Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

October-November 2021.

For visitors with just a few days in Sarajevo, the city’s Old Bazaar, known locally as Baščaršija, is somewhere to prioritise. Immediately captivating, visually rich, and dense with five centuries of history packed into a web of cobbled streets, it rewards every hour you give it.

Imagine, then, the payoff for Sladja and I, who were fortunate enough to have a whole month at our disposal. Indeed I have lost count of how many times we visited the bazaar, peeling back its layers visit by visit. What’s more, it was a perfectly straight 20-minute walk from our apartment in the hilly neighbourhood of Kovači.

Heading past the striking Kovači Cemetery, Kovači Street gradually begins to reveal the city below. Soon, we would pass an ancient stone arch, a remnant of the Ottoman-era gates that once marked the boundaries between Sarajevo’s hilltop neighbourhoods and the lively market quarter below.

And then the street’s atmospheric cobblestone stretch begins. While it takes just five minutes to pass through, this is one of our favourite spots in the city. Fully pedestrianised, there are several cafes, a traditional Bosnian restaurant and a few antique stores.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

Historically, it was home to tombstone makers, blacksmiths and coppersmiths.

Our cafe of choice was Ministry of Ćejf. It takes its name from the Turkish word keyif, meaning pleasure or delight. In Bosnian culture it describes something altogether more personal: a cherished ritual that makes life worth savouring. Which is exactly how we both feel about coffee.

Reshad Strik, an Australian actor of Bosnian heritage, opened the cafe with his Sarajevo-born wife Sabina. While the vibe is unapolagetically trendy, the coffee is fabulous and customers are encouraged to take their time. On our first visit we made sure to pick up a number of blends for our French press back in the apartment.

They are clearly doing everything the right way. In fact, at the time of writing they are the number one rated coffeehouse in Sarajevo.

Beyond Ministry of Ćejf, Kovači begins to lose its cobblestones and peters out toward the tram line that marks the threshold between the hillside neighbourhood and Baščaršija proper.

Before you cross, there are two establishments worth pausing for. The first is Slatko i Slano (Sweet and Savoury), a buffet restaurant that’s been feeding folk since 1992. Yes, they opened their doors during the Siege of Sarajevo, when the city was enduring one of the longest urban sieges in modern history.

Sweet and Savoury.

The second is a traditional Bosnian barbershop, where I surrendered myself to the chair one afternoon and experienced what may be the most unhurried haircut of my life. Moreover, it came with a shave and something resembling a head massage.

And then it’s into Baščaršija itself and the sculpted form of Sebilj Square, named after the ornate Ottoman fountain that stands at its centre.

Most Sarajevans simply call it the Sebilj, while overseas visitors remember it as Pigeon Square. Both names certainly earn their keep. According to historians, the square and its surrounding lanes sprang up in the mid to late 1460s, right at the time the city itself was founded by Isa-Beg Isaković, the first governor of Bosnia.

Thus Baščaršija became the city’s commercial engine right from the off, though its golden age didn’t arrive until the 16th century when a new ambitious governor, Gazi Husrev-beg, committed to developing Sarajevo into a city of international prominence. Remember his name, it’s going to come up again.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

The original bazaar was enormous, a fraction of which survives today. Over the centuries it has absorbed wars, fires, occupations and repeated rebuilding. Whatever was unfolding, the people just kept on going: setting up their vegetable stalls, opening their copper workshops, and brewing their coffee.

The pigeons are impossible to ignore, a chaotic, photogenic fixture. The scale of the bazaar’s winged population is something I hadn’t experienced since being on Trafalgar Square in London as a kid. And, years later, on St. Mark’s Square in Venice.

Naturally, there are opportunistic vendors peppered around the square selling feed to tourists and locals. Many of whom clearly delight in giving the permanently peckish pigeons a bite to eat.

As for the fountain itself, it is both iconic and understated as the very symbol of the Old Bazaar. Originally built in 1753, its current form dates back to 1891 when the Austro-Hungarian architect Alexander Wittek rebuilt it following a fire forty years earlier.

Sebilj.

The fountain’s name derives from the Arabic sabil, meaning public fountain, reflecting its original purpose as a source of free drinking water for travellers and locals alike.

