When Beys mosque was renovated after the war, what happened with the internal wall paintings?
That was a professional problem because there were several layers of paintings, so that in the end we were in quandary which layer to preserve. A practical solution came up. Some private entrepreneurs from Turkey offered to do that. They were experts for that. That was supposed to be their gift. And then, suddenly they disappeared, probably because of political changes in Turkey. I hope that they will do it in the end. If we have to pay, we shall have to wait for years. The reconstruction was funded by our meager resources, and again, the biggest contribution came from a Saudi donor. The top-most layer which was done during the Austro-Hungarian Empire was taken off and an even older layer was revealed. Parts remain, but most of the walls are white. Will the parts that were taken off be preserved? Parts we left on the walls. You know, if we cannot physically preserve Ferhadija mosque, even its foundations are gone, then I find it really hard to get excited over decorations in Bay’s mosq
