 Good evening. Welcome to Russia, the research seminar in Islamic art. Tonight we are lucky to have Dr. Darko Village, who is a research associate at the Institute of Art History in Croatia, and she actually is going to talk to us from Split. She graduated in art history and Italian language and literature at the University of Zagreb, where she also defended her doctoral thesis. She has participated in several research seminars and research associates, including the Getty Foundation, the Agaham program for Islamic architecture at Harvard University, and also was a Berenson Fellow at Villa Itatti in 2018, where she focused on the research of lodging and commerce in early modern Mediterranean in the light of cultural exchange. She has published extensively, both in books and scientific articles, including the award-winning book Engineers in the Surface of the Venetian Republic, published in 2013. She is a leader and collaborator on research projects of Institute of Art History and Croatian Scientific Foundation, and she focuses on the history of early modern architecture on the eastern Adriatic coast, with special interest in exploring transfer of architectural forms between the two Adriatic coasts and with the Ottoman influence. Her upcoming publications are on the questions of Caravan Serai in Bosnia and on the mechanism of mobility in the early modern world. And today, Darka will talk to us about mobility on the borders of the empire, shared spaces of the Caravan Serai in Ottoman Balkans. I'm very happy to welcome you, Darka, and over to you. Oh, I just say that as usual, please, for the audience, please write your questions or your points in the chat, and I will post them to Darka at the end of her seminar. And Darka has very kindly agreed to answer questions and points. So, Darka, over to you. Welcome. Thank you very much, Anna. I would like to thank, first of all, to Professor Contadini and also to Tanya Tola for inviting me to present my research to you. And also I would like to greet everyone who is here tonight for expressing their interest in my lecture. Let us begin. Let us begin on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, on the Dalmatian coast, where Ragusa road begins, and then slowly after we're going to head into the hinterland of Balkans. Let me just share my screen. You can see it. Yes, that's good. Thank you. Starting the architecture of the Las Retos on the Dalmatian coast, a complex of buildings where quarantine of travelers and merchants was conducted, as well as this infection of goods. I discovered that in 7084, due to the high number of Ottoman merchants who were coming over the land route from Ottoman Empire to the Las Reto of Ragusa, the senate of the Republic of Ragusa promulgated a regulation on the construction of lodging for the Ottomans, specifying that the new building had to emulate the form of Ottoman Han, a modo dei hani turki. Found on the territory of Bosnia. The provision specified that the rooms for the merchants were to be located on the upper floor, while the ground floor had to contain warehouses for goods and horse tables. This data prompted me to explore in more detail the architecture of Turkish Hans, or Caravanserais, in the Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Yalep, or present day Bosnia, which is situated in the immediate hinterland of the Dalmatian coast. In order to reconstruct the appearance of these buildings and identify possible similarities with their possible counterparts built in early modern period in the suburbs of Dalmatian cities. With the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottomans imported this institution on the territory of their newly conquered province of Bosnia, bordering with Venetian province of Dalmatia. The territory of Bosnia Pasadon was gradually, over the period of 200 years, integrated into the Ottoman Empire. This process started from the first confrontation with the Ottoman forces near Bileca in 1388 through 1463, the year of the fall of Bosnian Kingdom to the fall of the city of Yadze in 1528 and Bihac in 1592. This period in Bosnian history is marked by the Ottomanization of the conquered territory and by its intense urbanization. The process of Islamization and integration of Bosnian cultural traditions within the Ottoman Islamic norms lasted for at least the same amount of time. Social economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman rule, primarily during the 16th century, was considerably changed in comparison to the earlier period. General economic growth in the province was preceded by urbanization carried out through the second half of the 15th and the whole 16th century. Caravan Sarays were, along with roads and bridges, one of the essential parts of commercial network and a tool of development for towns and regions that facilitated commerce and brought an influx of capital to the local community. Caravan Sarays, as utilitarian structures, became the nuclei of chains of benzyls or stopping places. Located, in theory, one-day journey apart in the mountainous western Balkans, where caravans based on teams of horses with a norm and wheeled vehicles in practical and rare, a consistent system of purpose-built multifunctional halting places enabled overland traffic to drive. Halilin Nalchik emphasizes that in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the course of the 16th century, I quote, 232 inns, 18 caravans arise, 32 hostels, 10 bedestans, and 42 bridges were built. End of quote. They were built on newly conquered territory as a part of Peir's foundations established during the 15th and 16th century. The caravan Sarays and bridges, relied on by travelers, were not typically built on orders from the Sultan or coordinated by central agency, by the majority of them were more, but the majority of them were more often the product of initiative of individual Ottoman local administrators. In the absence of a consistent central government in charge of the road construction in the provinces, the creation of the road infrastructure became the task of a number of local Ottoman officials. Jesse Howell concluded that, I quote, the large scale patronage of central