Emotional opening of Aladža: Foča's beauty has risen again!

(Patria) - More than a quarter of a century after it was demolished to the ground, Foča's beauty has been reopened for all believers.

The mother of a murdered young man from Foča, Aziz Kurtović, unlocked the rebuilt Aladža. Very emotional scenes from Foča have touched many citizens, and it was precisely a mother who had the honor of opening the dazzling Aladža to believers, which is a moral satisfaction for all women of eastern Bosnia who suffered greatly during the aggression.

Aladža was built in 1549 by Hasan Nezir, a close associate of Mimar Sinan. Renovation work officially began in 2014. Aladža was demolished in 1992, after the fall of the town on the Drina and after the non-Serb population was expelled from their homes. 27 years later, its reconstruction marks a beacon of return for the people of Foča and hope for coexistence in eastern Bosnia.

Hundreds of expelled Bosniaks and other citizens of Foča, numerous representatives of the diplomatic corps, and some of the highest officials of the political leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in Foča today. As emphasized earlier, this event today represents one of the most important events for the Islamic community, especially the Goražde Mufti's office, which, with the help of donors, has invested great effort to bring this significant and demanding project to completion.

Foča's beauty, Aladža Mosque, has once again shone in its full glory today. A team from Istanbul also worked on painting the interior of the renovated Aladža. Some of the decorations around the mosque's windows have been left in their original state and serve as a reminder of the history of this place of worship, significant not only for believers in the Foča region but for all of BiH and beyond.