MOSTAR PANORAMA FROM FORTICA HILL

Author: Prof. Aida Idrizbegović Zgonić, PhD, Faculty of Architecture of University of Sarajevo • Photo: Mirza Hasanefendić

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORICAL CORE OF MOSTAR

Mostar, built of stone, so solid, yet seems so fragile and transcendental in the afternoon heat - like an impressionist painting of an enchanted city.

The key structures of the Old Town that shaped the formation of the core are the Old Bridge with towers and the city walls. These structures gave a strong impetus to the development of the city, marked the center and approximately the boundaries of the historical core. The next significant structures are mosques with accompanying facilities (madrasas, hammams, etc.) which created new nuclei of development either in the residential neighbourgioods or in the bazaar. They are followed by smaller structures (shops, inns, residential houses) that were formed according to the principles of the Ottoman city. Kevin Lynch (1974) similarly defines historical urban entities as "...a thematic continuum that can have an infinite number of connections: texture, places, forms, details, symbols, typology, function, commerce, population, topography." City areas are individually recognizable, but as a whole they serve as elements for establishing relationships in the wider city scope.

According to the urban-functional characteristics, the structures are grouped as: bazaar - trade and craft area and mahale - residential area. Through the historical development of the city, bazaars and mahallas were incorporated into the city fabric and still retained their functions, the importance of which, however, declined more and more. Currently, the Old Town has mainly tourist service functions and as such is not an integral part of everyday life, while the mahallas have been transformed more in a physical than in a functional sense, i.e. they kept their residential character. The transformation of the buffer zones was for the most part inadequate and very aggressive and the mahals almost completely lost their character. (All this happened while the historic core of the city of Mostar had plans for the management of the historical core, both pioneer documents, one from 1977 - https://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/conservation-of-mostar-old-town Agency Stari Grad wins an Award Aga Khan Trust for Culture - and the other as part of the nomination UNESCO documentation in 2005 - https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/946/ UNSCO Deatiled description).

Čaršija Bazaar

The fabric of the bazaar consists of rows of shops with public facilities, streets and open spaces. It is a part of the city where trade and crafts are located. In Mostar, the business part developed around the Old Bridge on both sides of the Neretva River. On the left side, the bazaar stretched from Sinan Pasha's mosque on Mejdan square, then to the Clock tower and all the way to Ćejvan Ćehaja's mosque.

The city (in the Ottoman period) was at its peak in the 17th century, when it had about 30 mosques and over 10,000 inhabitants. E. Celebija said in his records that Mostar had about 350 shops.

Only three trades had their own special parts of the city:

- tabhana (leather)

- kujundžiluk (copper, iron..)

- around the clock tower (fabric, silk)

Streets

The urban setting of the city, and thus the open spaces, is closely related to the way of life, which is based on the strict separation of private from public life.

Shops in Onescukova street (Albert Kahn Museum)

Plan of Onescukova street perpendicular to Neretva

 

There are two types of streets in the Ottoman city: bazaar streets and mahala streets. They differ significantly in their function and design. The city streets are almost strictly commercial and business, with numerous shops facing the street (as shown in the picture from Onešćukova Street). From a morphological point of view, the streets on the left side are formed parallel to the river, while the streets on the right side are perpendicular to the Neretva River, that is, they are parallel to Radobolja and its many mills. The most important streets in Mostar that still retain their character from the Ottoman period are Kujundžiluk, Onešćukova, Jusovina, Ulica Stari Most, Mala Tepa and Kurluk (Kulluk).

Open spaces

Ottoman cities do not have squares, so public open spaces were formed around monumental buildings or for the needs of markets (Mejdan, Musala Stari Pazar, Tepa).

Mejdan is an area formed around Sinan Pasha's mosque, which was built in 1474, which was the oldest mosque in the city, so it is also the oldest open space in the city. Stari Pazar is the place where the area of the market - the market that existed until the construction of the Lučki Bridge in 1917. Musala - a space that was originally intended for large outdoor religious ceremonies. During the Austro-Hungarian era, it was significantly transformed and a bridge was built there in 1882.

Mahalas

Mahalas are residential districts from the Ottoman period, intended exclusively for housing.

All mahallas developed around their center with a mosque. The first mahal was built near the Old Bridge on Mejdan Square around the Sinan Pasha Mosque in 1474. According to the number of mosques, it can be concluded that Mostar had 32 mahallas at the end of the 18th century. Mahalas on the left bank of Neretva: 1. Karađoz-begova (1557), 2. Ćejvan-ćehajina (1552), 3. Šarića (1637), 4. Roznamedžijina (before 1620.), 5. Kjose Jahja Hodžina (before 1620.), 6. Sinan Pašina (1474), 7. Hadži Balina (before 1612), 8. Husein Havadžina (before 1633), 9. Fatima-kadun (before 1633), 10. Memi Havadžina (before 1633.), 11. Mehmed-ćehajina (1592), 12. Kotlina (before 1768.), 13. Hafiz Havadžina (before 1633), 14. Tere Jahjina, 15. Ahmeta Ćurčije (before 1650), 16. Bajazit Havadžina (before 1612), 17. Kotlevina (before 1633), 18. Kamber-agina, 19. Hadži Velijina, 20. Brankovac (Vučijakovića džamija 1518), 21. Ali-pašina (before 1847).

Mahalas on the right bank of Neretve: 22. Nezir-agina (before 1550), 23. Derviš-pašina (1592), 24. Hadži Lafina (before 1633), 25. Baba Beširova (before 1633), 26. Jahja Esfelova, 27. Sevri Hadži Hasanova (before 1621), 28. Hadži Memijina - Cernica (before 1650), 29. Ali Havadžina-Raljevina (before 1633), 30. Hadži Ahmet-begova (1649/50), 31. Zirajina, 32. Čevrina (before 1686). All data is according to registers (sidžlis) from 1633. (located in Oriental Institute in Sarajevo) and 1768., 1828., 1829 (in Hercegovina Archive in Mostar).

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