'Pearl of Bosnia' set to reopen after 27 years

By Talha Ozturk </p> <p>BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The Alaca Mosque, known as the &quot;Pearl of Bosnia,&quot; will be reopened Saturday after a five-year rebuilding process with the support of Turkey.</p> <p>Located in Foca in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, the mosque was demolished by Serb forces during the Bosnian War, nearly three decades ago. </p> <p>Built in 1549 by Hasan Nezir, a close colleague of the famous chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer, Mimar Sinan, it is one of the first mosques built with the classical Ottoman architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina.</p> <p>The ceremony Saturday is expected to be attended by Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and General Director of Foundations Adnan Ertem.</p> <p>With the support of the General Directorate of Foundations, the reconstruction of the mosque began in 2014.</p> <p>The mosque was demolished by the Serbs in 1992, when the war began.</p> <p>Stones of the mosque were found buried at two different locations hundreds of feet from its present site. </p> <p>There were 12 mosques in Foca when the war started. All were destroyed by Serb forces. </p> <p>According to Bosnia's Islamic Union, 614 mosques, 218 prayer rooms, 69 Quran course sites, four dervish lodges, 37 tombs and 405 pieces of historical heritage that belong to Muslim foundations were destroyed during the war.</p> <p>Some 534 mosques in territories controlled by Serb forces were destroyed, while 80 mosques were destroyed in territories under Croat forces.</p> <p>According to the union, 80% of the 1,144 mosques in Bosnia were destroyed or damaged and more than 100 imams were killed by Serb and Croat forces.</p> <p>The mosque will be opened on the eve of Bosnia's Day of Mosques, according to a statement from the Islamic Union of Bosnia Herzegovina.</p> <p>The small Balkan country which survived massive shelling during the war, as well as massacres and the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, marks May 7 as the Day of Mosques.