Tašlihan served as one of the three stone caravanserais in Sarajevo (the others being the Morića Han and Kolobara Han), the name literally translates to 'stone han'. It is believed that Tašlihan was the largest and most representative inn of its kind in the region, and built between 1540-1543 by craftsmen from Dubrovnik, who equipped the building with lead cupolas unlike the other two inns. It had a square foundation with sides of 47 m, guest rooms on two levels, and a fountain in the courtyard. Several fires damaged the building, and the last one in 1879 completely destroyed it. The last remaining bits of rubble were removed in 1912, except for the shared wall with the bezestan. When archaeological research was carried out as part of the 1998 renovation of adjacent Hotel Europe, the remains of Tašlihan were uncovered in the hotel's garden. The site was declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Committee for the Preservation of National Monuments in 2004.
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A covered market for haberdashery and craftsmanship, built during the Ottoman Empire period, with a design based on the design of the mosques. The bedesten serves as the central building in the historic commercial part of the city, and has its origins in the Greco-Roman basilica or kaiserion which served a similar purpose. During Ottoman times, the bedesten was of such economic importance that cities were classified under two categories: those with a bedesten, and those without. These days the focus is on low-end tourist tat and knock-off watches and handbags.
Mon-Sat 08:00-20:00, Sun 10:00-19:00
Sahat-kula
The clock tower, at 30 metres, is the tallest in Bosnia, and dates back to the 17th century when it was constructed by Gazi Husrev-beg next to the mosque that also bears his name. The tower has a staircase with 76 wooden steps arranged in a square, and displays the time on all 4 sides. When Eugene Savoy of the Austrian army laid siege on the city in 1697 and looted it, the tower was set on fire, but restored in 1762. After the Austro-Hungarian occupation, the upper part of the tower was upgraded, and the decaying Turkish clock mechanism was replaced by a new one from Gillet & Johnston, made in London in 1873. The original clock mechanism was moved to the Vratnik mosque where it remains on display until today. The last upgrade dates from 1967, when the dials were gold-plated. A peculiarity of the clock tower is that it appears to be the only remaining clock tower in the world that displays the lunar clock (a la turca, lunar reckoning). This method of measuring time counts hours up till the moment of (astronomical) sunset instead of midnight, as with contemporary time calculation, so the hands are in the 12 o'clock position at every sunset, when a new day also begins. Since the setting of the sun is uneven throughout the year, the time needs to be manually controlled and recalibrated every 2 to 3 days. The task of recalibrating the clock was assigned to the muvekit (timekeeper), who used astronomical instruments in a special room called the muvekithana to calculate the position of the sun. The current muvekit, Mensur Zlatar, who works at a nearby jewellery shop, has been assigned the responsibility since 1960s. The exact timing of the sunset used to be an important moment for locals to schedule their time of prayer, but the original religious purpose behind the lunar time has long since had its meaning forgotten, causing many to think that the clock is simply bad at proper time keeping. In 2006, the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments proclaimed the
Muzej Sarajevo 1878–1918
A small museum dedicated to the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Sarajevo, which started with the Berlin Congress in 1878 and ended with World War I in 1918. The exhibition portrays life in the Austro-Hungarian era from different perspectives and themes. The time line ends with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in front of the building. The few artifacts and photographs include wax figures of the Archduke and his wife, and what are claimed to be the clothes and gun of the assassin. Tasteless photo opportunity with a replica of the car in which the Archduke was assisinated outside costs 1 KM. The location itself is far more notable.
Mon-Sat 10:00-16:00·4 KM