Gazi Turali Beg Mosque in Tuzla

The reconstructed Gazi Turali Beg Mosque officially opened today.

Gazi Turali Beg Mosque was built in the period between 1548 and 1572 in Tuzla, a city in the northern Bosnia. Turali Beg, the founder of the Mosque, built many monuments in Tuzla, and he is generally considered to be the founder of the urban development of the city.

The mosque was built of stone, with a stone minaret, single-space planning basis and a wooden roof, however, it is known for its the dome-shaped vault, which is a rare stylistic feature of the Bosnian mosques.

Eventually the mosque was badly damaged due to the sinking soil which led to the tilting of walls and minaret. For that reason the Gazi Turali Beg Mosque had to be completely reconstructed. The reconstruction project has been done in 2007 by architects Ruben Coal, the winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and his colleague Husein Dropic. The new project has a contemporary look, but still retains the authentic elements of the old mosque.

In 2005, Gazi Turali Beg Mosque, along with the harem and turbe, was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.