Damn Sarajevo - you little beauty! I wasn't aware of the beauty and history of this capital city until I landed here and experienced it myself. I wonder why it isn't part of the regular tourist circuit for non Europeans (maybe, even for Europeans). I stayed in Hostel Kucha, which was located on top of a steep hill and a proper 15 minute hike from the city centre. I was glad to make so many friends there in just a couple of days, who were part of my drive to explore this beautiful city. The party started the day I arrived, as we were up all night playing UNO and various drinking games!
The intrigue of the city started from the moment I checked in when I glanced at a poster stuck in my hostel. For starters, this was where the Austrian heir to the throne was assassinated, which led to World War I (Austria-Hungary could not attack Sarajevo, as it was part of their territory. So, they attacked Serbia as it was a Serbian plan). Then, it was host to Winter Olympics in 1984 and during 1992-1995, it was under siege from Serbia for 44 months!
There are a lot of cathedrals and mosques dotting the city, as it is inhabited by Bosniak Muslims (45%), Serbian Orthodox (35%) and Croatian Catholics (15%). Sarajevo had been one of the most diverse (yet peaceful) cities in the region, till the Serbian horrors of the 1990s.
It is also known as "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of Balkans". It is one of the few places where a mosque, catholic church, orthodox church and a synagogue are located in the same neighborhood.
One of the first things I encountered in the city was the Bosnian way of playing chess. These matches go on for days as the winner is challenged daily till all competitors have been defeated (the losers do not get a rematch). Quite often, the game gets heated and one can always hear the participants shout and scream at each other.
There is a spot in the old town 'Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures' where the original cultures of Sarajevo merge. It is known as an ‘east meets west’ city and in this exact spot, you can see buildings of an Austro-Hungarian style change to Islamic and Ottoman architectures in just one step. You will see this spot clearly marked in huge bold letters on the street floor. The river Miljacka divides the city and there are 10 bridges connecting the 2 sides, most important of which is the Latin Bridge.
Bosnians are very friendly and if you are lucky, you can get an invite for a cup of coffee or a shot of rakia (the local spirit in the Balkans) after the first meeting itself. I fell in love with their dark sense of humor - their ability to crack jokes & make light of the situation is admirable. Maybe, it is a self coping mechanism they have developed after going through years of hardships and struggles. One of the prime examples of their funny quotient was the reaction of the general public when this green building was constructed in the heart of the city. As the locals did not like it one bit, the landlords having flats in the buildings opposite this green monster reduced their rent by €20 as a compensation to the tenants who had to look at it on a daily basis.
More than two decades after a devastating war, Bosnia-Herzegovina has still not overcome its deep ethnic divisions. It is plagued by unemployment, environmental pollution & incredibly complicated politics. It's no wonder, then, that the young population leave the country to find opportunities in the EU. The root cause of these problems can be traced back to the the bloody Bosnian War between 1992 and 1995, pitting Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims, against each other.
The war ended in 1995 with the signing of the Dayton Agreement, which stipulated that Bosnia be divided into 2 entities: a predominantly Serbian area called Republika Srpska (49% territory) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in turn was subdivided into 10 autonomous zones. This arrangement created hordes of politicians, who represent the Muslims, Croats & the Serbs. The country has been divided along ethnic lines and these divisions run deeper than ever before. Each ethnic group has its own distinct school books and media that vilify the other side. So in a sense, the Bosnian War has never ended.
From discussions about the present, it was time to take a peek at the past. The History lesson about WWI was revisited when I saw the place where the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914. The story goes that a group of 5 Serbians and 1 Bosniak were tasked to eliminate him & his wife while they were on a state visit to Sarajevo. When Ferdinand's car got close to the Latin Bridge, one of the assassins threw a bomb to kill him but it fell short of the car and injured the public gathered on the streets. The assassin, now fearing for his life, consumed poison to avoid being captured alive. Unfortunately for him, the poison failed to work and in a last ditch effort to kill himself, he jumped into the river. Again, his attempt was unsuccessful as the river was shallow and as he got injured in the process, he was easily captured by the police. I found this incident fascinating - an assassin who could not kill himself in two attempts was given the task of eliminating a high profile target!
