TURKISH-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN 16th AND 17th CENTURY IN

CROATIA
ISSUES OF ASSESSMENT AND RECONSTRUCTION

Zlatko Kara
University of Zagreb - Faculty of Architecture
HR 10000 Zagreb, Kaieva 26
phone: 385/1/4639-382, e-mail: zlatko.karac@arhitekt.hr

SUMMARY
Until recently, the Islamic heritage left from the times of the Turkish rule was a poorly
preserved and completely unknown layer of historic architecture in Croatia, present
mostly in the regions of Slavonia, Lika and the Dalmatian Zagora region. Croatia has
just recently performed an inventory of its Ottoman heritage (coinciding with the layer
of renaissance and early baroque in the free parts of Croatia at the time). This unusual
counterpoint, i.e. the meeting point of Islamic architecture and Western visual arts, is
today highly valued as a specific quality of the Croatian cultural space. This report will
present the research of Ottoman architecture so far, the recent renovations, as well as
the conservation restitution programs that are currently in preparation - from
archaeological presentations to procedures for the conservation of ruins, there
adaptation for new functions, and related assessment and methodological issues.

INTRODUCTION
The Turkish period in Croatia historical framework. The least researched layer in
the history of Croatian architecture with a insignificant sample of preserved monuments is
that dating to the Turkish-Islamic period during the 16 th and 17th centuries. The Ottoman
conquests of Croatian territories began after the Battle of Krbava Field in 1493 and ended
with the Battle of Sisak in 1593 and a crushing defeat in their expansionary wars. In classical
historiography the lands bordering with the Ottoman Empire are almost mythically described
as the antemurale Christianitatis or the Bulwark of Christianity and defended frontiers of
Christian Europe from the Ottoman Empire. In 1552 these frontiers had extended as far as 48
km from Zagreb, to the River esma near azma, and, with the building of Petrinja on the
River Kupa, even closer. Warring continued up until the Peace of Zsitvatorok and the final
demarcation of the Ottoman Empire (Bosnia) on 23 December 1795. A period of 302 years
went by from the fall of Imotski, the first Croatian territory to be conquered, in 1493 to 1795
when the Ottomans finally left their last stronghold within the territory of Croatia. The
Ottomans continued to have a hold on the bordering regions of Lika, Kordun and Zagora,
whereas Slavonia was only under Turkish rule for a century and a half. [10].
Vice versa Croatian Renaissance stylistic framework. Centuries of warring but also the
coexistence of Croatia and the Islamic world and oriental arts while the Renaissance

flourished in towns along the Adriatic Coast helped shape one of the greatest cultural
counterpoints in the development of art in these regions. While Niccol Fiorentino was
completing the dome of ibenik Cathedral, Littoral Makarska was already part of the Islamic
world, and when the Sponza Palace (Divona) in Dubrovnik was built the Turkish border was
only 3 kilometres above the City of Dubrovnik. The advent of Islamic architecture in
Dalmatia coincided with the Renaissance at the end of the 15 th century and during the entire
16th century, while its extended duration coincided with the Early Baroque in the 17th century.
And while much has been written about the reliquiae reliquiarum art of the Renaissance and
Baroque that flourished within the few free regions of Croatia, there are very few
interpretations and very little has been documented, recorded and archived on the
chronologically concurrent Turkish-Islamic heritage that was built up over three centuries in
other parts of Croatia [1, 6, 10, 18, 22, 26].
TYPOLOGY OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CROATIA
The reason for the scarce number of preserved Islamic monuments in Croatia is due to the
systematic destruction of anything that symbolised Islam within the initial years after the
Turks had been expelled from Croatian lands. However, for practical reasons, and due to
poverty in the liberated lands, Islamic buildings were adapted and served new purposes. In
this way, certain mosques were altered and transformed into Catholic churches and have, as
such, survived to this day. Individual Turkish forts continued to serve as military forts and
Turkish utilities bridges, waterworks, wells also continued to be used.
