Even Sarajevo’s name comes from the Ottomans: it derives from the Turkish words saray (palace) and ova (plain). The heart of the city is a complex founded by an Ottoman governor and the bazaar that grew around it.
Gazi Husrev Bey
Gazi Husrev Bey, governor of the sanjak of Bosnia, had a complex built in the city in the early 16th century. Its mosque was completed in 1531, and a madrasa, bath, soup kitchen and covered market were added. These buildings made Sarajevo the commercial and cultural centre of the region.
The mosque was badly damaged during the siege of 1992–1995 and restored after the war.
Baščaršija
Baščaršija, the bazaar that grew around the complex, still keeps the atmosphere of an Ottoman market with its coppersmiths, coffee houses and narrow lanes. The wooden Sebilj fountain in the middle of the square is the city’s most photographed corner.
What to see today
- Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque and the founder’s tomb in its courtyard
- Baščaršija and the Sebilj square
- Gazi Husrev Bey Bezistan: a domed Ottoman covered market still full of shops