Alifakovac ( cyrl, Алифаковац) is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

in Babića bašća

local community A local community has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. The word is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common values and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical l ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Stari Grad, Sarajevo. As one of the oldest urban settlements in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, it is situated on the spine of the northern end of the slope

Trebević Trebević ( sr-cyrl, Требевић) is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located to the southeast of Sarajevo, in the territory of East Sarajevo city, bordering Jahorina mountain. Trebević is tall, making it the second shortest ...

, on the lowest

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

in the row at the last

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

Miljacka ), Šeher-Ćehaja Bridge, Careva ćuprija, Latin Bridge (aka Principov most), Ćumurija Bridge, Drvenija Bridge, Čobanija Bridge, Festina lente bridge, Skenderija Bridge (aka Ajfelov most), Suada and Olga bridge (aka Vrbanja most) , custom ...

, before it pours out of its narrow canyon. An abandoned village by the road was found in the 15th century by the Ottomans when they conquered Bosnia. It is believed that there was a smaller necropolis of stećci, which with the arrival of Ottomans became again an active

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. Today it is one of the biggest and most beautiful cemeteries in Sarajevo.

History

Alifakovac is as old as the modern city of

, as it got its name after Ali-Fakih, a lawyer and one of the witnesses of Isa-bey's endowment of the city in 1462 which set the foundation for the city. Even in those times, the

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

was very frequent, which can be seen in the cemetery as aside of local peoples, it is the final place of many travellers and

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

s who died in Sarajevo, but also of

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

and ordinary citizens. Jakub-paša decided to build a

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, ...

near the cemetery in 1491, after which completion the streets Veliki (big) Alifakovac, Mali (small) Alifakovac, Megara, Magoda and Carina were established, giving birth to the neighbourhood. In the mid-16th century, at the bottom of Alifakovac, Gazi Husrev-beg's quartermaster Mustafa Vekil-Harač, built a mosque which would be soon known as the Pilgrim mosque as most pilgrims started their journey to Hajj from that place and around the same time, some

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Sarajevo connected the old

Tsargrad ''Tsargrad'' is a Slavic name for the city or land of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. It is rendered in several ways depending on the language, for instance Old Church Slavonic Цѣсарь� ...

road with

Baščaršija Baščaršija (Cyrillic: Башчаршија; ) 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. Baščaršija is located on the n ...

square with a stone bridge which is nowadays known as Šeher-Ćehajina ćuprija, with which construction the modern landscape of Alifakovac was almost finalized. The last touch on the urban landscape was given with the Inat kuća, which found itself a place on the south bank of the river with the construction of City hall just across the river, when the owner of the house requested for the house to be transported, stone by stone, on the other side of the river, where it stands even today. Alifakovac is an example of

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

based on humanity and mutual respect. The neighbours were not allowed to build houses the way to block the view and the sunlight for the neighbour, which allowed the

roofs A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

to elude below each other in rows and thus draw up one of the most beautiful monuments of old Sarajevo.

Cemetery Alifakovac

References

External links

Establishment and history of Alifakovac
{{Coord, 43.857523, N, 18.437183, E, type:city, display=title Geography of Sarajevo Populated places in Stari Grad, Sarajevo