Crossroads of East and West
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2007
1
64
90
Trip End
Apr 19, 2008
Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Monday, December 3, 2007
The Latin Bridge
.While in Sarajevo, I went on a tour to the Tunnel Museum, led by Haris, the affable 19-year-old host of my hostel. He explained the particulars of the war and the tunnel, through which 3000 people could pass per day. If you could afford it, from outside the tunnel, you could flee to Croatia then on to Italy, Slovenia, or Germany. If not, you still had to go through sometimes because you couldn't get enough food in the city. Haris told us of going through when he was seven with his father, how the tunnel was dark and the bottom often covered with water. He told us of the heavy packs of food he had to carry and each of us ducked through a 25m length of tunnel with 40kg on our back. Heavy, though I will say this, it's a lot of weight, but at least it keeps you hunched over so you don't hit your head on the ceiling so much.
Haris also took us to the former Olympic stadium from the 1984 games. Much of the original complex was shelled but has since been rebuilt with help from international sporting associations. Outside the stadium is a cemetery, one of many all over the city where the dead were buried during the war, the locals unable to lay them to rest anywhere else. As a final stop, Haris took us to see the Holiday Inn, where foreign journalists stayed during the war, and Sniper Alley along the river
The Eternal Flame
. During the siege, water was scarce, so the city's inhabitants would collect water from the river and also gather there to wash their clothes. However, the water was unprotected and Serbian snipers were able to pick off civilians at will. Bullet holes still remain in many of the buildings, an eerie reminder of recent history.Our tour of wartime Sarajevo complete, we were left to wander the relatively small old town. I started with the Latin Bridge, site of Archduke Ferdinand's assassination, commonly held to have led to World War I. It's a rather non-descript bridge, but if you're going to be in Sarajevo, you have to see it. This was followed by Bascarsija, the old bazaar area left over from Turkish times. Unlike Skopje's, which is hilly and filled with local shops, Sarajevo's is flat and filled with tourist shops. I contemplated purchasing my parents a samovar as large as I am, but decided against it. It would have looked great next to the oven, but I think my mother prefers her own methods of boiling water.
Speckled with mosques, the occasional church, and even a synagogue, Sarajevo has a melange of religions. The old town is equally as dotted with shops selling tasty Turkish street food (no McDonald's) and delicious Turkish sweets and Austrian cakes, the city having belonged to both the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires. All the food is wonderfully cheap, and I spent the better part of my time in Sarajevo eating it. Unfortunately, I did manage to consume too much cevapci, a dish of sausage and pita flavored with raw onions, and the reek of the vegetables oozed out my pores. No amount of showering would take it off, only time. At least I learned why the locals smell the way they do.
Inside the Turkish House
My last night in Sarajevo, it snowed. It was just freezing, so large, wet, magical flakes fell out of the sky as our group of travelers walked back from dinner. Seeing mosques in snow appeared a little odd (though I realize it snows quite a bit in Muslim countries) but a Chicago girl and I made the most of the weather, pelting the hapless Kiwi of our group with endless volleys of snow balls. What fun.
Addendum:
The hapless Kiwi is now reading this entry and objects to said description of him. He is sulking and has asked to be considered unfortunate instead.
Sarajevo's Prague Factor:
I had heard wonderful things about Sarajevo since beginning my trip, but I have to say, it didn't do a lot for me. Clearly, I enjoyed it more than some of the larger, dirtier capitals of eastern Europe, but my companions and I rather felt that it was a small old town and then just a bunch of apartment blocks, not really having a lot of character. Historically, it's definitely worth a visit, but I can think of many other places I would rather linger. 43%.