Mosques, masjids and musallas. According to records of the Meshihat of the Islamic
Community in Croatia, during Turkish rule as many as 189 mosques, or places of prayer
were built in the regions of Slavonia and Lika [16], to which should be added several dozen
places of worship in the Dalmatian Zagora region and Littoral Makarska. Based on defter
(cadastre) lists it may be discerned that kasabas (semi-urbanised market towns) like Vukovar,
Valpovo, akovo, Raa or Drni had five mosques (or mahala mesjids), each during their
urban phase, whereas ehers (large towns, cities) had more: Osijek definitely had eight
(during elebis days even perhaps 12) [2], Poega had nine places of prayer (three mosques
and six mesjids), etc. elebis descriptions of the eher Cernik from 1660, in which he sees 21
mosques, or of Gradika, where he notes 26 Islamic places of prayer, seem difficult to believe,
especially as, at the same time, he records only nine in the much more developed Ilok.
elebis note on Osijek as having 66 Muslim places of prayer is also rather difficult to
believe! [4]
During the early years of Christian requisition, in poorer regions mosques served as Catholic
churches. After the liberation of Lika, priest Mesi adapted mosques in Perui, Budak, Bilaja
and Ribnik for Christian services. During this early post-Turkish phase it is possible that
medieval sacral buildings, which the Turks had used as mosques in the interim, were
converted into churches. This holds true for the gothic Cathedral of akovo (a 'holy fort
mosque'), the Church of St Lawrence and the Franciscan Church of St Demetrius (the erklot
mosque) in Poega, the Romanesque chapel in Koprivnica and Suleimans mosque, which
was within an adapted medieval church at the Kaptol castile near Poega, and for the existing
chapel in the Valpovo castle, which also served as a mosque. elebi also notes that the
Suleiman-han mosque at the castle in Brod was also a church before it became a mosque
(probably the Chapel of St Mark) [4]. The medieval All Saints Church in Poeke Sesvete
was also converted into a mosque and then reverted into a Catholic place of prayer after the
Turks. The gothic church in Perui, north of Gospi, was also used as a mosque by the Turks,

and then later re-consecrated and became the Church of the Holy Cross. A mosque is also
mentioned as existing in Udbina in the post-Turkish period. The Old Croatian central-plan
church at Gradina, Solin, which is only preserved in its groundplan, was converted into a
mosque. The small mosque at Tvra in Osijek was converted in 1700 into the Chapel of St
Francis.
Only three mosques remain preserved to this day in Croatia. All three have classical domes
from the 16th century: at akovo (the All Saints Church) [17, 23], in Drni (St Anthony) [24,
26] and at Klis (St Vitus) [25, 26]. It seems that the small Church of Our Lady of Angels at
the fort in Imotski was built in 1788 upon the remains of a mosque, just as the church nearby
at Glavina from 1722, which is structurally an Islamic place of prayer, was adapted for the
needs of Orthodox Christians settling the area. Certain other mosques, destroyed in relatively
recent times, have been described and documented. For example, the mosque in Vrgorac
which was adapted into a Catholic church in 1694 remained standing until 1913, and its
minaret made of beautifully hewn stone and 40 feet high with an inner spiral staircase
continued to exist until 1861. The ruins of a mosque were recently cleared in Proloac near
Imotski by arampov-most during the construction of the road. The remains of mosque walls
are apparently still visible in Pakrac during low water levels on the Pakra River, and remains
are also mentioned as existing in Orahovica. In 1938 the remains of a Turkish place of
prayer were noted at Bosut near Vinkovci. And the Kasim-Pasha mosque from 1558 at Tvra
in Osijek has been archaeologically researched and recorded [15].
The only minaret (mosque tower) in Croatia from the 16th century has been preserved in Drni
and is made of finely carved stone [24, 26]. Photographs and drawings from 1919 record and
document the then existing lower part of the minaret at the Kasim-Pasha mosque in akovo
(called the Turkish dungeon), which was, at the time, incorporated as a romantic ruin within
the Bishops park. A description of the minaret of the erklot mosque in Poega was provided
by elebi who says that it was very high and made completely of red brick (probably a
Franciscan medieval bell-tower) [4].