Back to the story - in the panic that ensued, the driver rushed towards a government building, which would keep the royal couple safe. As news filtered in that the assassin had been caught, there was a perception that everything was ok and things should continue as planned. The other assassin, believing that the assassination attempt had to be postponed to some other day, went to a nearby coffee shop (the location of the museum as shown above). The royal couple had an Austrian driver who was not familiar with the streets in Sarajevo and he drove the wrong way on a one way street. The public on the street warned him to change his route and the next right he took landed him bang in front of the cafe where the second assassin was having his drink. When he saw the royal couple, he coolly got up and left the cafe to kill the couple with his gun.
This assassination directly led to World War I with Austria-Hungary issuing an ultimatum to Serbia, which was duly rejected. A war was declared, which was later joined by most European powers. As I kept going back to the events that unfolded in the summer of 1914, I was imagining a parallel world wherein even if one of the many small things that happened during the incident were changed, maybe just maybe World War I could have been averted. It was a really strange feeling to witness the origin of a historic and world changing event.
After the wonderful dip into history, it was time to explore the other landmarks. The city retains a strong Muslim character, having many mosques, wooden houses and the ancient Turkish marketplace (the Bascarsija), which was the centre of all business in the olden days. The mosques here have cafes and a water fountain, as this is where people gather to talk and share gossip, apart from the daily prayers.
Bosnian economy is currently struggling and the dominant theme was a life of struggle with less money and no jobs. People are trying to move to other parts of Europe in search of jobs and money (Croatia is the preferred choice). The war in 1990s destroyed everything they had and it has been a very tough couple of decades to bring their lives on track. I chewed things over while having a look around the market and sipping pomegranate juice (a very strong taste, quite different to India).
The view from the rooftop cafe of a mid town hotel was stunning. After a bit of a search based on the directions given by a friend in our hostel, we were able to find the hotel and made our way to the rooftop.
It was quite strange at first, as we went there just for the view and did not order anything in the cafe.
Back at the ground level, we made our way to one of the museums in the city, depicting the genocide of 1990s. It was very heavy, but maybe lacked a bit of context for a tourist, as the background and other reasons behind the conflict were not explained enough.
We then visited the headquarters of the oldest beer company in Bosnia - Sarajevska Pivara (Sarajevo Brewery). The museum here displays items that have been collected over 150 years since the factory first started working - old bottles of beer, various labels and logos, containers that were used for storing the beer, as well as for drinking it etc.
Next on the agenda was a visit to the Markale (marketplace), which was the scene of Markale market shelling when two separate bombardments (in 1994 & 1995) targeted civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo. This incident got widespread global attention and paved the way for NATO intervention & intensified efforts to find a solution out of this mess. Some of the areas where shrapnel exploded on the streets have been painted in red, as a reminder of the casualties.
For sunset, one can visit the Yellow Fortress (15 min walk from the old town) or the White Fortress, (30 min walk from the old town). You will pass the striking Kovaci cemetery. It is the main cemetery for soldiers from the Bosnian Army who were killed during the war. It is well worth taking a moment here to reflect.
Back in town, the buildings with shrapnel marks & bullet holes are a common sight and the locals have got used to it in the years gone by. The only safe area during the siege was underground bunkers or basements (where public used to spend majority of their time).
We craned our necks to find the source of all the shelling that had taken place in the 90's. One of the areas pointed out to us was a hill overlooking the city. We also found a synagogue (green roof - first photo) which used to be a sniper tower, from where Serbs used to shoot the people walking on the street (second photo). These were just random attacks on innocent people - signs such as "Watch out, Sniper" & "Run or R.I.P" were commonplace and saved a lot of lives.
