Religious tourism · Six countries
Discover mosques, tekkes and Islamic heritage sites across the Balkans. Explore their architecture, local stories and places in the life of each destination.
Explore the sitesIslam in the Balkans
Islam arrived in the Balkans with the Ottoman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries and quickly became part of the region’s everyday life, shaping its cities, crafts, music and hospitality.
Ottoman builders gave the region its old bazaars, covered markets, fountains, hammams and stone bridges, with the mosque at the heart of each neighbourhood. In Sarajevo, the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque (1531) still anchors Baščaršija, while Mostar’s Old Bridge and the Dervish tekke at the spring of the Buna in Blagaj show how faith, architecture and landscape were designed to belong together.
Today Islam is the faith of most Bosniaks and Albanians and of communities in Montenegro, Serbia’s Sandžak, Croatia and Slovenia. It is a tradition known for its openness: Sufi lodges, Bektashi centres in Albania and mosques standing a few steps from churches and synagogues tell a story of neighbours who have long shared the same streets.
Ottoman old towns, the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the Old Bridge.
A 16th-century Dervish lodge beneath a cliff at the source of the Buna.
Albania’s historic mosques and the Et’hem Bey Mosque’s painted interior.
Places of faith. Stories of the region.
Make room for meaningful places
Combine sacred sites, city walks and cultural landmarks across the six countries. Tell us which traditions, places and stories you would like to explore.
Plan a Balkan journey31 published sites
Foča
Aladža Mosque, also known as the Colorful Mosque or the Mosque of Hasan Nezir, is one of the most valuable monuments of Ottoman architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was built in 1549 in Foča, on the banks of the…
Sarajevo
Ali-Pasha's Mosque is one of the most beautiful and most harmonious mosques in classical Ottoman style in Bosnia and Herzegovina, built in 1560 or 1561 as a waqf of Hadim Ali Pasha — a man born in Drozgometva on the…
Bijeljina
Atik Mosque, the oldest in Bijeljina, represents an indelible trace of history and a symbol of survival through the centuries. Built between 1520 and 1566 under the patronage of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, after…
Livno
Balaguša Mosque, also known as the Bali-aga Ljubunčić Mosque or the Bazaar Mosque, is located in the old center of Livno, in the area of Stara čaršija, after which it got its recognizable name. This mosque is among the…
Sarajevo
Baščaršijska Mosque, also known as the Havadže Durak Mosque, is one of Sarajevo's most beloved religious buildings, located in the heart of Baščaršija in the Stari Grad municipality. It was built as an endowment of…
Mostar
The Blagaj Tekke is one of the most beautiful and spiritual places in Herzegovina, set beside the source of the Buna River, near Mostar. It was built around 1520 as a dervish lodge – a place of prayer and spiritual…
Fojnica
The Čaršija Mosque in Fojnica, also known as the Šaban Ahmed Efendi Mosque, is the heart of the town center and the most spacious place of worship in this area. Built in 1666 by the then qadi of Kreševo and Fojnica,…
Stolac
Ćuprijska Mosque, also known as the Hadži-Alija Hadžisalihović Mosque, is one of the oldest mosques in Stolac. Located on the left bank of the Bregava River, not far from the famous Inat-ćuprija, it got its name from…
Jajce
In the immediate vicinity of the fortress, in the heart of Gornja Mahala, stands one of the most unusual mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Built in 1812/1813, Dizdareva džamija has been attracting visitors for two…
Doboj
Donjačka Mosque is located in Derventa, in Donjačka mahala, built between 1570 and 1600, and named after its founder Ibrahim-hodža, who endowed 1,300 akçe for its upkeep. It was built in the Bosnian style, measuring…
Sarajevo
The Emperor's Mosque is the oldest mosque in Sarajevo and one of the first built in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally raised in 1462, in honour of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, and its construction was made…
Jajce
The Esma Sultanija Mosque, built in the mid-18th century (1749), is one of the most valuable sacred buildings in Jajce and the only major mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina named after a woman. Located in the very heart…
