BAYRAKLI MOSQUE, BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE

Abstract

There are several theories about the exact time of construction of the Belgrade Bayrakli Mosque. According to one, it was built in 1690, or few years later, as the endowment of Sultan Suleiman II, after he reclaimed the city from the Austrians for the second time. According to another theory, it was built between 1660 and 1688, while there are also some opinions that it was built in the 16th century by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, which is the least likely. In any case, since the second half of the 19th century, when the last Turkish squads left the country, after which the Principality of Serbia grew increasingly independent, it became the only active Muslim place of worship in the capital city, until this very day. Its first reconstruction, undertaken by the Serbian state, was made in 1868, and the second in 1897, after which it never stopped working, although it was restored several times more during the 20th century. Both reconstructions in the 19th century were primarily driven by higher national and political goals that focused mostly on the Muslim population, especially those of Slavic descent and language, who continued to live in those parts of the Ottoman Empire that Serbia historically and traditionally regarded as its lands and wanted to reclaim it.