Things to Do in Osmanagić Mosque

Admire the painted ceiling inside Osmanagić Mosque

Look up once your eyes adjust and you'll see 18th-century wooden panels washed in cobalt, rust and gold, a rare survivor of Ottoman baroque in the Balkans. The floral motifs seem to float above you, each brush-stroke catching the low chandelier light while the imam's voice reverberates off the dome.

Climb the minaret for the view

A narrow, 130-step spiral of dark stone squeezes upward. Halfway you'll feel the temperature drop and smell damp limestone. At the top, Pljevlja's red roofs spread out like a carpet and the river Ćehotina glints silver through the poplars.

Browse the Friday market outside the mosque walls

Stalls crowd the lane every Friday until noon; you'll hear vendors calling prices in both Serbian and Bosnian, smell grilled paprika sausages and taste tiny samples of white brine cheese kept cool in metal buckets of mountain water.

Coffee with the imam in the garden courtyard

After prayers the imam often lingers, happy to pour thick Turkish coffee from a long-spouted džezva. Rose bushes brush your sleeves while you chat. The conversation drifts from medieval trade routes to last week's football scores.

Evening walk along the river to the old bridge

Leave the mosque at sunset, follow the lane downhill and you'll soon hear the Ćehotina rushing over smooth stones. The 16th-century stone bridge appears suddenly, its single arch reflected in water that smells of moss and snowmelt.

Stara Čaršija - stone guesthouses tucked behind the mosque where you'll wake to the call to prayer echoing off medieval walls

Centar - 1970s-era hotels refurbished with fast Wi-Fi, handy for the bus station

Kovači - leafy residential lanes south of the river, family apartments renting rooms for half the price of coast hotels

Gradina - hilltop quarter with views over mosque domes and pine forest, expect brisk morning air

Vidojevica - budget motels along the highway, popular with truckers and early-depart hikers

Tasliđa - outskirts farmsteads offering hearty breakfasts of kajmak and hot donuts