Most urbanised settlements also had a musalla (a larger area for prayer in the open) where all
Muslim demats (religious congregations) occasionally bowed together in prayer. One such
area has been identified on the plan of Turkish Vukovar within the bearski kri zone [9],
and it is said that musallas were also noted on the cadastre defters of Poega (1579) and
Mitrovica (1581).
Tekkes. There were around 20 Dervish tekkes or zavijas (types of monasteries). The most
significant was Hindi-babas tekke in Vukovar, a prophet whose grave was visited by pilgrims.
It stood at the site of what is today the Eltz Manor and in the post-Turkish years (until 1736) it
served as the administrative centre of the nobility. Other tekkes are mentioned in Grgurevci in
Srijem, and the Ulama Pashas zavija in Poega from 1550. During the 17th century there were
four tekkes in Osijek, three in both Mitrovica and Nijemci, two each in Pakrac and Raa, and
one each in Cernik, Ilok and Valpovo.
Cemeteries, turbes and tombstones. The only existing turbe (mausoleum) in existence in
Croatia today is in Ilok. It is an open pavilion with a dome supported by four columns [1]. In
view of its location in the centre of the fort plateau, it probably belonged to one of the Srijem
sandak-begs.
Only photographs remain of Gaibas turbe which stood on the banks of the Sava near Stara
Gradika. In concept, it is a closed chapel with a quadrangular groundplan. The Austrian
forces tolerated the renewal of this mausoleum over a period of two centuries and its
maintenance was paid for by Muslims who regularly visited it from the Bosnian bank. Its last
reconstruction was apparently paid by the Emperor Franz Josef I himself [7, 12, 20]. The

turbe was disassembled in 1954 and transferred to Bosanska Gradika, and was devastated
during the recent war by Serb forces. The Halil-Beg Memibegovi turbe from 1601
(destroyed in 1815, documented in descriptions) stood at Visue near Udbina. Archaeological
excavations at Kriani Square at Tvra in Osijek have recently brought to light the
groundplan of the large octagonal Kasim-Pasha turbet depicted on parterre graphics on the
paving [15], which is also well-known from other plans and landscapes of Osijek dating from
Turkish times, and from elebis description which states that it is a lead-covered light domed
mausoleum [4]. A further smaller, open-type turbe has been discovered at the same site.
Mustapha-Pashas polygonal turbe in Osijek has also been archaeologically researched,
whereas the site of Bayram-Begss turbeta (elebi mentions it as standing at the exit towards
Valpovo) and Husrev-Begs turbe located in the gardens on the Belgrade road remain
unknown for now [4]. The most renowned place visited by pilgrims in Ottoman Slavonia
Hindi-Begs turbe which stood beside the dervish tekke in Vukovar has not been preserved,
but is beautifully described in a number of places in elebis Putopisi [4]. Hasan-efendis
turbe built around 1590 next to the Khalwatiyyah Tekke in Poega, where the Dnmez-Beg
turbe once stood, was also a place visited by pilgrims as was the turbe of fort commander
Ahmed.
Quite a number of smaller grave monuments - mezar nian, or standing tombstones, have
been preserved in Croatia, which are the most numerous group of non-figurative almost
abstract Islamic stone plastique. In shape they are predominantly cylindrical, although they
are also less frequently rectangular stone pillars with accentuated almas (heads) stylized in
the form of turbans, fezzes, etc. They are no longer to be found in situ, and better specimens
are housed in museum collections at Poega (finds from Kujnik and Rudine), Vukovar, Brod,
akovo..., at the Franciscan monasteries in Cernik, Hrvatska Kostajnica and Makarska, and at
the Church of St Michael in Konjsko in the Dalmatian Zagora. An embellished tombstone is
also to be found at the town cemetery of the City of Korula and a second less preserved one
was housed at the lapidary of the city hall. A tombstone with an ulema turban may be seen
even today walled into the terrace of the Dekovi House in Puia on the Island of Bra,
which confirms that Dalmatian stonemason workshops carved monuments for Muslim
cemeteries, probably in Herzegovina. The intentional destruction of Turkish resting places is
also confirmed in reports from the beginning of the 19th century when the road beneath Bijela
Stijena was repaired using material consisting of broken stone tombstones from the adjacent
Muslim cemetery. During the laying of the road running from eletovci to Nijemci in 1850 a
Turisk cemetery was destroyed which was, according to the parish priest, specific due to its
stone monuments that had heads wrapped in imitation turbans.