Experts say there were once around 300 such fountains scattered across Sarajevo. However, most of them were lost to the catastrophic fire of 1697. The Sebilj that still stands in the Old Bazaar, they say, is the last.

Wittek designed the fountain in a pseudo-Moorish style. Carved from local wood, it is an octagonal beauty featuring perforated wooden panels and a domed coper roof.

On opposite sides, two horizontal spouts provide a constant flow of water into stone troughs below. And yes, the water is drinkable!

A pleasing, albeit touristy selection of cafes, restaurants, souvenir stalls, bookstores, art galleries and antique shops line the square and its surrounding streets.

From the Old Bazaar’s many coffee options, I’m happy to give a wholehearted thumbs up to Fabrika, where traditional Bosnian coffee culture meets the modern speciality coffee movement. They also put on art exhibitions and live music from time to time. There are four locations around the city, for the Old Bazaar shop, head to Sarači 32.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

If like me you have an incurable sweet tooth, you won’t find yourself short of dessert cafes, bakeries and sweet shops. We tried out quite a few of them during our stay, and soon got into the habit of taking a box of Bosnian cookies home for our evening pot of tea.

Another favourite of ours is lokum, the traditional sweet known across the English-speaking world as Turkish delight. It can be found in abundance across the Old Bazaar and the wider city. We couldn’t get enough of it; partly for how delicious it is, but also because it transported us straight back to our unforgettable two-week stay in Istanbul in 2020.

Lokum!

My only complaint is that you really have to keep an eye on how much you order, as prices can rapidly spiral out of control.

Aside from sweets, eating in the Old Bazaar is, by and large, a meat lover’s affair. The undisputed king of the menu is ćevapi: small, hand-rolled minced beef sausages grilled over charcoal and served in a soft flatbread called somun, with raw chopped onions.

Our best ćevapi came from Željo on Kundurdžiluk Street. Established in 1968, there are three locations in the city.  This one, known as Željo 3, sits in the heart of the Old Bazaar. Note the football icon on the sign: the eateries take their name from FK Željezničar Sarajevo, one of the city’s two historic football clubs.

Another excellent Old Bazaar spot for traditional Bosnian fare is ASDŽ restaurant on Ćurčiluk mali. This kind of joint is known as an aščinica, a traditional slow-cooked canteen. It’s a wallet-friendly joint where little old local ladies come to chow down. That’s how you know it’s the real deal.

On our visit we went for an array of dishes, including chicken čorba (a creamy, lightly vegetable-flecked broth), japrak (grape leaves stuffed with veal and rice), and veal-stuffed peppers (punjene paprike) sitting in a braised, tomato-based meat sauce served with mashed potato.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

Away from the main square and busier restaurant streets, our favourite Old Bazaar stretches were its oldest surviving ones. Strangely, (but entirely typical of the average tourist in my experience), these incredibly atmospheric and historic streets often sit ignored.

That was certainly the case with Kazandžiluk Street, better known as Copper Street. Back in Ottoman times, this is where master coppersmiths began producing kettles for the army, in addition to coffee pots, pitchers and trays for everyday city life.

Records suggest the first coppersmith here dates as far back as 1489. Happily, the craft is still very much alive with a cluster of workshops, while the Bosnian government declared the street a national monument in 2009.

Mudželiti Veliki (Bookbinders Street) is just as atmospheric. The old bookbinders of Sarajevo started setting up shop here from around 1557. What began as a clutch of small bindery workshops blossomed, over the centuries, into a full-blown bookseller’s bazaar. This was a reflection of Sarajevo’s standing as one of the Ottoman Empire’s most prolific literary and intellectual centres. Sadly, no such shops survive today, but it still makes for a lovely short stroll.

Bookbinder’s Street.

Remember Gazi Husrev-beg, the ambitious governor who did so much to put Sarajevo on the map? He has an Old Bazaar lane named after him. Established in the mid 16th century, it had been known as Zlatarska (Goldsmith’s Street) until local authorities changed its name to Gazi Husrev-beg Street in 1931.

It runs parallel to the Bezistan, the great covered market that Husrev-beg himself commissioned in 1555. The market also bears his name, and is one of the finest surviving examples of Ottoman commercial architecture in the Balkans.

It didn’t take us more than a few minutes to stroll through, and in truth we found the place rather subdued. Nevertheless, it is well worth a look regardless of whether you’re in the mood for shopping, thanks to its characterful stone walls and vaulted roof.