authorities like Khrustam Pasha and Soholu Mekhmet Pasha concentrated on the central axis of Ottoman circulation extending from central Europe to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. In Western Romania, despite occasional projects like the bridge in Mostar and Trebinje, most road infrastructure was built through the decentralized individual pew sections of regional governors and local officials. The 16th century boom in architectural and infrastructure construction that transformed the Ottoman lands surpassed the logistical limits of the centralized system by harnessing the tremendous productivity of officials in the provinces acting on their own initiative through the instrument of archive. Rather than an infrastructural state, what emerges is an infrastructure class, a broad stratum of officials holding a rage of an administrative positions for whom the building of bridges and caravans arise, plus innumerable mosques, medresas, commands, markets and water systems was both a continuous practice, a pragmatic investment and it would appear an unspoken obligation. to the Ottoman dynasty, end of quote. In building these institutions, patrons were simultaneously furthering the aims of the state to populate and to urbanize, while performing a beneficent act for the betterment of their stores. One of the passions whose peace endowments served the needs of travelers in the province includes great dignitaries like Viziers, local authorities like cats of the Sanjak of Herzegovina, the Ayalet of Bosnia and lower status dignitaries and other wealthy people, but most of them were native born. As if they were, as if they were much more aware of the local needs, possibilities of regional development and willing to invest funds for their benefit and the benefit of this region. Among government officials, the Sokolovic family, originally from the territory of present day Bosnia, stands out partially because their endowments are well documented and researched and because members of this family have held high status duties in the province for decades. Sokolov Mehmet Pasha had been recruited for the Salkan service when he was 18 and promoted to the Grand Vizierate at the very end of Suleiman's reign. The Pasha maintained that post under the rule of the next two Salkans until he was stuck to death in 1579. He boasted a nepotistic regime through his network of proteges and he appointed his relatives on governorship positions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His complexes span the empire connecting Ottoman Hungary all the way to Syria, Mecca and Medina. Sokolov family members improved communication and urban networks in these provinces by building numerous bridges, paved roads, caravanseries and marketplaces. Grand Vizier Sokolov Mehmet Pasha built between 1572 and 1577 a bridge over Drina river in Bisegrad. In the southeast part of Bosnia, designed by chief royal architect Sinan, just as Mehmet Pasha has now lost caravanseries nearby. Most Mehmet Pasha endowments in Bosnia were concentrated along the so-called Ragusa road which connected Istanbul with Ragusa or present day Dubrovnik, which had an important role in fulfilling the Ottoman court's request for artifacts by importing goods such as Murano glass and luxury textiles. One of the Grand Vizier's favorite relatives was his paternal cousin Tokolu Mustafa Pasha, who served as a Stanja governor of Bosnia and subsequently as governor general of Buda, today's Budapest in Ottoman Hungary. As governor of Bosnia-Sanjak, Tokolu Mustafa Bey built in mid 16th century a mosque, mecca, caravanserai, bridge, hamam, mill and many shops on an empty meadow, all of which were founded by his endowment, encouraging dust, populating and the creation of a settlement. This settlement, named Rudo, very quickly has grown to become Kastavaruvo, an important node in regional trade routes not far from Tokolu ancestral home. Another Mehmet Pasha cousin, Tokolu Ferhat Pasha, for example, built a large complex of buildings in Banyaluka, the capital of this Ottoman province, which was on a trade route that connected Bosnia with Ottoman Hungary and the Habsburg Empire. There he built, before 1587, among other buildings, a large caravanserai covered with lead. Rustem Pasha, who also originated from Bosnia, ascended to the position of Grand Vizier and Sultan Suleiman, among other peos foundations and income-producing properties, commissioned five stone bridges in Sanjakobosnia that were accompanied by paid roads, a caravanserai, a thermal path, a public fountain and a bedesthen. The only one still existing is the bedesthen in Sarajevo. Built in 1551, this bazaar has a quadrangular layout and it is covered with a six chemispherical domes. It is known as the Bedesthen of Bursa because it's specialized in the sale of Ottoman silk, maybe that Anatolian city. Words han and caravanserai in the local language are synonymous. To denote this type of building historically, in the local language was used exclusively the word han and only recently the word caravanserai began to appear. However, in founding documents, these terms are habitually used and they do not distinguish them in any way. Therefore, I will do the same during this presentation. To the functions they serve, hans could be divided into those situated alongside the trade routes that were used by travelers for short-term breaks and those for commercial purposes situated in larger commercial centers where merchants would stay for a longer period of time buying and selling their goods. The simplest architectural form of han, without a courtyard, predominated on the territory of the Ottoman Bosnia and could have been located both at intersections outside urbanized areas and inside of the settlement. All known examples of this type of han were built in the second half of the 16th century and in the 17th century. According to Hamdia Kreseliakovic, this type of han had the form of a large barn. It had a rectangular plan with circumferential walls made of wood or stone, a roof covered by shingles and a high enough entrance for a horseman to ride through. The main characteristic of this type of han was that the traveler and