Architecture of Turbets (Mausoleums) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Turbets, as an architectural program, came to the Balkans with the conquest of these areas by the Ottoman Empire. Turbets were erected over the graves of persons who were distinguished for something. In addition to having historical significance, turbets also have a religious character. Turbets in Bosnia and Herzegovina are relatively small buildings, made of masonry or wood. There are several types, and the roughest can be divided into closed and open. Closed turbets stand, mostly, next to mosques, while open turbeta are mostly in cemeteries. In turbets, one, two, less often several dead people are buried together. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the most famous closed turbets are: Gazi Husrev-bey's and Murat-bey's in Sarajevo, Ferhat-pasha's in Banjaluka and Sinan-bey's in Cajnice. The most famous open turbets are the two turbets on Alifakovac and one near the Sinan's tekke in Sarajevo, and several turbets in Travnik, which has the largest number of turbets in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A turbe may contain a symbolic grave even though the body rests elsewhere. Turbets are mostly built by Muslims, and their construction is usually accompanied by legends that are passed down from generation to generation. Since ancient times, Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been telling stories about 'evlija' (holy people, 'good' people). There is almost no place in Bosnia and Herzegovina that does not have a grave ('kabur') to which the story of a person who unjustly lost his life is related, and over time he becomes a 'saint' ('evlija') who is in battle, or on another way, 'the rest without a head', but he 'takes his head under his arm and carries it until someone notices him'. Then he falls down dead, and where he fell, people raised turbe. Visitors and passers-by, when they have an idea or wish, usually contribute some contribution ('sadaka') in the form of money, flowers, lighting a candle, for example, and with a short prayer addressed to the innocent victim, they hope that the Almighty God will help them to solve their problems (illness, marriage or love problem, for example).