Serbia, Belgrade: Bajrakli Mosque, Students' Park

Bajrakli Mosque

this description has been borrowed from an excellent Eyewitness Travel book


Of the more than 200 mosques built in Belgrade during the Ottoman era, this is also the only one to have survived.  It is also the oldest extant centre of worship in the city.  Endowed by a wealthy textile merchant in the late 17th century, it was set in the middle of the Turkish quarter.
The mosque's name - bajrak is Turkish for 'flag' - references the banner that was hoisted from its minaret to signal prayer time to all the surrounding mosques.
 
Unlike most Ottoman edifices during the second period of Austrian rule from 1717 to 1739, the Bajrakli Mosque escaped destruction because its occupants converted it to a church and converted a bell tower in the minaret.
  
After the Ottomans were expelled from Serbia, the mosque stood empty until 1868 when Prince Mihailo Obrović commanded its renovation in order that the city’s Muslims ‘not to be without religious consolation’.
Today the squat structure is hemmed in by modern apartment blocks and still serves the city’s small Muslim community.


Photo 2

Studenski Trg

A large square in the heart of the Old Town, with plenteous shade and numerous statues to encourage the students.   Plus a free public toilet!