Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo
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 Balkans.
Being the central Sarajevo's mosque since the days of its construction, today it also serves as the main congregational mosque of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was built in 1531 as the central object of the Beg's endowment, which also included a maktab and a madrasa (Islamic primary and secondary schools), a bezistan (vaulted marketplace), a hammam (public bathplace) etc.
The foundation of this waqf by the contemporary Ottoman governor of Bosnia had a crucial point in the development of the town.
Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The architect of the mosque is said to have been Iranian architect Mimar Ali Tabrizi.
Born in Tabriz, northwest Iran, he was taken to the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Salim along with other Iranian craftspeople.
He created masterpieces in the field of Islamic architecture. One of his students was Mimar Sinan, the most celebrated of all Ottoman architects.
