Among around thirty emperor’s mosques in BiH is the Emperor’s Mosque in Foča. Its reconstruction is nearing completion these days, and the part of Foča which this mosque adorned for centuries is getting a completely different, in architectural terms more beautiful, and in another sense a warmer, more open look. My people, especially the returnees to Foča, were delighted with the news that the Emperor’s Mosque is opening its doors to the believers this year.
The Emperor’s Mosque is not just a place where dua and prayer will be executed, but also a light and hope for people that many good things will be done in the city on Drina and Ćehotina.
“For us and our people, it is more than just a mosque – it is a comeback to what we belonged to once, to what used to be ours. In architectural and environmental context, we have not stopped there while building the Emperor’s Mosque. These days, we have helped our returnees to live of their work, to sow some plants and 13 families will ripe the results of their work in autumn. We, as the Mufti Office and the Islamic Community, were somehow a support to this project and, in parallel, we are helping these people to get electricity after 20 years. Each of those details is very important and the Emperor’s Mosque is the light that our people see and based on that light they hope that more good things could be done. I hope that the non-Bosniak residents of Foča will recognize that value and that they will be with us when we share the happiness caused by the more beautiful look of Foča,” said Remzija Effendi Pitić, the Mufti of Goražde.
All stories related to mosques in Foča are the same. Razed to the ground, burnt, desecrated – 12 mosques in Foča. Aladža, Atik Ali-Pasha’s Mosque, the Emperor’s Mosque as the central and the largest mosque in this town, were not only religious facilities, but the history and culture of one town, an indelible stamp of one time, the beauty of its architecture and art, tradition, the spirit of the town… They equally live and last even if demolished, burnt, bombed. So was the Emperor’s Mosque burnt, bombed and razed to the ground in 1992 and its remains most probably thrown in the Drina River in order for the plateau where the mosque was situated to be transformed into a dump.
The Emperor’s Mosque was built in 1501. Its locality has been chosen so that the mosque could be seen from every part of the town, with an imposing stone minaret 32 meters high. Accompanying facilities have been built as well and around the mosque there was a large harem with many tombstones.
Mufti Pitić reminded that the reconstruction of the mosque started thanks to the people of Foča who organized themselves and launched the reconstruction project. It is certainly a complex venture, not only in terms of finances, but also because of the fact that the Commission for preservation of national monuments of culture declared the site and remains of the architectural unit of the Emperor’s Mosque a national monument of BiH in 2004, which entails the application of all measures of protection and rehabilitation in accordance with legal regulations.
(Source: klix.ba)
