Open Spaces for Prayer (Musalla) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The tradition of mass prayer in an open space (on a more or less organized ground known as 'Musalla') in Bosnia and Herzegovina dates back to the time of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia (1463). After conquering a territory, the Ottomans performed a collective prayer ('Dova') there and thus promoted a new religion - Islam. For this occasion, they chose special places, most often next to Bosnian medieval stecak necropolises, or on attractive mountain glades. At the same time, very often, they buried their soldiers-askar there and in that way 'marked' that place, and in the eyes and consciousness of the local population - as a 'holy place'. In some cases, a mausoleum (turbe) was erected over the graves of Ottoman soldiers. It is known that the medieval population of Bosnia followed their own view of the world and religion ('bogomilism') and that they called themselves 'true Christians', which is how they wanted to distinguish themselves and 'separate' from 'official Christianity' (Catholic Church and Orthodoxy). for which they were persecuted. There is a general opinion in science that medieval Bosnians like this gladly accepted Islam.