This grand and beautiful mosque represents one of the most magnificent works of architecture in Bosnia. Narrow streets of the old market, with dozens and hundreds of shops, surround the mosque, so that it’s quite impossible to capture its beauty and grandeur in entirety. However, when one enters its spacious courtyard, everything changes. Before one’s eyes appears an imposing edifice, filled with tranquillity, harmonious beauty and grandeur. This is not only the biggest mosque ever built in these parts, but also an architectural masterpiece of the Ottoman era. The builder of this mosque was the main architect (mimar) of the Ottoman Empire, Adžem Esir Ali, a Persian from Tabriz who was taken captive in the Turco-Persian War and who, all the way until his death in 1538, performed the duty of the main architect in Istanbul. Alongside Mimar Hajrudin senior, he was one of the leading creators of the so-called Early Istanbul School of Architecture, and this mosque is one of the most valuable accomplishments of this school outside Istanbul itself. Added on October 29, 2014 and last updated 8 years ago