Bars · 11 of the best in Sarajevo
Sevdah: the back story
The back story
About Sevdah: the back story
Ask a Sarajevan what music sounds like home and many will answer sevdah. These songs of longing, love and loss, part Ottoman, part Slavic, have been sung in Bosnian courtyards for centuries.
A song of longing
The word sevdah comes from the Turkish for love and passion, and sevdalinka songs are about longing: lovers kept apart, girls at windows, gardens in bloom. They were traditionally sung slowly, often with the saz, a long-necked lute, and later with the accordion.
The great voices
Twentieth-century singers such as Himzo Polovina, Safet Isović and Zaim Imamović made sevdah famous across Yugoslavia, and a new generation of musicians, including Damir Imamović, has given it fresh life on international stages.
Sevdah is the Bosnian word for a longing that is almost sweet.
Where to hear it
Art Kuća Sevdaha in the old town is a café and small museum devoted to the music. Some bars and restaurants have live sevdah or old-town songs on certain evenings; ask locally, as programmes change.
Our advice: spend an afternoon at Art Kuća Sevdaha to hear the classics, then ask your hotel or the tourist office where there is live music that week. Listen for the saz.
Why it's on our list
- A song of longing
- The great voices
- Where to hear it
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Sevdah: the back story before you go.