By the early 1900s the building had fallen into serious disrepair. Eventually, in 1971, the government carried out a full restoration. Look out for the commemorative plaque high on one of the walls, which marks its reopening. Today it houses a modest collection of jewellery, souvenir and craft shops.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

Gazi Husrev-beg is also at the centre of the Old Bazaar’s two main sights. First, one simply cannot miss the gorgeous Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque. Described by many as the beating spiritual heart of Baščaršija, this is the largest historic mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Built in 1531 under the patronage of Husrev-beg himself, it remains one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture in the entire Balkans. We visited several times, both on crisp autumn mornings; the courtyard dominated by a magnificent old chestnut tree ablaze in amber and gold.

On our first visit we’d arrived during prayer time, so decided to keep a safe distance and simply observe the comings and goings of locals.

What’s more, it was an opportunity to admire the spectacular šadrvan: a twelve-sided ablution fountain topped by a lead-covered dome. Its spouts feed water used for ritual washing before prayer.

The water comes from a supply system engineered by Husrev-beg himself in 1529. Locals swear that it’s still some of the purest and freshest water in the city.

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque.

To one side, an octagonal türbe (which serves as the great man’s mausoleum) marks the place where he was laid to rest in 1541. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome during designated hours for a small fee.

On our second morning we timed things much better, and managed to make it inside the mosque. Even better, we had the run of the place to ourselves with ten-minutes of perfect silence in which to admire its beauty.

The central space sits beneath a dome rising 26 metres. Fifty-one windows flood the prayer hall with natural light, while stalactite decorations adorn the corners. Beneath the domes, intricate arabesques cover the walls, and Quranic calligraphy runs throughout.

The mosque as we see it today dates from a grand restoration carried out between 2001—2002. A Bosnian calligrapher named Hazim Numanagić was responsible for many of its artistic touches. Apparently it was in a terrible state prior to the makeover, having been deliberately targeted during the Siege of Sarajevo.

Baščaršija: Exploring Sarajevo Old Bazaar.

Last but not least, we headed just across the road from the mosque to spend a few hours at the stunning and seemingly under-the-radar Gazi Husrev Beg Museum. Yes, a compound dedicated to the life and legacy of the man who arguably did more than anyone to shape Sarajevo.

As we passed through the main entrance arch, it was impossible not to stop at this spectacular inscription. Sitting on a teal-green carved stone panel and framed by intricate floral and geometric arabesques, it marks the date of construction as 1531.

The compound originally served as a madrassa, the Islamic school that Husrev-beg established specifically in order to educate the local population. It has been beautifully preserved and stands as one of the Bosnian capital’s most treasured buildings.

Indeed, a key part of the museum experience is simply wandering its atmospheric courtyards. Silent, cool and with no other visitors around, we couldn’t help but linger.

Inside the main exhibition space, one of the school’s former lecture halls, the man’s life and times play out through archive photographs, historic documents and antique objects.

Gazi Husrev-beg Museum.

Some of the items on display are genuinely breathtaking: priceless artefacts spanning the 16th through to the 19th century. Take, for example, this stunning 18th-century Quranic manuscript.

And this fascinating Ottoman planisphere, a rotating star chart designed to show which constellations are visible in the night sky at any given date and time of year. The text is in German, with the months marked around the outer rim all visible. The constellations, meanwhile, are mapped across the dark green interior disc.

It’s also possible to pop your head into the Gazi Huzrev-beg Library. Although it looks quite modern from the outside, this is in fact the oldest continuously operating library in the Balkans. It has over 100,000 books, including 20,000 texts spanning Islamic sciences, philosophy, history, medicine, mathematics and astronomy.

During the Siege of Sarajevo, the manuscripts were moved eight times for safekeeping. The 500 most valuable were hidden inside the vaults of a Sarajevo bank, where they remained until the siege was lifted.

On our way out, there were some lovely glimpses of the Old Bazaar Clock Tower just beyond the compound’s stone walls. Completed in the early 17th century, it is the only clock tower in the world still following lunar calendar time. Its mechanism was acquired from London in 1875 and features four faces visible from all directions.

Like this? Don’t miss my detailed travel guide to Sarajevo, with reports from all over the city.

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