Tom Stoddart was one of the most famous photographers in the world, who captured the Bosnian war in detail. The below photo of a lady (with makeup & high heels) walking on these streets when death due to shrapnel attacks or snipers were a common occurrence, was one of his most iconic ones. Her attitude and wanting to look good, while facing death won her a lot of admirers. Another case of Bosnian humour!
Here, a local guide is showing the damaged buildings in his photo book, whereas the one in the background is the rebuilt version. The stories and eye witness accounts were too much to process for many of us. When we reached the Vrbanja bridge and listened to yet another story with a tragic ending, the mood was heavy and there was incredible sadness all around. Some members of the group were close to tears by now.
This is the bridge where Sarajevo's Romeo and Juliet (Bosko & Admira) were killed by snipers firing from the Muslim controlled area of the city while they tried to cross over to the part controlled by Serbs. Despite assurances by Serbian & Bosnian armies that they will be allowed to leave the city and rebuild their lives, the massacre was carried out and attributed to the Serbian army for a decade. However, investigations later pointed out that a Muslim group was behind the attack. Bosko was first shot at and was killed immediately. The next bullet hit the Admira, two steps away from him. Severely injured, Admira used her remaining energy to crawl towards Bosko’s dead body, hug him & die. For a
week, their hugged bodies were lying on “no-man’s land”. Later, the Serbian army evacuated the bodies and buried them in Republika Srpska and moved them to the cemetery in Sarajevo after the war. It was one of the saddest stories I heard in Bosnia. The locals gather here every year on their death anniversary to remember the beautiful couple. There are stories that shock you to the core and yet, the country is trying to move on from their disastrous past. The siege of Sarajevo ended after NATO strikes in Serbia (after years of inaction) which resulted in a peace agreement that was signed by all the parties. In effect, the agreement has split the country into different parts which has, however, brought some sort of a peace to the region.
After the sad story, the guide told us he would try his best to end the tour on a humorous note. The story goes that after the end of the siege, a Bosniak citizen installed this giant can of beef as a reminder of UN's help given to Bosnia in the form of terrible food and medicine which was shipped to them. In some cases, the expired malaria vaccines were shipped to Bosnia, which does not even have the disease. I was shocked at hearing the story and it just goes to show how global politics and aids work in terms of wars and crisis. As the Bosnian government did not want to look ungrateful to the UN, it allowed this can to be placed in a remote location of the city. The ultimate irony in the story - a few years back, the new UN office was opened in a building which is just behind this can of beef statue!
Once the tour finished, my German friends & I went to the tram station to take a ride back to the old town. They were quite confident that we did not need tickets for our trip back to town and since I could not see a ticket counter or vending machine, I tagged along with them despite the warnings my brain was throwing at me.
Sure enough, a ticket checker got in at the next stop and asked for our tickets. We fumbled and made lame excuses but our requests fell on deaf ears. We were fined 26KM (€13) - the ticket price was a paltry 2KM(€1). Later on, we were debating the whole issue and one of the guys said that we could have made a run for it if I had not given my passport as ID proof to them. I was thanking my lucky stars that nothing of that sort happened and the damage was limited. It was a lesson well learnt for future trips and journeys. At least, I had a record of traveling ticketless and getting fined in a country, which was the first in Europe to introduce trams!
The adventure was not quite over, as we got hopelessly lost on our way to the hostel. We were planning to search for a place which served vegetarian food and as usual, the option of going to a pizza parlor presented itself as a solution. After more than 30-40 mins of search, neither did we find the pizza place nor could we find our hostel. Stumbling our way across different streets, we were fortunate enough to find a street which we remembered and that led us in the direction of the hostel. After a quick dinner, it was time to retire for the night & cherish another day well spent in a new city.
Indeed, I love Sarajevo - I can't believe how beautiful it is & how lovely and hospitable the people are.
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