A necropolis was excavated in 2001 and researched using the C-14 method at the Pakrac
settlement Vinogradi at the indicative toponymic site termed Tursko groblje and dated to a
period around 1643.
Madrasahs and mektebs. There were already four madrasahs (religious secondary
schools) in Osijek in the 16 th century, among which those of Kasim-Pasha and MustaphaPasha are worth mentioning, alongside five mektebs (primary schools). elebi notes that the
Osijek mektebs ...were in good repair and full of children like in the saray palace [4]. At
Pakrac, which was also the centre of the sandak (large territorial unit) for a short while,
elebi notes that there were three madrasahs and six mektebs (more than in Osijek!) [4]. Ilok
had two madrasahs and six mektebs, there were also two secondary and three primary schools
in 17th century Raa on the River Sava, and two mektebs are recorded as existing in both
Vukovar and Nijemci.

Houses, manors and residential towers. Due to its transient construction there are almost
no preserved examples of residential architecture dating from the Turkish period in Croatia.
The few buildings that remain which have visible oriental elements and are locally given
names like Turkish house, etc, are probably younger in provenance and imports to the
bordering towns towards Bosnia. Buildings like this existed until recently, like the Tomi
House with a Turkish chimney in Poega or the storied ardak Muljevi in the part of
Poega called Arslanovci(!). The last remaining Turkish House was also recently devastated
in the centre of Slavonski Brod. The borderland ardak (blockhouse) on the banks of the
River Sava in upanja, certain houses in Voina and an unusual Turkish House with a
porched ardak in Bakar (probably a Levantine acquisition belonging to a seafarer or
merchant) belongs to this category of house reminiscent of oriental buildings. [13].
In mid-16th century Poega there is mention of a luxurious ksk (villa, summerhouse)
belonging to Bali-Beg Malkoevi, and later of Hadi-Mehmeds seraj which was open to all
travellers as a place to spend the night. Whether these residences belonging to notable people
were truly impressive needs to be confirmed by notes made by travellers from the West, for
example, Prandsttter who, during his visit to Ilok in 1608, was a welcome guest of the Srijem
sandak-beg at his wooden seraj. The stone Kadijas Manor in Imotski is today part of the
Franciscan monastery. The ruins of the manor of HasanAga Arapovi (sung in the
Hasanaginica) with a tower and three wells may still be seen at the Lupoglav site near
Zagvozd. In the mid-17th century, elebi saw ...single-storey and two-storey houses, all
covered in shingle (...) and all with gardens as beautiful as an earthly paradise in Cernik [4].
Timber frame constructions (a wooden framework filled with unfired clay - erpi, rammed
earth or wicker) is an oriental art brought to Croatian regions by travelling Turkish duners
(carpenters, builders). elebi also notes an interesting fact concerning the quality of building
in Turkish Drni: Now the town has no buildings made of wood. Due to fear that they may
be burnt down during warring, all the buildings are made of durable material... (around
1660) [4].
