Full page photo print

168
SMAIL BALICIT~~ Cultural Achievements of Bosnian Muslims
Madrasahs
Of the approximately seventy medresses (theological seminaries) only two still
stand today: the GhW Khusrew Beg or Kurshunlu Madrasah in Sarajevo (1537)
and the Shishman Ibr2him Pasha Madrasah in Pditelj (1665). The Ghai
Khusrew Beg Medresse consists of a large domed hall, which served as lecture
room, and twelve identical rooms, each vaulted with a cupola. The whole
building is planned around a small, intimate courtyard, in the centre of which
water bubbles from the many shells of a fountain. The area before the rooms
is also domed, and surrounded by a stone colonnade. The building is given
special emphasis by the high, stalactite-adorned portal and several pointed
chimneys reminiscent of small minarets. Despite its modest scale the Ghui
Khusrew Beg Madrasah gives the impression of monumental proportions. This
famous theological seminary was enlarged early in 1930 into a really modem
college and equipped with modem furniture. It was subsequently confiscated by
the state at the end of the last world war and attached to the University of
Sarajevo, to house the faculty of liberal arts. All efforts of Bosnian Muslims to
regain ownership of this famous school have been in vain.
The medresse in PoEitelj on the Neretva, despite the heavy destruction
caused by an incompetently executed renovation and the devastating influences
of weather, still retains many beautiful features of the old, horizontally
developed architecture of the Ottomans.
Under Austro-Hungarian rule (1 878- 19 18), two new madrasahs, in
Travnik and Gratanica, and a school for K2di candidates (later the College of
Islamic Studies) in Sarajevo, were built in the Moorish style.
Dervish Schools and Monasteries
Until 1931, Sarajevo had a dervish school (khdeh). This was set up by the
founder of Sarajevo, Gh2zi Khusrew Beg (1480-1541), who founded more
cultural institutions than any other Bosnian. The architectural details were
the same as those of the Ghbi Khusrew Beg Madrasah. This school was
extensively rebuilt after 1931. Of the other dervish schools, the number of
which is not known, not one survived into the nineteenth century. On the other
hand, several dervish monasteries still exist, although they have lost their
original function. The massive Hgjj Siniin Monastery in Sarajevo (1640), which
stands beautiful and serene on a hill, is of architectural value. There are plans
under consideration to use this building as an Islamic museum.
Monuments of Memorial Architecture
The Muslim tombs in Bosnia are either completely closed octagonal
mausoleums, open mausoleums supported by a colonnade, or simple blocklike
tombstones. The mausoleums set up in honour of dead army commanders,
aristocrats, sages, or saints, display beautifully constructed arches, pillar capitals
and ornaments of noteworthy originality.
The ornamental decoration of tombs originated partly in the Orient,
partly in the Bosnia of the patarene period; the plant and animal repre-