his horse share the same sleeping quarters. The only surviving example of this type of building in Croatia is the monumental stone-in of Vizier Jusup Pasha Mashkovic in Vrana, which although never fully completed, is the largest still surviving complex of Ottoman architecture in Croatia. A small place in the hinterland of the city of Zadar, Vrana came under Ottoman rule in 1537. During the war, the inhabitants of this fertile area withdrew to Zadar and after Ottoman conquest, one of the first consequences was somewhere partial and somewhere complete change of population. It is known that the Ottomans thoroughly restored and extended the medieval settlement of Vrana after the conquest. According to the Ottoman description of the Bosnian Pasha from 1620, Vrana was at that time a fortified town with more than 200 houses. While Venetian sources from 1620 mention around 500 houses, several most mektep, hamam and water supply. The graphic of the settlement from the 17th century shows two moths outside the fortress. Before the Ottoman conquest, Vrana was a smaller fortress, but under Ottoman rule, it became an important fortification in this part of the region. The period of the Ottoman rule is, in economic terms, a period of progress. By building an irrigation canal system, they turned the Vrana territory into a fertile valley where various agricultural crops were grown. Writers who described Vrana point out that it was a garden of the Lika Sancak. They mentioned fountains beside the governor houses as well as the dense forests of olive groves. Yusuf Mashkovic Chahan is located not far from the medieval Templar fortress. Almost everything we know about the patron of this building, Yusuf Pasha Mashkovic, derives from Venetian and other western sources and actual data amidst mixed with legend. According to traditional history, Mashkovic was born in about 1604 in the Vrana region in a Christian family. He arrived in Istanbul as a boy in the service of Belty Moslem. Legend has it that Yusuf Mashkovic was a gardener at the court when he met and befriended the then imprisoned future sultan Ibrahim I. After he broke and came to power, Yusuf progressed rapidly. In 1643 he became a silahar, a guardian of weapons at the sultan's court, then vizier and imperial advisor. In 1644 he was appointed Kapudan Pasha, commander in chief of the navy and then commander in chief of the Turkish army. At the beginning of the Kandian war in 1645, he led the Turkish military conquest of Crete where, as Venetian chroniclers write, he showed chivalry and humanity during the siege and after the surrender of the capital Kanya. Shortly after his return to Constantinople, for instance, not yet clarified, he was executed in January of 1646 by the order of Sultan Ibrahim. At the height of his power, in 1644, he summoned the governor of Rana to Istanbul and ordered him to build the Han. The construction began the same year and Venetian reports say that up to 500 workers worked at the same time on the construction of the Han. Venetian, alarmed with such great construction activity in the summer of 1645, sent a state engineer to explore the construction site during the night. After the tour, Alberti drew the foundation and reported that Ottomans were not building a fort but an inn, a building designed to accommodate a large number of travelers, appeasing the Venetians. So you can see here on this drawing of engineer Alberti that there is a fortress on the left side, it's a fortress with minaret. There are foundations also in four mobile letter E, foundations of the, he called it Fundamenti del Hospitio of the inn. And on the right side of the drawing, you can see he denotes the place where the governor of Rana, his houses, where his houses were. So very detailed, not very detailed, but let's say we can have an image of how Rana was looking like in 1645. He was appeasing the Venetians who subsequently even approved an export of timber from their territory for the construction of the Han. Unfortunately, with the construction of the Han was stopped and it was never completed according to the original project. The complex has a rectangular layout and the surface area of over 3000 square meters. Its entire perimeter is enclosed with a high wall, almost without openings, up to seven meters high. It is built with exceptional finely cut stone blocks, unusual good quality work, even for the deletion stone cutters of that time. The entrance gate, with the lintel in the shape of a segmental arch is located in the axis of the building on the northeast side, leading to the large interior courtyard. The defensive tower rose above the gate. The buildings, the building beside the tower is a later addition without any prominent features of Ottoman architecture. Along the southeast wall, there are a number of rectangular accommodation rooms. Each square room has a fireplace and two wall cabinets, and toward the courtyard a door and a window. Judging by the remains of pointed arches in the upper parts of the walls, the rooms were covered with walls or small domes. Previously, researchers identified these rooms as the Han, rooms intended for lodging of merchants and travelers. That is, the name Han according to them refers to this part of the complex in which travelers and merchants were to be accommodated. But, I would argue that these rooms can be identified as the Medresa, co-existing of six student rooms and one large room in the middle that served as a lecture hall. Medresa impocitels, the town investor Herzegovina on the road between Mostar and Dubrovnik had a similar layout, with five rooms in a row for accommodation of pupils, each with a fireplace and a bigger room as a lecture hall. All rooms were covered with domes, and in front of the rooms, like in Mashgrilichahan, there was a spacious porch, a typical feature of many medresas in Ottoman Herzegovina at that time. Opposite the Medresa, on the north-south side of the courtyard, are the remains of two buildings. The building in the corner is taller, without openings toward the courtyard, except for the door on the ground floor. Inside the building, there are traces of mezzanine structure from where women