In Lika and especially in the Dalmatian Zagora, many authentic Turkish residential towers,
predominantly from the 17th century, remain standing to this day. These specific fortified types
of feudal residences (common all over the Balkan region) include: the Alia-kulina Tower and
the Tower of Aga Senkovi in Gospi (17th cent.), the elegant Tower of Jusuf-Aga Tuni in
Islam Grki, the ruins of the Atlagi Tower in Benkovac, Alibegs Tower in Imotski, a number
of ruined Turkish towers in nearby Glavina, as well as the Mumaz Tower and Dizdarevi
Tower (also the birth house of poet Tin Ujevi) and the Cukarinovi Beg Tower, all of which
are in Vrgorac. There are three residential towers at Plina beneath Ploe (the old parish manor,
the Grupkovi Tower near Puljani and another at the Karamati hamlet). There are also
numerous residential towers in Littoral Makarska (under Turkish rule from 1499): three
towers at Gornji Tuepi, probably from the 16th century (Bueli, ari and Lali), and three
further preserved Turkish towers in the hamlets around Podgora (Ruii, Marinovii and
Batoii), as well as towers in Dranice, the Zalina Kula in Igrani (it is unclear whether it is
Turkish in origin or was used against the Turks), the two-storey tower in Gracu and the ruins
of a Turkish tower in Drvenik near Zaostrog [3]. The only preserved residential tower in
Slavonia is the Jahja-Beg Tower in Gorjani, with a quadrangular groundplan, massively built
of brick, which was converted in 1837 into the Chapel of the Three Kings [18, 22].
Forts. - Due to Ottoman invasions and the constant shifting of borders to the west, forts left in
the hinterland of Turkish serhats (borderland, battlefield) soon became less important and so
they were mostly left unrenovated. Smaller fortifications have been recorded at Ruica near
Orahovica, at Budak and at Udbina, Perui, Karin, Nadin, at 'Gradina' in Vrgorac..., and the
most ambitious new tower fortification was in Cetin (the Ergar Tower from 1739 and the

Drenula Tower from 1765/66). The round tower built by the Turks in the 17 th century within
the Drni Fort has been well-preserved [24, 26], and there are also remains of a round
Ottoman tower on the Bribir plateau and at the fort Topana in Imotski. In other castles
where local forces were accommodated, wooden housing was built for the asker (soldiers)
and the odd solid building for the warehousing of ammunition. In cases where a Turkish
layer was added to existing fortifications, these then consisted of wooden palisades and
rammed earth constructions (Vukovar, the Osijek panaur) [9, 11].
By the beginning of the 17th century, some settlements without forts became important places
along communication routes (especially those along the Budim road), especially those where
there were river crossings, inns or menzilas (stations affording a change of horses). This was
why they were fortified by rectangular-shaped stake palisades, thereby attaining the status of
palankas, for example Petrinja (in Podunavlje these included Dalj, Tovarnik, Sotin, and
others). The best known among them is the new palanka Jeni Hissar (Petrinja) from 1592
[21].
Only on rare occasions did the Turks reinforce the towns they invaded through a system of
strongwalls and towers, as carried out in 1568 in Makarska on the Adriatic Coast by Sinans
pupil Hajredin the Younger (also the builder of the famous bridge in Mostar). The remains of
a round, brick angle tower (called the Fillibelli Fort) still stands at the entrance to Tvra in
Osijek and is the only remains of the Turkish city walls that extended between the settlement
and the panaur fair area.
In the borderland regions of Lika there are still significant remains to be found of relatively
new Turkish forts - for example, the Beina Tower in the village of Mualuk in the environs of
Gospi, the Malko-Beg Tower (1555) in Perui in Lika and the tuli Tower with the ruins
of a castle nearby, as well as a Turkish watchtower at Bei-gradina above Budak. Within the
region of the Dalmatian Zagora there is a Turkish castle with a large tower at Perui near
Benkovci, by the saltworks near Karin Vranski the castle renovated by the zaimi
Durakbegovii, and a number of forts in the Zrmanja canyon for the defence of Turkish
Obrovac. Even Gradina in Solin has been established as initially having been an Ottoman
fort which was built within 15 days in 1531by Husein-Pasha in order to take Klis. Other
interesting remains are those of a Turkish watchtower near Proloac in the Imotska Krajina
and the borderland tower in Arano, as well as the one above the village of Nisko on Mose.
