also known as the Ferhadija Mosque, is a mosque in the city of Banja Luka and one of the greatest achievements of Bosnia and Herzegovina's 16th century Ottoman Islamic architecture. The mosque was demolished in 1993 at the order of the authorities of Republika Srpska as a part of an ethnic cleansing campaign, and was rebuilt and opened on 7 May 2016.
Türbe refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the deceased. However, some are more closely integrated into surrounding buildings.
Baščaršija is Sarajevo's old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city. Baščaršija was built in the 15th century when Isa-Beg Ishaković founded the city.
Morića Han is a han originally built in 1551 in Sarajevo, Ottoman Empire. After a fire in 1697 it was reconstructed in its current form. Morića Han is one of the buildings which were financed by and belonged to Gazi Husrev-Beg's endowment (Vakuf). It is the only surviving han in Sarajevo. It is located in Baščaršija, Sarači street, in Stari Grad.
Murat Bey Tardić or Murat-beg Tardić was an Ottoman general.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Gazi-Husrev-beg Library is a public library in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina founded in 1537 by the Ottomans, and is part of a larger complex with Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa. It holds one of the most important collections of Islamic manuscripts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including many originally donated by Gazi Husrev-beg. The collection survived through Bosnian war and Siege of Sarajevo. The library also holds a sizable number of books, journals, newspapers, documents and photographs.
The Vekil-Harrach or Hadžijska mosque is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Alifakovac, a neighborhood in Babića bašća local community, one of the oldest urban settlements in Sarajevo.
The Aladža Mosque, also known as Šarena džamija, "Colorful Mosque", is an Ottoman era mosque that was built in 1549 and located in Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is considered one of the most beautiful and important examples of Ottoman architecture in Europe, and is one of the most important Ottoman era mosques in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina; along with the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo and the Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka. It was completely destroyed with pre-planted explovises at the beginning of the Bosnian War in 1992 by the VRS, and levelled to the ground; along with the left over stones and rubble from the mosque being hidden all over Foča to prevent its reconstruction. After many years of searching for the stones once the Bosniak refugees of Foča began to return, and sourcing the funds necessary for the reconstruction of the mosque, its reconstruction was started in 2016, and completed in 2018.
Sarači street is one of main pedestrian streets in Sarajevo, located in Baščaršija, Stari Grad Municipality. Sarači street is named after Saraç, a Turkish word for craftsmen who are making saddles.
JU Gazi Husrev-begova medresa, Sarajevo is a high school and college, a madrasa in Arabic, founded on 8 January 1537 CE and built in Sarajevo as Gazi Husrev-beg's second endowment. It was built in the style of the Istanbul madrasas, and was called Kuršumlija because it was covered with a lead roof.
Brusa bezistan with its 6 roof domes it is one of the historic buildings in Sarajevo's Baščaršija from the time of the Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a rectangular base and has four entrances on all four sides, and connects the craft streets Kundurdžiluk, Veliki and Mali Čurčiluk with Abadžiluk and the Baščaršija. It was built by order of the Grand Vizier Rustem-pasha Opuković in 1551. Bezistan was named after the Turkish city of Bursa, from which silk was brought to Bezistan and sold. Unlike Gazi Husrev-beg's bezistan, where groceries were originally sold, Brusa bezistan sold household items and small furniture in addition to silk. Today it is one of the museums in the city, designated as the National monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and houses one of the departments of Museum of Sarajevo.
Gazi Husrev-beg's bezistan is one of the preserved bezistan in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the Ottoman period in the history of the country. Built in 1555 in Baščaršija, bezistan still serves its purpose - trade.
Gazi Husrev-beg's Hanikah is a hanikah in Sarajevo. Tesavuf was studied in hanikah, and today it has an artistic purpose.
Tašlihan or Tašli han is a former caravanserai that was located on the site of the current summer garden and an open bar of the Hotel Evropa in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the third stone caravanserai in Sarajevo, built in the period from 1540 to 1543, as an endowment of Gazi Husrev-beg, after his death. It was added to Gazi Husrev-beg's bezistan on its western side. It was square in shape, and its length was 47 meters. It had a fountain in its yard, on the pillars of which was a small mosque. Upstairs were the passenger rooms. Domestic and foreign merchants had their shops within Tašlihan. It is believed that this caravanserai served for trade more than for passenger traffic. The fire of 1879 severely damaged Taslihan and made it unusable.
Walled town of Počitelj is a medieval fortified nucleus of Počitelj historic village, in the municipality of Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to its significant architectural and urbanistic historical value, it is considered an open-air museum. The Walled town is nested in a natural karst amphitheater along the left bank of the Neretva river, on the main road Mostar-Metković. The walled nucleus is protected as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The architectural ensemble of Počitelj is also proposed as such for inscription into the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. The bid for inscription is currently placed on the UNESCO Tentative list.
The Ottoman archives fund of the Gazi Husrev-bey library in Sarajevo is an archive fund as part of the public Gazi-Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fund is founded in 1552 in a complex which houses Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa. It holds one of the most important collections of documents in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The collection survived through Bosnian war and Siege of Sarajevo. The archives also store a sizable number of newspapers and photographs.