could have full of prayers. There are traces present on the walls that indicate that the interior was probably vaulted with the dome. Considering these architectural features and its layout and position opposite of the Medresa, this was probably a jamia or a mosque. A graphic from the middle of the 70th century created during the time when Ograna was still under Ottoman rule. Clearly shows in the right side the high walled building, composed of at least two winds. Given its location in relation to the porch and the settlement, it is probably a complex of use of Mashgrilich. At the corner of the complex in the foreground is a mosque, rooted with the dome without terminarek. Although the mosque is shown leaning against the outer corner of the complex and with the round floor plan, which does not correspond to the real current state, it still gives us confirmation that the present walls in the northeast-east corner of the complex belong to the mosque. Both winds of the complex are shown covered with the roof and the main and only entrance to the complex is properly located on its north side. The lower building beside the mosque was a hamam. Pools have been established in the Bayfian area with the system of canals through which the steam is drained. Considering that mosques and hamams were connected with the opening, this space could have served also as an ablution area at some point in time. Today, the interior of the complex, the entire complex, is divided with a wall in two parts. In front of the centrally placed opening in this wall, which is in the axis of the main entrance of the complex, there is a pavilion opened up by arches on three sides, that researchers previously have identified as Shadrvan, a fountain given the remains of a stone canal below it. Behind the pavilion we find the entrance to the rear part of the complex, which has so far been interpreted as a part intended for the garden, or the residence of the Vaclav himself, Yusuf Mashkovic, when he would retire to his homeland. But by analogy with other hams, primarily analyzing reconstruction of their original appearance and their descriptions, since almost none have survived, it is possible to conclude that this part of the complex was indeed a hamam, intended for the lodging of travelers and merchants. On the perimeter walls of the void, a number of niches or fireplaces have been preserved. They are arranged in a regular rhythm and alternate with narrow window openings. This type of han building was an extremely simple rectangular building that only had a ground floor and one big room. The roof, with an open construction in wider hams, rested on a centrally positioned columns, distributed in a regular rhythm along the entire length of the room. While horses and donkeys stayed in the same room as the merchants in the center of the room, there was this walled elevated platform along its latter walls that surrounded the room, where merchants could sit and sleep next to their merchandise and light their fire in walled fireplaces. The same layout and architectural features had Shishman Ibrahim Pasha's han in Pochite, built in 1664. This 400 square meter han had a 2 meter wide stone platform attached to its latter walls. In order to provide comfort to the travelers, the walls of this han also had wire places and niches. There are only few remains of the former han in Pochite left, but the walled stone gate positioned in the middle of a longer wall, made of carefully worked stone, protruding from the body of the building, is relatively represerved and shows similarities with the building of the han in Vrana. There was a han of similar layout, also in Mostar, probably built in 1609, by an ANOVA kid. While no basis for pillars that should support the roof structure in the middle of the room were found in the han in Pochite or Mashkovic's han, a thread of octagonal pillars that supported the roof was found in Mostar and in another han of this type in the east of Bosnia in the town of Dobrum, which was built as part of endowment of Ferhat Pasha Sokolovic in 1587 and also in settlement of Koniv, according to the testimony of the French traveler, Queensland, who spent a night there in 1657 on his way from Dubrovnik to Belgrade. This type of han, with a quite simple floor plan, could be located inside or outside city centres. In 1573, Philippe de la Canaille du Fress, a French diplomat on his journey from Venice to Istanbul, encountered this type of han on the first night after he left Dubrovnik in the town of Trebinje, some 30 kilometres inland from Dubrovnik. Although this han no longer exists and there are no physical remains of it, the description of de la Canaille shows that it had the same form as the aforementioned hans in Vrana, Pochite, Mostar and Dobrum. He described it as a large, uncomfortable barn that people and horses resided in together. Raised platforms with fireplaces surrounded the room. The merchants arranged their merchandise and laid their beds, if they had one, on the same platform. Otherwise, one lay on the pavement for one must not think of finding any comfort in these caravans to rise. The most beautiful ones are covered in lead like the most. Remark and a quote. Remark about the roofing material is an important observation, sometimes the only one about the exterior appearance of the building that shows an implicit understanding of the value and status of caravans to rise. It also shows that the dons and their lead covering was their most striking and distinctive feature for western travelers. Two years after Philippe de la Canaille, another Frenchman, Pierre Les Calochiers traveled the same road and he also described the han in Trebine as a large barn. The han had no additional floors, but was covered only by a roof, probably hip roof, a typical element in Ottoman architecture. And around the room there was a raised platform on which the passengers slept. Instead of windows, he observed the only light that penetrated the interior was through look holes. I would suggest that instead of look holes, these are actually narrow window openings. There are in han in Brana and I would argue that this is the security feature. Such narrow