There is a round tower near Neum. As far as the Zagora is concerned, the Tapu tahrir defter
(cadastre) from 1701 is worth noting in which the numerous forts of the time situated in the
borderlands between Turkish and Venetian lands are described. [8]. Today, the most
noteworthy and also earliest fort to be built by the Turks in Croatia around 1500 is the
monumental Norinska Kula (Round Norin Tower) and the remains of its bulwark, which lie in
the marshy Neretva River Valley. It is made of cut stone with embrasures (commissioned by
Hoda Mustafa-Pasha Uupli).
What seems unusual is that the Turks showed no inclination towards innovation as far as
fortifications were concerned, unlike the Renaissance bastion forts which were built as early
as the 1640s in neighbouring towns or on the border itself (from Zadar to Karlovac,
Koprivnica, etc.). For now, there are only intimations that Turkish bastions may have existed
in Poega and Ilok.
Clock towers. Chroniclers mention objects that no longer exist today, like clock towers
which were once to be found in Vukovar, the fort at Valpovo and Osijek. [4].
Caravan sarajs, hans and musafirhanas. In Croatian regions, as in all regions of the
Empire, state karavanserajas (caravan sarajas), large free inns were built along major routes
and roads (drum) which were often maintained by a vakuf (trust), while all major towns had

private hans (inns, taverns) similar in architecture. The only remaining example of this type of
building is the monumental han of vizier Jusuf-Pasha Makovi in Vrana (1644) which,
although it was never completed, is the largest complex of Ottoman architecture in Croatia [5,
19]. It seems that there is still a han near Banovci in Srijem, and until recently there was
another han in Zadvarje in the Omi hinterland. In Vukovar three smaller hans are mentioned
apart from the large karavanseraj which also served as a menzilhan (station affording a
change of horses) [9]. There was a wooden karavanseraj which was part of the market
panaur in Osijek, as well as six trading hans, while elebi notes that there were also
...many local dignitaries that kept odaks for guests [4]. It is interesting that in Poega, apart
from Husrev-Begs karavanseraj, Hadi-Mehmeds manor (his private residence) also
served as an inn with an imaret (public kitchen). elebi notes that there were also two hans in
Valpovo, Raa, Pakrac and Cernik, and smaller hans in the palankas Tovarnik, Sotin, and
others [4]. Travellers, mostly pilgrims, were also taken in at certain tekkes like Hindi-Begs in
Vukovar, which also had a town musafirhana (free inn). In Ilok elebija notes ...an excellent
coffeehouse with a beautiful view [4].
Shops, magazas, panaurs. All larger places, especially kasabas and ehers on major
routes had a developed trading and artisan arijas (town centres) with dozens or even
hundreds of shops, but there were no bezistans or permanent bazaars in Croatia.
As early as 1579, there was a large panaur made of wooden planks forming a specific urban
complex of shops, magazas, workshops and a fair in the open in the southern suburbs of
Osijek, but it only gained in significance in the 17th century and later, as elebi notes a longterm market town with 1000 shops! [4]
As far as trading on the borders went, it is interesting to note that a Turkish badhan (tax
office, customs house) still stands at the entrance to Vodice.
Hammams. A significant number of public baths are mentioned in written records, for
example, in Mitrovica in the 17th century there were three hammams, and, according to
unconfirmed reports, there were also baths in Pakrac, Valpovo and Osijek, as well as smaller
hammams, seen by elebi in Cernik, Raa and Dalj [4]. Some are precisely located on plans
dating from the Turkish period, especially baths in Vukovar which had two domed areas (the
mens and the womens areas) and whose foundations were discovered during recent repair
work carried out on utilities [9]. The only partly preserved hamman in Croatia is walled in
beside the tower at the city walls in Ilok and is presently being renovated [10]. elebi
describes it picturesquely as: ...a wonderful and beautiful hammam with pleasant air and a
beautiful building in which there are two kurnas and four sofas [4]. To the east in Srijem,
there are photographs that document the remains of Turkish baths in Slankamen (apparently
preserved to this day in the cellars of the parish house), and a furnace and floor ducts for
warm air dug up in 1977 in the park in Nijemci, which are also probably remains belonging to
a Turkish hamman.
