Travnik, the City of Viziers Where East Met West

There is a city ninety kilometres from Sarajevo that was the true capital of Ottoman Bosnia for a century and a half, and that today — strangely, wonderfully — appears in almost no tourist itinerary. Travnik, the city of viziers, is where the Ottoman Empire moved its administrative seat after the sack of Sarajevo in 1699, and where 77 viziers succeeded one another until 1851. Their monuments are still here, perfectly preserved, visited mainly by Bosnians on weekend outings.

The Colourful Mosque and the madrasa of 1705

The Šarena Mosque — literally "the Colourful" — was built in the 16th century and is considered one of the most beautiful in the entire Balkan peninsula: its interiors painted with floral and geometric motifs in red, azure and gold look like a carpet spread across the walls. A few steps away, the Elci Ibrahim Pasha Madrasa, erected in 1705, is one of the best-preserved Islamic educational buildings in the Balkans and is still in use as an educational institution. Between these two buildings, the small Ottoman bazaar smells of coffee and spices as it did two centuries ago.

Ivo Andrić and the Prince's café

Travnik is the birthplace of Ivo Andrić, the Nobel Prize laureate who immortalised it in his novel The Travnik Chronicle — a tale of viziers, European consuls and intertwined destinies between East and West. His birthplace is now a museum that deserves a quiet visit. But the most curious story belongs to the café Lutvina Kahva: here Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg stopped during a journey and was so struck by the quality of Bosnian coffee that he gave a gold coin to the owner. The story is engraved on a plaque above the entrance.

How to plan your visit

Travnik is reachable from Sarajevo by bus in about two hours, for less than five euros. The walking itinerary through the old town takes two to three hours. The food is good and cheap at traditional restaurants: ćevapi with somun (flatbread) costs three euros; burek with spinach and cheese is the ideal breakfast for less than two euros. April, May and September are the best months.