openings were probably necessary in order to prevent the theft of goods from the han and to prevent unauthorized entry. Les Calochiers noted that han were built one day walk away from each other and are often located far from the city and inhabited places. The han manager was tasked with overseeing the movement of travelers in this border province. By inquiring about the identity and provenance of each traveler, leading to conclusion that Caravanserais not only served to enhance mobility, trade and settlement, but also to monitor and control mobility in this volatile frontier region. Les Calochiers also noted that construction of Caravanserais in Trebinje was commissioned by already mentioned Grand Vizier so-called Magnet Pasha, who wanted to improve travel conditions on the road from Istanbul to Ragoza by commissioning a bridge and Caravanserai complex, commemorating his late son who died in 1572 so that travelers would pray for his soul. These structures were built between 1572 and 1574 by a stone instance imported from Gubrovnik. Caravanserai in Trebinje doesn't exist anymore, but the bridge still stands, although it has been moved to another nearby location in Trebinje. Back to Mashkovićahan in Branam. Venetian documents from 1645 show that timber intended most likely for the construction of the roof of the complex, the ottoman successfully procured from Venetian territory in agreement with the Venetian authorities. This data indicates a high degree of completion of parts of the complex in the summer of 1645, but also that the construction of such a large complex in the border area required the cooperation of authorities on both sides of the border. According to Mashkovićah's plan, with the construction of service complex, Branam was to become an important housing place on new trading routes on the Ottoman Venetian border and provide the impulse for the growth of the town. This was built by force of historical circumstances primarily due to the death of its patron and war clashes that took place in this area during the protracted Venetian War. This never actually happened. In the later half of the 15th century and during the 16th century, a different type of the Ottoman Han was built mostly in large trade settlements on the territory of Bosnia-Eyal. This type of Han was the square in plan and it had buildings arranged along the perimeter walls that enclose the central rectangular courtyard, warehouses and shops that were located on the ground floor and the upper floor had residential rooms for merchants. Most of the openings looked to the central courtyard in the center of which was usually located the water fountain and the masjid. Usually the complex had two entrances, one opposite the other, large enough for loaded horses to pass through. A sizable area in the middle offered enough space for the handling of horses and the reloading of goods. There were at least four caravans to rise with courtyard in Sarajevo and they were all located in the Bershchashia district, the historical and commercial center of the city. Issa Veysaković, the founder of Ottoman Sarajevo, built one of the oldest caravans to rise on the territory of today's Bosnia in 1462. The construction of this Han, known as Golobar-Ahan, was a key element in the founding of Sarajevo-Bosnau Sarajevo. Subsequently, located in Bershchashia, a commercial center, it had a stable accommodation for 30 courses for warehouses and 40 rooms on the upper floor. Since it was built of wood and mud bricks, it was destroyed in the fire of 1937 and there is no detailed information about its appearance. Another courtyard, Karavan Sarajevo, in Sarajevo, was Tashlihan, built for the endowment of Bosnian governor Ghazi Husred Bey in 1543. Tashlihan was the most monumental of all the Karavan Sarajs in Bosnia. It had a rectangular base and layout typical of all Karavan Sarajs built as two-story buildings and was constructed entirely of stone. Unlike other Karavan Sarajs in Sarajevo, in which the central courtyard was used for the loading and unloading of goods, Tashlihan's courtyard had a row of shops on the ground level, which characterizes it as a commercial home. In the center of the rectangular courtyard was a fountain for water and masjid, a place for prayer, supported by pillars. From the courtyard, close to the main Karavan Sarajs, there were two stone-carried staircases leading to rooms and hallways on the top floor. The sleeping quarters were vaulted with small domes and hallways with barrel vaults, and lead was used throughout as a roof cover. These Karavan Sarajs provided lodging for travelers and merchants and also functioned as a bazaar. Karavan Sarajs in these border areas often serve also as bezistan, bazaars for the sale of imported goods, especially textiles in the absence of separate buildings. Situated in the heart of trade center, there were often the focal points of social life, where news from distant locations was traded along with goods, and where first coffee houses were set up in the Bosnian territory in the 17th century. Toward the completion of Tashlihan between 1542 and 1943, craftsmen were called from the nearby Republic of Raguza. The merchants of Sarajevo sent a specific request to the director of Dubrovnik for the dispatch of 30 stone masons specializing in the construction of walls, walls and domes. These masters were needed to complete the construction of the Karavan Sarajs. Stone masons were set to receive salaries, gifts and travel expenses. The deviation from the use of the usual building materials timber resulting in a need to import craftsmen and higher final construction costs sends from the desire to build a fire-resistant building. Fires often erupted in Sarajevo because mold buildings were wooden and the streets were narrow so the fires spread easily. It is evident from the letters that Bosnian builders were not adapted to building or building with stone. Traditional material available locally in Bosnia is timber and most important Karavan Sarajs in Sarajevo with central courtyard except Tashlihan were built partially of timber, taking advantage of abundant resources nearby. By substituting stone arcades with wooden