Fountain, wells, sebiljs and adrvans. - Water and a steady supply of water was an essential
part of any Islamic town and their ritual and rites, and to this day there are still numerous
fountains.
The picturesque stone fountain of the Three Kings with a curlicued arch and niche
characteristic of the mihrab-esme type has been preserved beneath Klis[25, 26]. There are
also architecturally specific stone Turkish fountains in Slavonia: in Oriovac, Poega
(indicatively named Tekija), as well as at Slavonski Brod (the Rozinka Fountain on Brodsko
Brdo), and at Srijemski Karlovci. Up until recently, there was also a Turkish fountain in the
parks of Cerniki Dvorac.

The remains of Kasim-Pashas fountain with double arched niches were excavated at Osijek
close to the road to Baranja, and the fountain (perhaps a sebilj?) by the Kasim-Pasha mosque
complex on Kriani Square in Tvra [15] has also been excavated, while the remains of a
further fountain are kept at the Museum of Slavonia in Osijek. The fountain of Vizier
Mustafa-Pasha Jahjaogluu the Senior are mentioned in the town records of Poega. elebi
states that ...there is a fountain that contains the water of life near Arslan Begs damija
(mosque) at Ilok. [4].
The same chronicler notes that there are 12 sebiljs ('pavilion' or kiosk-shaped public fountain
with running water) in Osijek, among which Serdars, ehajs and especially Kasim-Pashas
sebilj (protected by a wooden cupola) are noteworthy [4]. Until recently, there was a sunken
well with characteristic Turkish architecture at the Franciscan monastery at Ilok [1], and
Turkish wells may still be seen at Zagvozd in the Dalmatian hinterland, and at Vrgorac (the
Muminovac and Dizdarevac Wells); in the hamlet Kokeza near Ogorje, the toponym Turski
bunar (Turkish well) is preserved although there are no longer any remains of a well. It is
interesting to note that in 1663 at Tovarnik, where the large Turkish army spent the night,
elebi noted ...four hundred wells from which water was drawn by a winch [4]. To this day,
the stone arch-shaped pavilion or adrvan (a fountain for ritual cleansing - abdest) is the
striking and distinct feature of the monumental Makovi han in Vrana [5, 10, 19].
Wooden and ceramic pipes belonging to the Turkish water supply system or aqueduct are
preserved at museums in Vukovar and Poega, and are also to be found in situ at the aqueduct
next to Kasim Pashas mosque complex at Tvra in Osijek[15].
Mills and watermills. Written and graphic sources (defters, chronicles, visitations,
drawings, and even more recent photographs) provide insight into numerous Islamic buildings
that today no longer exist. As recently as the 1950s, Turkish mills still existed at the waterfall
on the Savak stream near Vinkovci. Lj. Fadljevis picture at the City Museum of Vukovar
dating from 1910 depicts the Turkish watermill called Cigut on the stream beneath the
village of Berka. What seems to have been two Turkish watermills, traditionally called
Suleiman-Pasha and Osman-Pasha by the locals were destroyed in the 1960s at Baica
near Cernik. elebi notes numerous mills as existing in Cernik [4], and four are actually
recorded on the plans of this Turkish settlement. In the small village of Motinina, the defter
from 1579 notes as many as 12 mills in a settlement with fewer than 100 houses.
Bridges. - Although they do not bear the typical Islamic code due to their utilitarian design,
bridges are, without doubt, the most monumental structures left by the Turks within the
territory of Croatia. They were initially built along communication routes as part of the
military and then civilian infrastructure which was protected and maintained by units of
derbenijas and often constructed by engineers with Italian engineers, or Nassadists,
employed by the Turks.
