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Šarena Džamija (Sulejmanija Mosque), the painted mosque in the centre of Travnik

Mosque

Šarena Džamija

Travnik · Central Bosnia

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Mosque
COUNTRY
Bosnia & Herzegovina
REGION
Travnik · Central Bosnia
DURATION
1 day

ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION

The Šarena Džamija — the “coloured” or “painted” mosque, formally the Sulejmanija — is the one building every visitor to Travnik comes to see. From the outside it is a small, neat Ottoman mosque with a minaret, a porch and a stone wall around its courtyard; from the inside it is a surprise. The walls, the dome, the gallery and the porch ceiling are all covered in painted decoration — flowers, landscapes, houses, trees and geometric borders — applied in bright colours over the plaster. The painting is the point of the building: a rare, almost complete surviving example of the painted Ottoman mosque tradition in Bosnia, and the most distinctive single sight in the town. A small museum beside it tells the story of the mosque and of the Travnik muftiluk, the religious jurisdiction once based here.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The story behind it

The mosque was built in the first half of the 16th century — tradition dates it to around 1549 — and is attributed to Sulejman, after whom it takes its formal name, Sulejmanija. Its painted decoration was added and renewed over the centuries, with the surviving scheme largely dating from the 19th century and later restorations. The painting of mosque interiors was a recognised craft in Ottoman Bosnia, but few examples survive as completely as the Šarena Džamija, which is why it became the town’s best-known monument. The mosque was damaged in past fires and wars and restored each time, most recently in the modern period, when the painted scheme was conserved. It is today a protected national monument and a working mosque, with a small museum in the adjoining buildings.

WHAT TO SEE

What to see here

01

The painted interior — the walls and dome covered in floral and landscape decoration in bright colours, the rare and complete scheme that gives the mosque its name.

02

The painted porch ceiling — the decoration continues onto the entrance porch, often the part seen first and one of the most photographed.

03

The courtyard and minaret — the neat Ottoman courtyard with its stone wall, fountain and slender minaret, the calm exterior that hides the painted interior.

04

The adjoining museum — a small collection on the mosque and the Travnik muftiluk, the religious jurisdiction once centred on the town.

WHY IT MATTERS

Why it matters

The Šarena Džamija is the building that distinguishes Travnik from every other Ottoman-era town in Bosnia. Painted mosques were once more common, but the Šarena survives almost complete, and its interior is a single, coherent work of decoration unlike the plain plaster of most Bosnian mosques. For a visitor it is the one sight that cannot be seen anywhere else, and the natural centre of a walk through the old town.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Before you go

Visiting
Non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside prayer times. Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered); scarves are usually available at the entrance.
Prayer Times
The mosque closes briefly to visitors around the five daily prayers, most notably the Friday midday prayer — plan around these.
Access
The Šarena Džamija stands in the old-town centre, a short walk from the bazaar street and within easy reach of the fortress and Plava Voda.
Context
Pair the mosque with the fortress and Plava Voda for the core Travnik loop, and with the Ivo Andrić Memorial Museum for the town’s Ottoman and literary layers.

MAP & LOCATION

Šarena Džamija

Šarena Džamija, Travnik, Central Bosnia, Bosnia & Herzegovina

44.2260, 17.6680

Open in OpenStreetMap

MORE ATTRACTIONS

More to see in Travnik

Travnik Fortress (Stari Grad), the medieval and Ottoman hilltop fortress above the town in Central Bosnia
Fortress

Travnik Fortress

The medieval hilltop fortress above Travnik — Stari Grad — the town’s oldest feature and the reason it sits where it does, with walls and towers looking out over the Lašva valley and the Ottoman town below.

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Plava Voda, the deep blue karst spring on the edge of Travnik in Central Bosnia
Spring & Riverside

Plava Voda

Plava Voda — the “blue water” — is a strong karst spring at the edge of Travnik, rising a deep, improbable blue from a rocky basin and feeding a stream that runs through a green park at the foot of the fortress hill.

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The birthplace of Ivo Andrić in Travnik, now the Ivo Andrić Memorial Museum
Museum

Ivo Andrić Memorial Museum

The house in which Nobel-laureate writer Ivo Andrić was born in 1892, preserved and opened as a memorial museum on the old bazaar street of Travnik — the town he set onto the page in “Travnik Chronicle.”

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THINGS TO DO

Things to do nearby

01

Walk Travnik’s old town, fortress and historic centre

02

Experience Travnik’s traditional food and ćevapi

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Ćevabdžinicas on and around the bazaar street — Travnik ćevapi with kajmak, the dish the town is famous for

02

Old-town bakeries for burek and sirnica, and cafés for Bosnian coffee after a meal

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Small central guesthouses and hotels in the old town — a convenient base for a one-day visit

02

Nearby Jajce and Vitez for travellers combining Central Bosnia in a single trip

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ITINERARIES

Day-by-day routes

Travnik in One Day — Travnik1 day

Travnik in One Day

A walkable one-day loop through the Ottoman vizier town — the medieval fortress on the hill, the painted Šarena Džamija, the Ivo Andrić Memorial Museum on the bazaar street, a ćevapi lunch, and an afternoon rest at the blue Plava Voda spring.

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The Central Bosnia Loop — Travnik1 day

The Central Bosnia Loop

Travnik → Jajce → the Pliva lakes: a day through the Ottoman vizier town and the waterfall town of Central Bosnia.

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NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Jajce

Jajce

Central Bosnia

Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo & Olympic Mountains

Livno

Livno

Northwest Bosnia / Krajina

PART OF

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