Thousands of Muslims flocked to the town of Foca on Saturday for the reopening of a historic mosque levelled at the beginning of the Bosnian war, in a ceremony aimed at encouraging religious tolerance between deeply divided communities.
The 16th century Aladza Mosque was one of the most prominent masterpieces of classical Ottoman architecture in the Balkans before its destruction in the 1992-95 war by Bosnian Serb forces trying to carve out an ethnically "pure" state.
The eastern town of Foca became notorious for the mass persecution and killings of non-Serbs that took place there during the conflict.
Before the war, Bosnian Muslims made up 51 per cent of its 41,000 residents with the remainder mostly Serbs. Today, among some 18,000 residents, only more than 1,000 Bosnian Muslims remain.
"Everything that was connected to Islam, its civilisation or culture was destroyed," said Muslim worshipper Sulejman Dzamalija, 65.
Sacred items dumped on rubbish tips have been restored and built into the mosque "to mark the start of a new era in this part of the country," he said.
Nestled in the valley by the Drina river, Aladza, also known as the Colourful Mosque, was one of 17 Ottoman mosques in Foca. Five of them were destroyed during World War Two, while the 12 remaining were demolished during the 1990 war.
Muhamed Jusic, the Foca assembly speaker, said the reconstructed mosque offered hope for the return of pre-war residents and "a new beginning in Foca".
Twenty four years on from the devastating war between its Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, Bosnia remains split along ethnic lines, with rival groups blocking reconciliation and reform needed to join the European Union.
"Today we are witnessing a hope that people will again find peace at this place," the head of Bosnia's Islamic Community Husein Kavazovic said at the ceremony.
Work on rebuilding the mosque started in 2012 and was financed by the governments of Turkey and the United States.
"Aladza should serve as a monument to resilience, reconciliation and diversity," said US Ambassador Eric Nelson.
Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the reopening of the mosque demonstrates that "racism and hatred can make material damage but cannot destroy culture of co-existence nourished for centuries".
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The%20specs
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Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
Company%20profile
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Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr