The village of Kotezi on the heights of Popovo field is hiding remains of perhaps one of the oldest mosques in BiH among its walls. Muje Kotezlije mosque from the 15th century is a national monument of our country.
During the Ottoman rule, besides the mosque and a mekteb (Islamic primary school), books say that the village also had three towers and several residential buildings. Three hundred years ago, they had an inn and trade, and before the World War II, they also had more than five hundred residents. Today there are only ruins, empty old houses and mosque of a different look and a unique history.
“According to a saying, the mosque was built by Kotezlija Mujo, most probably in the second half of the 15thcentury. The mosque has dimensions 7, 70 times 10, 10 and it had an extension over the porch with sofas. He also made a mekteb building and a tiny, modest premises for imam,” wrote publicist Ibrahim Kajan about the mosque in Kotezi.
Hivzija Hasandedic, the greatest writer of chronicles from that era, wrote that there is no similar architecture in our country, and he also mentioned that Fehim ef. Spaho, then Reis-ul –ulema, prayed in it in 1939.
The mosque was damaged for the first time during the uprising in Herzegovina, in the period from 1875 to 1878, when its roof was demolished, and the walls were damaged as well. Later, they say, it was reconstructed. It was completely damaged in 1942 when the roof was destroyed and premises of mekteb was destroyed as well. The mosque has been out of function since that year, and it has been under certain state protections since 1950.
People should come in Kotezi, those travelers who can appreciate the architecture and its historical importance. Later on, its reconstruction would be much easier, and the image of this area would be completely different.
(Source: R. D./Klix.ba)