pillars and thus eliminating the need for walls and domes and lead cover, these Karavan Sarajs gained local regional distinctive features. Moricahan, another Karavan Saraj built in the heart of the Charsia district of Sarajevo, is an example of Panohans built partially of timber. The Moricahan is the only surviving large commercial Karavan Saraj in the region to almost entirely preserve its original form. The Karavan Saraj, which housed at 300 beds, was built as part of Gasikus Rebek's vaks in the late 16th century. For a number of years it marked the center of the political and social life for artisans, merchants and scholars. The Karavan Saraj coincided of a ground and a first floor with a rectangular cloud plan. While the top floor was constructed in wood, the ground floor was built in stone, partly because it could hold the weight of the top floor and partly as a protection against fire for the goods stored there. The central courtyard is mostly situated under the top floor, supported by a colonnade of oak columns, forming a porch inside circling the space. This solution maximized the capacity of the space as all four sides of the courtyard were thus full of shops and storage spaces. There was also a horse table, which as in most other Karavan Sarajs of this type is opposite the main entrance attached to the rear side of the building. The top floor was used for living quarters with layout completely independent of that character in the ground floor, precisely because of the use of timber as a building material that is much lighter than stone. There, a series of rooms are located on both sides of a white central hallway. The exceptional white of the upper floor is possible because it is formed by leaning on a wooden porch on the ground floor. Two staircases located far from one another led to the top floor. Like the other three large Sarajevo Karavan Sarajs, the Morica Han had its own waterworks as well as the fountain with the system situated adjacent to the structure. The coffee house on the first floor of the Karavan Saraj was the first coffee house opened in Bosnia immediately after the Karavan Saraj was built at the end of the 16th century. Even the Jewish merchants, Jewish community of Sarajevo settled there in the middle, in the mid 16th century, lived collectively in a separate building which adhered to a Karavan Saraj typology. A document from 1728 states that in 1581 the Ausparsha, the ground is here, ordered the construction of a separate large Karavan Saraj for Jews living in Sarajevo. This building was a part of the Ausparsha Vag and residents of this building were contributing to it by paying an annual rent. The building was constructed around the courtyard, but it had only one level and it was surrounded with a high wall. The aforementioned traveler, Pierre Lescalopierre, who traveled the Ragusa Road in 1574 on his way to Istanbul, was struck by intercommunal mixture in this widespread Ottoman institution. Michael, it is a marvel that in the same Karavan Saraj are found all sorts of people and nations, Arabs, Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Franks and others. All lodged together is peacefully that no one complains about the other and of course. Lescalopierre comments do not reflect the experience of all travelers, but Hans or Karavan Saraj were the shared spaces of the road in which immediate experience of actual cross-cultural contact, communication and exchange took place. While on the territory of Ottoman Bosnia, the Hans hosted a constant exchange of diverse people and goods on the nearby Christian territory, the Ottoman merchants were segregated in the state organized housing. In coastal towns of Dubrovnik and Venetian Palakum, today split, because of great cultural and religious differences, that is because of the need to maintain order, security and peace in this frontier region, Ottomans were obligated to reside outside the city walls, but attached to them for the convenience of trade and the security offered by the city. As a matter of fact, the location of Ottoman lodging was usually attached to the city gate, close to the commercial district or marketplace, and beside the previous dimension was a record. Comparing the functional and architectural characteristics of these buildings intended with Bosnian Hans, I concluded that the Ottoman Han model was used for their construction. In Dubrovnik, the Ottoman Han existed according to Sanct as early as 1502. However, we know with certainty that the Han for Ottoman merchants was built pursuant to the Senate regulation in 1592. It was situated at the end or beginning of overland road that departs from eastern city gate eastward over the Balkan hinterland. We know that the Han was subsequently extended, walled and a store staircase was added in 1670. From existing photographs and cadastral maps from the beginning of the 19th century and also this drawing, we can conclude that the Han in Dubrovnik had a shape of a long single-story rectangular building covered by the Gable roof. The southern longer facade was perforated with only two tall arched entrances. Except for the entrances, there were no other visible window openings. The Han's form leads us to conclude that when they were constructing this building, the reclusions were imitated with a simpler type of Ottoman Han, the one without the center of both yards. Like Grand Viziers Mehmed Asha Han in Trebinje, which was built only 20 years before, some 30 kilometers away. Unlike the Han in Pochite or the Han in Vrana, the Han in Dubrovnik did not have a pronounced architectural entrance portal in the form of a porch or a hip roof, a typical element in Ottoman architecture. Also, there has been a reduction in some elements, mostly decorative ones, the similarities with the Ottoman model are clear. In the last decade of the 16th and the beginning of the 70th century, Talano split on the territory of Venetian Dalmatia became a very important export port for Ottoman goods that were arriving all the way from the Middle East and were shipped to the markets of Venice and further on for western Europe. The Jewish merchant Daniel Rodriga, the initiator of this new trade route