Novi Pazar

Novi Pazar was founded in the fifteenth century as an Ottoman market town near the older centre of Ras, and it kept that character: the old quarter has a bazaar, the Altun-Alem mosque of the sixteenth century, a hammam, a fortress with a tower, and a street pattern of low workshops that still trade. The population is majority Bosniak and the town has a different feel from most of central Serbia in food, architecture and rhythm. Just outside stands Peter's Church, a small round-plan building generally dated to the ninth or tenth century and among the oldest surviving churches in the country, built over an earlier necropolis. Sopoćani and Stari Ras are a short drive west, which makes the town the base for that whole cluster.

History

The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, first built in Roman times and rebuilt in the 9th century, is one of the oldest monuments of the area, and from the late 12th century the region was the principal province of the medieval Serbian state. Under Ottoman rule the town was the capital of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, and it is now the cultural centre of the Bosniaks of Serbia (Wikipedia, Novi Pazar).

Highlights

• The old bazaar - Ottoman-era streets of workshops and trade.
• Altun-Alem mosque - the sixteenth-century mosque in the centre.
• Peter's Church - the round early church on a hill outside town.
• The hammam and fortress - surviving Ottoman civic fabric.

When to go

April to October; Ramadan and Bajram bring a different atmosphere and busy evenings. Summer is hot in the valley. The museum and church keep limited hours.

What to expect

The old quarter is fragmentary, with modern building crowding the historic fabric. Peter's Church is often locked and access needs asking at the parish or arranging ahead. Facilities for visitors are modest. Traffic and parking in the centre are difficult.

Nearby

Sopoćani and Stari Ras lie west; Pešter plateau is southwest.

Key facts