The Czar's mosque

At the site of the present mosque, there used to be a wooden mosque with hte rectangular square roof.
It was built in 1457, in the honor of the Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror by the founder of Sarajevo, Isa-
bey Ishakovi. Later, it was popularly called after the Czar0s. Isa-bey Ishakovi built a hamam (Turkish
bath) by the mosque; a wooden bridge over the Miljacka river, leading towards the entrance of the
Mosque. On the other bank of the river, he built a ston han (inn), caravansary Kolobara, and numerous
shops around the mosque and the inn. Altogether, the stated buildings formed the first urban core of the
city. The neighborhood formed around the mosque is called Mahala Careve damije (the Neighborhood
of the Czar's Mosque), later Careva mahala (the Czar's neighborhood, which was the first Sarajevo's
residential area.

The Spite House

When Austro-Hungarian constructors were undertaking the huge regulation works on the bank of the
Miljacka River by the eer-ehaja's Bridge, it was necessary to tear down the house located on the rigt
bank of Miljacka, close to Vijenica (The City Hall). According to tradition, the owner would not permit
the tearing down of the house and no persuasion helped. In the end, he agreed under the condition that
his house is moved stone by stone to he other bank of the Miljacka River. Furthermore, he was to be
given additional pouch of ducats. Just out of spite! Allegedly, this is what occured. So, today this house,
popular as the Spite House, is one of the most beautiful Sarajevo's national restaurants.

Brana (The Dam)

In the old times, upstream the eher-ehaja Bridge, were the mills of Isa-bey Ishakovi, the founder of
the city. There was a dam that brought water to the wheels. The entire area upstrem is called Bendbaa
after the Turkish term bent meaning a dam. The mills and the old dam are long gone. In the 1950's, a
new, iron one replaced the old dam. Once it made an artificial pond and, tohether with th swimming
pools at Bendbaa, was the most popular swimming complex of Sarajevans. Today it has only a
decorative role forming a small waterfall on the Miljacka river.

Emergence and the City name

Traits of settlements form the Neolithic era have been discovered on the territory of modern Sarajevo
and its surroundings. The oldest is an expansive and abundant site located in Butmir, at the location of
the Sarajevo airport. On this territory forom 1893 do 1896 were extricated remains of one of the most
extensive Neolithic settlement in the Balkans, with over twenty sod huts and other forms of habitations,
large number of various tools, clay figural ornaments, and abundant ornamental pottery, preserved at
the National Museum in Sarajevo. This site marked one paricular type of Neolithic culture called the
Butmir Culture for which is estimated to have existed from 2400 BC to 2000 BC.