MUDŽELITI

Author: Amra Madžarević, Museum of the City of Sarajevo • Illustration: Museum of Sarajevo

Right next to the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque at Baščaršija one can find streets Mudželiti and Mali mudželiti. It is in these streets that craftsmen mudželits worked in the Ottoman period. Mudželits were bookbinders and they were one of the most numerous craftsmen at the time. The first mudželit was mentioned in 1528 and the last one by the end of the 19th century.

They bound manuscripts, books, files etc. They would first bind the leaves using a džilde (sewing cradle) with a particular attention to širazes (the visible part of the bound book which joins leaves).

Books were bound by making covers of cardboard, which were then sheathed with thin leather. Bookbinders often stamped ornaments on the leather. A somewhat more modest version of bookbinding was cardboard, which would be painted or decorated with drawn ornaments. In a distinctive way, this craft assumed a form of art, since some masters were very skillful in making ornaments and decorations on covers. Mudželits were some of the best educated craftsmen since they had to know Arabic script, Turkish language and have a gift for art. Besides, they were in touch with books, transcriptions and documents. They were often religious officers as well, and several bookbinders were imams as well.

Besides being involved in bookbinding, they also made paper lanterns, mukavi (lanterns for mosques), sold stationery, and many of them also transcribed books. Since they were very creative, they decorated their shops and the street itself during holidays, and it was a special attraction.

The fact that there were two streets of these craftsmen in this period already proves the significance of the book and the written word. Some masters made true small master-pieces with their decorations of covers of books and documents. The same streets also housed transcribers, people who transcribed books, documents and drafted various letters and documents for citizens' needs. At the time, people used Arabic script, and the language of administration was Turkish or, more accurately, Old Ottoman Turkish, i.e. Turkish written in Arabic script. Knowledge of Turkish was necessary for all public and military servants. Even craftsmen knew this language, at least as much as it was necessary, for easier communication. Common people used services of terdžumans (interpreters), scribes and transcribers, who wrote documents for them.

Mula Mustafa Bašeskija, a famous chronicler of the late 18th century, also worked in Mudželiti Street. In his shop in this street, he worked as a folk scribe. Besides, he recorded all significant, as well as less significant events in the city, and it is how his famous Annals came into being.

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