Sarajevo’s Old Clock Tower
Sarajevo’s clock tower is 30 meters high and it is believed
that it was built in the 16th century.
The tower''''s clock is the only public clock in the world that
keeps lunar time ("à la Turk”), to indicate the times for the daily prayers.
According to this system, the new day begins at sunset, when the time is shown
as 12:00!
Since the length of the days change throughout the year, it
was the duty of a muvekit (timekeeper) to maintain the clock’s accuracy. In the
courtyard of Bey’s Mosque there is one kind of observatory, a muvekithana,
which is where the exact time would be calculated with the help of careful
techniques and sensitive instruments.
The tower''''s current clock mechanism was brought from London in 1875 by Sarajevan merchants, Hašimaga Glođo and Mehaga Kapetanović. A famous watchmaker and former muvekit from Sarajevo, Abdulah Kasumagić, gilded the hands and numbers on all four of the clock faces.