The Oldest Part of the City

Baščaršija — pronounced roughly "bash-char-shee-ya" — is the historic bazaar district that forms the oldest and most atmospheric part of Sarajevo. Founded in the mid-15th century when Ottoman governor İsa-beg Ishaković laid the first foundations, it has functioned continuously as a market for nearly 600 years. Today it is both a working neighbourhood and the cultural heart of the city.

The name comes from the Turkish başçarşı, meaning "main market" or "head bazaar." What you find here is not a preserved relic but a genuinely alive place where craftspeople work, residents buy groceries, and visitors from around the world sit drinking coffee at outdoor tables.

The Street Layout: Organised by Trade

Like all Ottoman bazaars, Baščaršija was historically organised by trade, with each street or section dedicated to a specific craft or commerce. Many of these specialisations survive today in the street names:

  • Kazandžiluk — The coppersmith's street. Still lined with workshops where artisans beat copper into džezvas, trays, and decorative items. The sound of hammering is constant. This is the most evocative street in the bazaar.
  • Sarači — The leather workers' street, now a pedestrian corridor lined with cafés, carpet shops, and souvenir sellers.
  • Bravadžiluk — Historically the locksmiths' street, now famous for its row of ćevabdžinicas (ćevapi restaurants) and constantly busy at lunch.
  • Mudželiti — Where bookbinders once worked; today home to small shops and galleries.

Landmarks Within Baščaršija

The neighbourhood contains several of Sarajevo's most important landmarks within a short walking radius:

  • Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque — The 16th-century mosque that anchors the quarter, still in daily use.
  • The Sebilj — The ornate wooden fountain at the centre of the bazaar square, rebuilt in its current form in 1891. The symbolic heart of Sarajevo.
  • Bezistan — The covered bazaar hall adjacent to the mosque, originally for textile trade, now housing a range of shops.
  • The Old Orthodox Church (Stara pravoslavna crkva) — One of the oldest buildings in Sarajevo, a Serbian Orthodox church dating to around 1539, tucked into the bazaar streets.

Living in Baščaršija

Beyond the tourist-facing shops and restaurants, Baščaršija retains a residential character. The hillside streets above the bazaar — rising toward the old city walls and the Yellow Fortress — are lined with traditional Bosnian houses (čardaklije): timber-framed, with latticed bay windows and walled courtyards. These neighbourhoods of Kovači and Bistrik give a sense of domestic life in Ottoman Sarajevo that the bazaar floors alone cannot.

Small local shops sell everyday necessities alongside the tourist items. Mosques mark every few hundred metres. The call to prayer echoes off the hillsides five times daily, as it has for centuries.

How to Experience Baščaršija Well

  1. Come at different times of day. Early morning, the bakeries are open and the streets are quiet. Midday, the restaurants are packed. Evening, the café tables fill and the pace slows beautifully.
  2. Walk uphill. The most rewarding parts of Baščaršija are the streets that climb away from the main bazaar floor into the old residential hillside.
  3. Slow down at Kazandžiluk. Watch the coppersmiths work. Buy something functional — a džezva or a small tray — rather than a generic souvenir.
  4. Sit for coffee. Bosnian coffee culture demands patience. Find a courtyard café, order a džezva, and stay for at least half an hour.

Getting There

Baščaršija is at the eastern end of the city centre, easily reached on foot from most hotels in the central zone. Tram lines 1 and 3 stop at Baščaršija station. From the main Ferhadija pedestrian street, it is about a 10-minute walk east.