in 1580, began the construction of a complex of buildings in split and future Lasaretto, which was supposed to be the main facility for the reception of Ottoman merchants and the further distribution of their goods. The complex Rodriga was building would eventually assume the form of an Ottoman Han used in larger Ottoman trade centers such as Banyaluqa, Sarajevo and Skopje to host merchant Han. Rodriga who spent much of his life traveling with Bosnia was certainly familiar with the Han. One can presume that Rodriga traveled to Ottoman territories as a merchant and was making frequent use of Ottoman Han. Recognize their functionality and recreated it on the shores of Adriatic Sea for the same purpose. Several architectural features of these multifunctional buildings corresponded to Rodriga's needs. Among those borrowed by Rodriga for the design of the Lasaretto were a clearly defined perimeter enclosed by a high wall with minimal openings, isolating the structure from surrounding buildings and thus providing much needed security for trade goods. A spatial central courtyard facilitated this handling of merchandise while there was historic space for the goods on the ground floor of adjacent buildings. There were ample living quarters for the merchants on the first floor. After Rodriga abandoned the construction of the complex for financial reasons, the Republic of Venice took over the project. Soon afterwards Venice invested in a construction of a larger almost identical attached courtyard to the west of the existing complex, following the same spatial distribution. The buildings around the new courtyard had storage space on the ground floor, each with a separate entrance and a window, and above them on the first floor rooms for merchants. A large table for horses was located on the fourth side of the spatial courtyard with its central water fountain. The new quadrangle served as a lodging for Ottoman merchants and travelers after undergoing quarantine. Considering that the Lasaretto in Split was supposed to serve primarily for the accommodation of Ottoman and Jewish merchants, the decision to erect an Ottoman caravan survive seems natural and logical. Adapting the model of the Ottoman heart was part of a comprehensive enterprise conducting alongside the construction of roads and bridges meant to attract Ottoman merchants to Split who make their stay more agreeable. Although most of the users of the Lasaretto were Ottoman merchants from Bosnia, Armenian and Greek merchants also stayed there due to the trade between the Ottoman Empire and Venice. As there was no hostel in the city, soon all travelers who found themselves in Split lodged there sharing the same space. In this way, the institution of the Ottoman heart, not only in name and form, but also in its proper function has successfully been shared and adopted across political and cultural borders in this interconnected region. I hope I was able to at least partially show you how the function of this early modern caravan survive was worth the time, how their shape was pliable considering the location, the function and the building materials. And finally, the importance that the caravan survive institution had in the history of Bosnia and this region in general. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Maybe we can sort of. Thank you for this very interesting talk that took us on a journey from, you know, the 16th century up to at least the 19th. I was very interested about this, this notion of the centralization of the planning of the urbanization from the part of the central government in Istanbul as part of the process of integration of the bullcums within it. I was wondering, I mean we have already a question in the chat but if I can just quickly. I just was wondering about this construction, you mentioned that they also had the military function, or the way I you know, yes they had a military function so I was wondering how did they work I mean did people have to have a kind of passport or pass to, you know, I wonder whether you could say something a bit more about how easy it was to go through the various stages of a journey. You know, whether it's a traders and merchants or, or, you know, whatever it was over this, this sort of type of journey. Thank you very much for your questions and remarks. Yes, this difference is between the involvement of central government into development and organization of the Bosnia and also the amount of the work that local administrators and wealthy people were doing in the same direction is great but there are some documents that show that the central government was involved in some of the, some of the developments for example when, especially those that were very important in the military science when, when Fortress of Nadine in a hinterland of Zadar was conquered by Ottomans. And has written to the dodge of Venice to, to ask for the domescence and material to be shipped to Nadine so that the fortress and the place could be rebuilt. So it was everything was directed from, let's say, Istanbul from the center of the empire. There are also, for example, evidence that construction of the fortress in Makarska was also influenced or directed from, from Istanbul because the architect Hyrudin was sent to first in Mossad and then also to Makarska, the Ottoman port on the Adriatic coast to first to construct the bridge in Mossad and then to design fortress in Makarska. So yeah, there are, even though there are not so much in other parts of the Ottoman Empire evidence of the contribution of the central government that there are some of them and it will be really interesting if somebody could develop this subject. So what are the papers about the mechanism of the mobility on the on the border and travel documents in Ottoman Empire. I'm not really sure I'm not there. There were papers and they were because the government government in Dubrovnik was writing papers for some of the people who were their people who were traveling toward the hinterland of Balkan, but other travelers and foreign travelers for sure from the best had to have papers, because they traveled as a diplomat, but the other merchants. I really am