The European Heritage Days are marked for another year. The initiative is traditionally held in September and is a part of the calendar of all EU member states. It was marked in Sofia on September 19 and 20, and was organized by the French Institute in Bulgaria together with the Ministry of Culture and Sofia Municipality. The aim of the organizers is to focus on the cultural heritage, by drawing the attention of the society to the cultural sites around us.

The program of the European Heritage Days 2020 in the capital included the opportunity to visit a total of 36 sites of high cultural value and public importance. For another year among these sites is also the capital’s mosque “Kadi Seyfullah Efendi” (Banya Bashi). More than 500 people took the opportunity to visit the Muslim temple in the capital in the framework of the event.

“Like the previous year, this one there was also an extremely great interest to the mosque “Banya Bashi”. People came individually or in small groups of 4-5 people, they were families with their children, of course respecting all anti-epidemic measures. They were curious to learn about different kind of information – they asked questions related most often to the history of the mosque, its architecture, and the meaning of the different elements of its interior. They were interested also in certain religious norms in Islam.” – the guide of the central mosque in Sofia Emine Sechkina, said for Grandmufti.bg and added that she personally finds such initiatives extremely useful and contributing to the better intercultural understanding.

The mosque “Kadi Seyfullah Efendi” is open the entire year for tourists or for interested visitors from the city, the country or from abroad, and every day, except Friday and Sunday, within the period from 10:00 and 16:00 o’clock there is a possibility for a guided talk.