The lyrical folk song Oj, Užice, mali Carigrade (Oh, Užice, small Constantinople) originated during forced displacement of Muslims from the city of Užice. According to legends, it was sung by Bosniak girls at the natural gate of Užice - Terazije, near Bešlagića han, throwing themselves on the ground and kissing it for the last time, while the city was disappearing in flames. Having in mind the year of its recording (Karadžić, 1841), it is assumed that the song might have originated during the capture of Užice by Serbs in the First Serbian Uprising (1805), or during one of persecutions in the 1830s. Muslims from villages of Užice emigrated to Bosnia as early as in 1834, and the final emigration from the city took place on 28 September 1862. It was then that Užice was burned to the ground. A baker and inn-keeper from Užice Miladin T. Radović left the following record about it: It seemed to me that fire hit the sky. One could find even the smallest needles in the whole surroundings of Užice.

Up to this day, this folk song has been preserved in the following (sung) variant:

Oj, Užice, mali Carigrade / dok bijaše, dobar li bijaše. / Kroz tebe se proći ne mogade. / Od zumbula i od karanfila / od momaka i od djevojaka. / Od mirisa đula i bosiljka, / od uzdaha lijepih djevojaka.

(Oh, Užice, small Constantinople / while you lasted, you were so good. / One could not pass through you. / Because of hyacinths and carnations / of guys and of girls / of fragrances of roses and basil, / of sighs by beautiful girls.)

This song was recorded by a composer, ethnomusicologist and manager at Radio-Belgrade Đorđe Karaklajić based on singing of a well-known singer between the two wars, Sulejman Džakić (1904-1978). Džakić was a vocal soloist at Radio-Belgrade and a role model for many later performers of sevdalinka. His family themselves were persecuted from Užice and settled in Bosanski Šamac, and he learned this song from his grandfather. Interestingly, it was not recorded by performers of sevdalinka but almost exclusively by performers of Serbian folk music, and therefore it was mostly labeled as a folk song from Serbia in discography. Reasons can be found in the fact that it originated in tragic circumstances, and as such it was not a subject of interest of vocal performers of sevdalinka. Upon establishment of the Institute of Sevdah – Omer Pobrić's Foundation, it was revived by performer of sevdalinka Fadil Gračić.

At a time, Užice was the second biggest city in Serbia, after Belgrade. It was even worthy of the imperial city of Constantinople itself, as it is named in the song: its neighborhoods, houses, inns, watermills, madrasas, schools of the Qur'an and hadith all testified of its economic development and a city which was a center of education and culture at the time. In his Travelogue, Evlija Čelebija described it as follows:

After a descent of exactly two thousand steps to the southeast and east of the town. down roads indented into bare rocks, in a vast valley lies a beautiful and progressive city, with firmly built one- and two-story houses. They are strung one above another and adorned, on both banks of the river Đetinja, with vineyards, gardens and rose gardens. There are only four thousand and eight hundred houses, which are mostly mansions covered with shingle and hip tiles, since there are many owners of estates and mansions (handan) in the city. The impressive castle of zaim Džaferaga stands out among them ... Due to pleasant climate, inhabitants are so beautiful that their faces are rosy like a ruby... Their women wear black cloaks rather than those of pink, green and red felt. All of them behave decently, but they don't go to the downtown or marketplace, because they believe it is shameful. They are all devout and good women like Rabija Adevija.

Lyrics of the song Oj, Užice, mali Carigrade was recorded by Vuk Karadžić and published, in 1814, in the book Srpske narodne pjesme (ženske), under the title “Pjesma Užička (A Song from Užice)” (no. 672.)  The last two verses testify, in a cruel way, of frequent burnings of Užice. Karadžić writes that it is a city which is set to fire and plundered every ten years:

Oj, Užice, mali Carigrade! / Dok bijaše, dobro ti bijaše! / Kroza te se proći ne mogaše / Od ćošaka i od ćepenaka, / Od dućana i od bazerđana, / Od momaka i od đevojaka, / Od zumbula i od karanfila, / A od kad te baše osvojiše, / Sve se pušiš kan’da šljive sušiš.

(Oh, Užice, small Constantinople / while you lasted, you were so good. / One could not pass through you. / Because of corners and from benches, / of shops and from merchants, / of guys and girls, / of hyacinths and carnations, / And after they conquered you, / You are smoking as if you are drying plums

Upon displacement of Muslim population, architecture of the city of Užice gradually changed into a town of Serbian type, and all buildings of Islamic culture and civilization disappeared. Families who were persecuted from Užice to Bosnia took with them keys to entrance doors of their houses. Many of them hoped to return, and some families keep the keys even today as a memory of their home.

REFERENCES

• Cvijetić, Ratomir M. (2004), Uzimanje Užica 1805. i 1807. (Poezija i istorija), Užice: Historical Archives of Užice,

• Čelebija, Evlija (1967), Putopis, Sarajevo: Svjetlost,

• Karadžić, Vuk (1841), Srpske narodne pjesme. Skupio ih i na svijet izdao Vuk Stef. Karadžić. Knjiga prva, u kojoj su različne ženske pjesme, Vienna: Printing shop of Armenian monastery (digital edition of the Matica Srpska library),

• Karčić, Fikret (2015), Paljevina Užica i iseljavanje muslimana, Novi muallim, časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje, year XVI, no. 62, Sarajevo: Udruženje Ilmijje.