During the attack on Hungarian Mohcs in 1526, Grand Vezier Ibrahim-Pasha commissioned
a wooden bridge measuring 550 metres to be built across the marshlands of Vuka near
Vukovar as a military crossing [9]. The chronicler elebi notes that... this bridge was built
(...) within three days and three nights at the orders of Sultan Suleiman, so that the Turk army
could cross during attacks on the town of Osijek. Many esnafi were employed and thousands
of craftsmen were employed in its construction... [4]. Although elebi tends to exaggerate
facts in his descriptions, the fact remains that Vukovar was occupied on 1 st August and the
sultan crossed over the finished uprija with his army on 13th August 1526! Although it was
made of wood, it served its purpose for the next 261 years an entire century after the Turks
had already left these regions (it was demolished in 1787) [9].

The wooden bridge at Osijek was almost mythical among its contemporaries and was an oft
depicted motif in illustrations of this Turkish town. It ran from the banks of the River Drava
by the Tvra town gates and across the Baranja marshlands and was almost eight kilometres
in length. Certain sections were supported by oak pylons, whilst others were supported by
pontoons consisting of lashed boats. Although it was also initially built during military attacks
launched on Mohcs in 1526, it burnt down several times, and then repeatedly repaired and
even rebuilt. During extremely low water levels, its remains are clearly visible on the Drava
riverbed [14].
In 1592 Hasan-Pasha Predojevi had a bridge built across the River Kupa near Petrinjski
Brest. The stone Atlagia-most Bridge stood on the River Krka at Knin up until WWII. Two
stone bridges (Vukovia and Dragovia most) were recently submerged under the waters of
the Perua Lake, so that the only Turkish bridge that remains in Croatia is that across the
Krupa, a stream beneath Velebit [10, 11].
ASPECTS OF CONSERVATION
Problems with inventory records and evaluation. An inventory of Ottoman heritage,
which was scarce and unrecorded within the monument corpus, has only recently been carried
out in Croatia. Turkish monuments were mostly only mentioned in passing and seldom
researched and recorded by earlier generations of researchers bar exceptions (for example, G.
Szabo, J. Matasovi, J. Bsendorfer, I. Zdravkovi, Lj. Karaman, I. Petricioli); conservation
and restoration plans have been produced by T. Papi B. Valeni, K. Minchreiter and I.
Marochino, whilst shorter syntheses and overviews of the Turkish-Islamic heritage have been
published by A. Horvat (1975), M. Pelc (2007), and recently Z. Kara (2010).
Examples of restoration. Among restoration work that has been undertaken recently, the
restoration of three mosques (Klis, Drni i akovo) is worth noting. The restoration of the
akovo mosque presented a challenge as there were a number of layers of post-Turkish
architecture that needed to be preserved (baroque, classicist and historicism phases). Other
unique monuments like the turbeta in Ilok and the minaret and round tower in Drni, as well
as the Norin Tower have been conserved exemplarily, whilst the restoration of the Ilok
hammam and partial reconstruction of the dome are being carried out at this moment. A
programme (internationally funded) for the revitalization of Makovi-hana in Vrana for
cultural purposes has already been implemented. As far as residential architecture is
concerned, the Turkish House in Bakar, the Dizdarevi and Cukarinovi Towers in Vrgorac
and the Jahja-Beg Tower in Gorjani have been conserved. Archaeological papers and research
have been presented on the round semi-tower or so-called Fillibelli Fort as the single
remains belonging to the Turkish city wall of Tvra in Osijek, and parterre graphics
discovered at the nearby site on Kriani Square have also afforded the groundplan of KasimPashas mosque complex with two turbetas and a sebilj. Some examples of smaller
architecture, wells, grave monuments or nians, the remains of Turkish waterworks and
epigraphic inscriptions found on buildings are exhibited in Museum holdings.
The specific historical interaction of Islamic architecture and Western art is highly valued as a
specific feature of Croatias cultural heritage within these regions.

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