The Aladža Mosque ( bs, Aladža džamija, tr, Alaca Camii), also known as ''Šarena džamija'', "Colorful Mosque", is an Ottoman era

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

that was built in 1549 and located in

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and a municipality located in Republika Srpska in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 18 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. It is considered one of the most beautiful and important examples of

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and is one of the most important Ottoman era mosques in all of

; along with the

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque 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 Balkan ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

and the Ferhadija Mosque in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. It was completely destroyed with pre-planted explovises at the beginning of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

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 it's reconstruction. After many years of searching for the stones once the

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

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.

History

The mosque was erected in 1549 by Hasan Nezir, the Ottoman

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

supervisor of state goods and finance in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and a close associate of

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empir ...

. The master builder was Ramadan-aga, who was trained in the

Persian culture The culture of Iran () or culture of PersiaYarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) is among the most influential in the world. Iran, also known as Persia, is widely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization. Due t ...

and

Persian architecture Iranian architecture or Persian architecture (Persian: معمارى ایرانی, ''Memāri e Irāni'') is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC w ...

. It was decorated with beautiful colors, so it was named ''Aladža'', "the Colorful". The mosque is more than 36 meters high and has harmonious lines, marble columns, portal, cubes, corners and chasers. It is a masterpiece of

on the

UNESCO World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The ornamentation is in typical Ottoman classical architectural style, and since it was the first mosque of its kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina, its design was emulated by many others that were later built. This is one of the reasons why the Yugoslav authorities put it under state protection in 1950. During the Ottoman period, 17 mosques were built in Foča; 5 were destroyed during World War II and 12 were destroyed during the

War in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war ...

. From April to June 1992, all mosques were demolished in Foča. The mosque was blown up on 22 April 1992 by the

Army of Republika Srpska The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

and then completely demolished on 2 August 1992. Its remains were removed to the city's landfills. The area on which the mosque stood has been fenced and remained empty for the following 22 years. The first fragments of Aladža were found in 2004, along with the remains of the bodies of killed Bosniaks, in the rubble around 200 m south of the iron bridge over the

Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...

and around 300 m north of this bridge. In October 2018, the Bosnian State Court charged

Goran Mojović Goran may refer to: Ethnic groups * Gorane, or Goran, an ethnic group of northern Africa * Goran (Kurdish tribe), an ethnic group of the Middle East * Gorani (ethnic group), an ethnic group of the southeastern Europe Other uses * Göran, a Sw ...

for crimes against humanity, including the destruction of the Aladža mosque. According to the prosecutor, in the course of a widespread and systematic attack by the Bosnian Serb military, paramilitary and police forces against the civilian population of the city of Foča, on the evening of August 2, 1992 Mojović, as head of the local engineering unit of the

, gave the order to destroy the mosque, and - despite the refusal of two other soldiers - together with

Rajko Milošević Rajko ( sr-Cyrl, Рајко, ) is a masculine given name and may refer to: *Rajko Aleksić (born 1947), former Serbian football defender * Rajko Brežančić (born 1989), Serbian footballer * Rajko Ray Bogdanović (born 1979), Serbian engineer for ...

detonated the mosque with about 25 anti-tank mines. Thus Mojović and Milošević violated international law on the protection of civilian and cultural property. The reconstruction of the mosque in line with the original plans was carried out between 2014 and 2018 under supervision of the Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was financed by the Turkish Cooperation (TIKA). The restored Aladža was opened on May 4, 2019, and was opened by Aziza Kurtović, a woman who lost her son during the war. In the early morning of 18 February 2021, several gunshots were fired against the mosques minaret which suffered minor damage.SarajevoTimes
/ref>

Description

Like the Ali Pasha Mosque in

and the Sinan-beg Mosque in

Čajniče Čajniče ( sr-cyr, Чајниче, ) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 2,401 inhabitants, while the municipality has 4,895 inhabitants. Settlemen ...

, the mosque was built along the “classical” Ottoman style, to which the

can also be assigned. Their floor plan was almost square (11.22 m by 11.30 m). The dome, which had a diameter of 11 m, rose above an octagonal drum. The height to the apex of the dome was 19.85 m. There were 5 windows in each of the three sides of the mosque, and in front of the front there was a vestibule with pointed arched arches supported by four marble columns and three domes. The

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

was 36 m high. Inside

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

and

muezzin mahfili A ''dikka'' or ''dakka'' ( ar, دكة), also known in Turkish as a ''müezzin mahfili'', is a raised platform or tribune in a mosque from which the Quran is recited and where the muezzin chants or repeats in response to the imam's prayers. It i ...

there was an Islamic stone sculpture, which was considered the most beautiful in the Balkans (''Trifunović''). The mosque had picture decorations, including a rosette on the north wall with floral decoration and wall painting in the lobby. File:JugFocaAladza2.jpg, Entrance to the old Aladža Mosque, photographed in August 1989 File:JugFocaAladza3.jpg, Entrance to the old Aladža Mosque, photographed in August 1989 File:Foča_–_Aladža_džamija_2018_03.jpg, Aladža Mosque during reconstruction File:Foča_–_Aladža_džamija_2018_06.jpg, Interior of the Aladža Mosque during reconstruction File:Алаџа (Хасан Назирова) џамија.jpg, Aladža Mosque rebuilt File:Aladža_džamija_u_Foči.jpg, Aladža Mosque rebuilt File:Džamija_Aladža_21.jpg, Aladža Mosque rebuilt File:Džamija_Aladža_28.jpg, Aladža Mosque rebuilt File:Алаџа_џамија_у_Фочи-детаљ.jpg, Remains of the old Aladža Mosque File:Džamija Aladža 47.jpg, Decorations of the new Aladža Mosque File:Алаџа џамија у Фочи-детаљ 1.jpg, Decorations of the new Aladža Mosque

References

Bibliography

* Lazar Trifunović: ''Kunstdenkmäler in Jugoslawien, Band 1 (A-O). Ein Bildhandbuch.'' Leipzig 1981:

Edition Leipzig Edition Leipzig was a publisher in the German Democratic Republic (GDR/DDR), which, for the most part, placed books on Western markets as an export publisher. This was intended to serve representative purposes as well as to procure foreign curr ...

, S. 368f mit Fotos 111 - 113, ohne ISBN; * Andrej Andrejević: ''Aladža džamija u Foči,'' Filozofski fakultet u Beogradu, Institut za istoriju umetnosti, 1972, 103 Seiten, OL19219747M; * Šemso Tucaković: ''Aladža džamija - fočanski biser'', El-Kalem, 1991, 57 Seiten; * Šemso Tucaković: ''Aladža džamija-ubijeni monument,'' Sarajevo: In-t za istraživanje zločina protiv čovječnosti i međunarodnog prava, 1998, 270 Seiten, .

External links

*
East Journal

Mvslim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aladza Mosque Buildings and structures in Foča 2010s architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1550 Ottoman mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina architecture