Three Buildings in Bascarsija in Sarajevo by Architect Ahmet Hadrovic

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded by Isa-bey Ishakovic (1439-1470) in the middle of the 15th century, the second sandzak-bey of the Bosnian sandzak, a province that was part of the then Ottoman Empire. Isa-bey Ishakovic built several of his endowments, among which are the Emperor's Mosque (the mosque he dedicated to Sultan Mehmed Fatih, 1457) and the bridge over the Miljacka River (the Emperor's Bridge). He dedicated these endowments to Bosnia and the Bosnian people in his will (vakufnam from 1462). The city got its name from Isa-bey's palace (saray) (Saray ovasi – field below the palace). After Isa-bey Ishakovic, the new governors continued the construction of many large architectural structures: Gazi Husrev-bey (1480-1541), Muslihuddin Cekrekci-pasha, Rustem-pasha Hrvatinic (around 1500- 1561), Serif Topal Osman Pasha (1804-1874) and Hafiz Ahmed Pasha (the last Ottoman governor in Bosnia, 1878-1878). During the Ottoman administration, Sarajevo was built according to the patterns of an Oriental-Ottoman city: in the plain, next to the Miljacka river, public buildings were built (mosques, madrasas, bezistans, inns and caravanserais, imaret, crafts and trade shops (ducani). Around the bazaar (in the case of Sarajevo on the slopes of the 'natural amphitheater') residential districts-mahalas were built. The aim of this work is: to acquaint the wider professional-scientific public with Bascarija, 'the pearl of the architectural and cultural heritage of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina', and to present the contribution of the author of this work to the 'generation of life in Bascarija