Shopping in Sarajevo

Large shopping centres and individual stores are found all over the city. Clothes and shoes, in particular, are of good quality and are also inexpensive. So do go out and shop all you can for them. Another product Sarajevo is famous for is pirated DVDs, video games and music CDs. It is difficult to go home without buying a few DVDs here. The city of Visoko and other parts of central Bosnia are famous for their leather products. Mostar has an excellent shopping mall on the Croatian side which stocks European style clothes and jewellery.

The Ferhadija walkway in Sarajevo is a pedestrians-only walkway with a series of modern boutiques and shops. This long walkway stretches from the Bascarsija, the old part of Sarajevo, to the modern city centre. Bascarsija was designed in the Ottoman-Turkish style in the sixteenth century and is full of Sarajevo souvenir shops in narrow streets interspersed with public fountains in broad squares. A lively bazaar sells all types of metalwork, jewellery and pottery. Each street is devoted to a different craft. Tiny handicrafts shops, carpet sellers, and antique and souvenir shops dot the entire area.

While buying souvenirs you can support the local economy and ensure you give unique and special gifts by looking for "domace" (produced in Bosnia) and "kucni rad" (hand made) items.

You can also see artisans creating beautiful things at their work tables, which in itself is a pleasure to watch. While goldsmiths and silversmiths create intricate jewellery, the cobblers are busy producing slippers that are typically Oriental in style. The coffee sets with traditional long-necked ewers, created by local coppersmiths, stand out in their uniqueness. The beautifully decorated trays and water pots are also eye-catching.

When the Turks arrived in Sarajevo 500 years ago, they brought with them many traditions. These included the making of hand-woven carpets and textiles. The distinctive designs on sweaters and socks are also part of the old tradition. These old traditional handicrafts are known as stari zanati and every effort is being made to preserve them. Samples of these crafts are available in many shops and in the markets.

A unique characteristic of Sarajevo is that there are one or more streets dedicated to a particular craft. For instance, goldsmiths and coppersmiths have their own set of streets where they work and sell their wares. These markets are known as ‘caršijas', a term equivalent to the Arabic ‘suq'. The leather workers are located on Saraci Street, which is named after the craft. Other streets named after the respective crafts they house are Curciluk (the furriers' street), Kazazi (where craftsmen embellish and decorate silk and other forms of cloth), Mudželeti (the bookbinders' street), and Kazandžiluk (the coppersmiths' street).

The butchers and blacksmiths are found around the Cekrekcina mosque area. The caršijas of the tailors is found in the area near the Latin bridge (Princip Bridge). The Zelenih beretki Street houses the swordsmiths. Grocery shops, bakers and other food shops are scattered all over town and do not have their own caršija.

The post war period has also thrown up a new art form. The brass shell cases, which are an ugly reminder of the Bosnian war, are now being used to create paperweights, vases and other such objects. Coppersmiths have ingeniously used them to create metallic bas-reliefs. There are interesting paintings and collages also on display. While shopping you can also learn a lot about the various handicrafts as the artisans and shopkeepers are only too pleased to talk to you about them.

The 15th century saw the transformation of Sarajevo from a medieval settlement into an urban centre. The crafts brought by Turks and Ottomans have now reached very high standards of workmanship. These crafts are now a deep-rooted part of Sarajevo culture.