Skopje economic life greatly benefited from its position in the middle of Ottoman Europe. Until the 17th century, Skopje experienced a long golden age. Around 1650, the number of inhabitants in Skopje was between 30,000 and 60,000, and the city contained more than 10,000 houses. It was then one of the only big cities on the territory of future Yugoslavia, together with Belgrade and Sarajevo. At that time, Dubrovnik, which was a busy harbour, had not even 7,000 inhabitants. Following the Ottoman conquest, the city population changed. Christians were forcibly converted to Islam or were replaced by Turks and Jews. At that time, Christians of Skopje were mostly non-converted Slavs and Albanians, but also Ragusan and Armenian tradesmen. The Ottomans drastically changed the appearance of the city. They organized the Bazaar with its caravanserais, mosques and baths.