Horsemen from Sarajevo yesterday morning headed to Prusac near Donji Vakuf, where the central event of the 507th Days of Ajvatovica will take place next weekend.
A group of almost 40 horsemen, fully dressed in traditional BH costumes, departed from Atmejdan in Sarajevo towards Ajvatovica, the largest Muslim pilgrimage site in Europe.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Stari Grad Ibrahim Hadzibajric attended this ceremony, and he handed over the flag of the municipality.
Hadzibajric stated that this event became a real tradition and that horsemen are traditionally departing from Atmejdan since 2010.
Several minor age horsemen participated in the event, and some of them even arrived from Paris in order to participate.
The horsemen marched through Bascarsija and Ferhadija and Marsala Tita Street. They attracted a lot of attention of our citizens, who watched their parade with a lot of enthusiasm.
Ajvatovica is the largest Muslim pilgrimage site in Europe and one of the oldest ones in BiH. It represents huge part of the identity of Bosniaks. It is located at the foot of Suljaga Mountain, around 7 kilometers from the old town of Prusac. Ajvatovica represents an important characteristic of Muslims in BiH because of its indigenous character.
It remains unknown when was held the first Ajvatovica, but it is known that it was named after Ajvaz-dedo, an Islamic scholar and Sufi who came to BiH from the territory of today’s Turkey back in the 15th century. Maintenance of Ajvatovica was forbidden after 1947, but this tradition was restored again in 1990.
(Source: faktor.ba)