not sure was there any something deliberate something organized. Yeah, I was just thinking because it happens in other cultures. Yes. Thank you very much. We have something in the chat. So Diana dark. Please, can you repeat the numbers you quoted from Halil in Alcek at the beginning about the numbers of Ottoman commercial structures 232 caravans arise question mark. So are any of the hands in use today in use today in some form. Thank you for your comprehensive survey. Yes, I think. Yes, it wasn't 232 caramans arise. It was I think in which would be like most of the honey and it mattered together all together with the hands and caramans rice I think put together as the number. Yeah, because otherwise it would be like really, really, really high number of caramans arise that maybe something like that could have existed in 19th century after development for centuries of the road infrastructure in Bosnia but not not in 16th century only. So yeah, that would be my explanation of that high number. Are any of the hands in use today. Not that I know of not the ones from the 15th and 16th century. The one I showed, for example, the one in Moscow, which are hard is in use. Yes, it was recently reconstructed or let's say put in use for the for the tourists. And so you can basically you can go on their side and book room and sleep in one of the rooms of medresa. You can book a vacation there in hinterland. Yes, in Mashkovic. Very nice. Thank you. Then, how is that this show each. Hello from Sarajevo that cut. Thank you very much for the lecture. I was at the center of the cultural life of the Ragusa road and beyond with merchants and scholars intermingling. I was wondering whether we have evidence of their impact on the local population. If people travel not for business purposes, was it thrown upon. If so, did they need any special dispensation from the local administrators. Well, I don't have any I didn't encounter in my research. I mean, let's say the westerns, well, as I understand what I have read about they felt as the strangers in a strange land everything the strangers for them but they, I think also, they were very well content and they weren't any who can travel and where can travel. So the only limit was the security because I think the bandits were on the road. So you really have to be careful there and how you're traveling and who have a good guard or somebody to be a company with. But otherwise, I don't think so. Thank you. Thank you very much for a very interesting and well illustrated lecture. And Caroline Mao, please, can you say any more about the water supply for the caravan to rise. I've been like local springs, the circle of Mehmet Pasha build any mosques madrasis in this area alongside the caravan to rise as beautiful as those he made in Istanbul. Supply for the caravan to rise. For example, Han much which I have was built very close to the stream. So, basically, the one of the arguments for its position, very position now is because of there is a stream of water which is entering from the northeast on the northeast corner of the Han. And it was distributed with the clay pipe pipes and stone pipes in throughout the perimeter of the of the Han so all over on the in the building in the complex throughout. So, yes. So they were using some pipes and clay pipes to distribute the water. The only information that I have also we know that there are there were fountains as I mentioned and but we don't know anything about them. There are a lot. There are no any physical remains of the homes and caravans arises so it's very difficult to analyze them in such a detail and to know such a detailed information unfortunately some more research to be done. So, Valerie Gonzalez do the documents specify what existed in the urban fabric before the constructions of the hands. What type of architecture was destroyed to make room for them. And in the past Russia district in Sarajevo, I think nothing existed on that part of the river. And Colobara Han, for example, was the first building that is a base which built on that part of the river to make the intention to bring other settlers and to develop that side of the ring make it a commercial part. So, you know, and for the other hands that were built later in the 16th century, probably some shops, because that was a commercial district about. I don't know anything. There were archaeological work was done excavations on Tashlegan in remains of Tashlegan in Sarajevo, but they found some walls but the results were inconclusive. And Maximilian has sent a link that you may want to look at later. Thank you. Thank you for casting such an interesting light on the part of the Ottoman Empire that I for one know too little about my question concerns the place of Ottoman architectural culture in the Balkans today. The Han of Rana and the Morikahan look highly restored. Who pays for this restoration and why. The restoration was paid by funds from European Union. Because it was a part so I think of the funds that were released for the development of the local population of the local communities so to rejuvenate that area. So the European Union and get the money and it was restored and it's now in function. Morikahan is still I think in is the property of Gazi Husserbe and Waku and they pay for the restoration of Morikahan. They also I think now they were thinking about making another restoration and because all the rooms on the upper floor are rented to different institutions and individuals they're not living there but those are the small businesses for examples. Lawyers they have their office there and so on. So instead they were thinking about making a hotel of Morikahan at least on its first floor. Thank you very much. Are there any other questions or points. Otherwise, I say thank you very much for this very stimulating talk opens up a lot of different questions. And this is the last rest of the academic year. So thank you for concluding the program and I will send you a program for for for next session from September very soon and thank you for participating and and I'll see you in in the autumn. And thank you again. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Bye bye.