HADŽI ALIJA MOSQUE

This mosque (Hadži-Alijina Džamija) is also called Šišman Ibrahim-Pasha Mosque. Built in 1562/1563, it is one of the finest examples of classical Ottoman architecture in the country. During the sacking of Počitelj by the Croatian Defense Committee in 1993, it lost its dome and its 32 m high minaret. The ensemble was restored between 2000 and 2004. The building forms a square of 12 m on each side with ashlar walls 1.10 m thick. It is surmounted by a lead-covered dome 15 m high and preceded by a porch with three domes. In the courtyard, some original elements have been preserved, including the twelve-faceted base of the minaret. The entrance is adorned with beautiful doors above which is a finely carved portal. Much of the 18th century interior decoration has been preserved: rich ornamentation, carved niches and colored glass openings. The large minbar and the mihrab, however, had to be redone. The mosque bears the name of the person who financed its construction: Ali Mujezinović, a "hadj" who made the pilgrimage to Mecca. But nothing else is known about him. The other name given is that of Šišman Ibrahim Pasha: a chief janissary who died in Egypt in 1677. Known locally as "the Hero" (Čelo), legend has it that he was born poor in Poćitelj and rose through the ranks of the Ottoman Empire to become a vizier. Although some historians doubt this version, several buildings in the village are named in his honor.