The word 'baščaršija' roughly means 'main marketplace' in old Ottoman Turkish. Each street in the bazaar was once dedicated to a single trade — one lane for silversmiths, another for cobblers, another for candle-makers. You can still find many of these crafts today, with artisans sitting in open-fronted workshops just as their grandparents did.
The most famous spot inside the bazaar is Sebilj — a beautiful wooden fountain shaped like a pavilion, right in the middle of the main square. Pigeons crowd all around it, and locals say that if you drink from the fountain, you will always return to Sarajevo. Tourists queue up to take a sip just in case the legend is true.
Sarajevo coffee — called 'bosanska kafa' — is served in Baščaršija in a special way. It arrives in a small copper pot called a džezva, along with a tiny cup and a cube of Turkish delight. You pour it yourself, slowly, and sip it while chatting with friends. Locals say rushing a good coffee is bad manners.
The bazaar is also a fantastic place to find handmade souvenirs: engraved copper trays, embroidered textiles, hand-painted tiles, and silver jewellery. Skilled craftspeople still make many of these things in the same way they have been made for five hundred years.