Sarajevo mosques are not the only ones where the normal regime gets changed during the month of Ramadan, and everyday habits adjusts to this holy month. Many restaurants in Baš-čaršija open their doors at the time of breaking the fast, and lock them again with the time of suhuur.
Some of them are especially prominent and even favorites among the youth. If you ask young people about recitation of the Qur’an after the prayer and where to drink a coffee after the Tarawih prayer, the answer will always be the same: Divan Café. Near to the Bey’s Mosque, this Café is located in the complex of Morić-Han. Thanks to the thick walls, the temperature here is always lower by 3-4 degrees and the garden ambient is especially attractive during the hot summer days. However, the walls are not only what makes this place so special. People give this location its special charm, and oriental music with low light that transforms this place into a magical land from the “One Thousand and One Nights”.
The unwritten rule is that students of Gazi Husrev Bey’s medresah drink their coffee in the Divan. Perhaps you won’t find the owner, you may not find even a waiter, but one thing is for sure: you will always find students of medresah and the Faculty of Islamic Studies here. Sometimes it happens that a student comes to Divan with his friends and has no money for a coffee. If the owner or one of the waiter notices, they would most often bring him a coffee even without him asking for it. Sometimes students sleep in this café. After Tarawih prayer, most of the students who prayed in one of Sarajevo’s mosques, rush to the Divan. The lucky ones find a table, and those who did not came on time usually stand until a place opens for them. The cafe is full of life and joy during the Ramadan.
A drink that is ordered the most in the Divan is Zaim’s coffee. Only a few guests know the real origin of this coffee. Co-owner, Zijad Bajrić, explains it’s history. Ten years ago, right after the official opening of the Divan Cafe, a student of the Faculty of Islamic Studies, Zaim Posavljak, ordered a large coffee with milk and asked the waiter to sprinkle the coffee with Nesquik. Mirza Skopljak was the waiter at that time, and he was the first one who made the very first Zaim’s coffee. Since Zaim liked the coffee, he asked for the same again the next day. Then, a few of his friends began to order “the same coffee as Zaim’s.” The number of its fans increased, and it was decided that Zaim’s coffee should become a part of the regular offer. “We were looking for some specialty that would make us different from anyone else but we could not find it. Thank God, it came here as Zaim’s coffee. Today, the Divan makes more Zaim’s coffees than any other beverage, “explained Zijad.
(Source: faktor.ba)
(Source: faktor.ba)
