The mosque was designed by the architect Acem Esir Ali and follows the classical Ottoman style: a large central dome, a slender minaret and a shaded courtyard with a şadırvan fountain for ablutions, framed by old trees. Next to it stand the founder’s tomb and other buildings of his endowment, which also funded schools, baths and a covered market in the city.
Badly damaged during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, the mosque has since been carefully restored and is again an active place of worship. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times, with modest dress.
Set among the copper workshops and cafés of the bazaar, the mosque is the natural place to start a walk through Sarajevo’s history, where East and West meet within a few streets.
