Painfully Discovering Sarajevo

As you lot may know,  I backpacked business office of the Balkans terminal June. One of the places I was most excited to see was Sarajevo. I was actually curious to see how the different cultures of East too West met and perchance collided, the Turkish influence inwards the middle of Europe too the multiculturalism of a house that has had a troubled yet undoubtedly-fascinating history.

Pidgeon foursquare inwards Sarajevo

Sarajevo is non an obvious tourist destination. People were puzzled when I mentioned that I would live spending quite a few hours on a public bus simply to run into it. Most people convey no thought of what Sarajevo looks like, too neither did I. Pictures made it unreal, impossible to visualize, too fifty-fifty to a greater extent than then for the many images of state of war that I saw equally a fry on Italian tidings programmes. The terrible state of war that ravaged inwards the 1990s is ever on your hear when you lot see such a place, too casts a nighttime aura on a metropolis that may otherwise live splendidly recovering from the shock.

 

I must confess that my kickoff impressions of Sarajevo were non the best. I arrived at dusk at the central bus station, which is located exterior of the metropolis centre, inwards a poorly illuminated surface area of the metropolis amongst exclusively commercial buildings around. The place looked a bit scary, to me at least, so I asked some other backpackers if they knew their way, too amongst difficulty we found the tram station. We were lucky too a tram driver straight off asked us, amongst a shout, to board the tram. We barely had the fourth dimension to set our backpack downward on our seats on the cranky quondam tram that an inspector came on the jitney too threatened to brand us pay a fine for the ticket that nosotros didn't have. After a long explanation,  half-seriously too half-jokingly he permit us go. Not the greatest start, you lot mightiness recognize, but later a walk inwards the town centre I changed my hear too started to instruct the vibe of the city.

The quondam bazaar area

The next morning, amongst shops opened upward for business, I went dorsum too started to elaborate on what I was seeing. Baščaršija, the quondam Ottoman neighbourhood, made me experience equally if I were inwards an older version of Istanbul, 1 that at nowadays has vanished. The bazaar amongst its wooden shops, the brass utensils, the tulip-shaped tea glasses, the cushioned seats of eating theater too cafés, everything reminded me of Turkey. I establish the surface area fifty-fifty soaked of that nostalgic aura then typical of Istanbul. I would state that this is the main - too close the exclusively - touristic surface area of the city, yet I enjoyed it real much. I peered within arts and crafts shops amongst dusty cushions too observed Bosnians having ćevapčići at xi inwards the morning. This cherished Bosnian dish of brusk sausages served wit pita-like bread, chopped onions too sour cream is what you lot should convey if you lot convey fourth dimension for exclusively 1 Bosnian meal.




A café inwards Baščaršija

One of the most evocative places inwards Baščaršija is the original square, affectionately called Pigeon Square, amongst its Sebilj, an Ottoman-style outflow dating from the 18th century. Minarets inwards the distance too bazaar streets starting inwards all directions, it is a busy place, buzzing amongst life.



Pidgeon square

My favourite house in the quondam Ottoman neighbourhood  is nevertheless Gazi-Husrev-beg mosque, too inwards item its peaceful courtyard too the stunning ablution fountain. Built inwards the 16th-century, it is perchance the most of import Ottoman edifice inwards the country. It suffered pregnant harm during the siege of Sarajevo, because the Serbian forces notoriously targeted religious too cultural buildings for symbolic reasons. It has been splendidly rebuilt too it is at nowadays buzzing amongst worshippers too tourists alike. I sat at that topographic point for at to the lowest degree 1 hour, reading a volume nether the shade of a tree or taking notes on what I was seeing.



The outflow of Gazi Husrev-beg

Outside of Baščaršija, Sarajevo is a regular European city, amongst shops too cafés, churches too parks. I passed yesteryear Catholic too the Orthodox Cathedrals, equally good equally synagogues too mosques, equally proof of the multiculturalism that pervades the city. Even though religious hate has been 1 of the sparks of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, nowadays the unlike religions seem to coexist 1 time again. Among the most striking monuments at that topographic point is the Eternal Flame, a memorial to the victims of the Second World War inwards the cast of a flaming that is ever burning.

Sarejevo Cathedral too shopping area

Sarajevo is surrounded yesteryear hills, then much that everywhere you lot tin give the sack run into streets going uphill. During the siege that lasted a tape three years too 10 months, the snipers were positioned at that topographic point too on the infamous sniper alley. Hand-painted signs would warn passers-by: "Watch out - Sniper!".

Street going uphill inwards Sarajevo

At the hostel where I was staying they kept telling us to hike to the Yellow Fortress. I was having a tour of the town amongst a Bosnian immature human being whom I befriended together amongst some people from the hostel, but he wasn't certain of what nosotros meant yesteryear yellowish fortress. We climbed to a viewpoint that mightiness convey been it. From there you lot tin give the sack run into all of the metropolis too the white stones of a war-time cemetery. Thoughts of how trapped too scared 1 must convey felt during the long siege came to my mind. These white stones are such a presence on the Bosnian territory that when you lot stoop seeing them you lot may gauge that you're getting roughly the edge - at to the lowest degree the ethnic 1 - with Croatia or Serbia.



A cemetery inwards Sarajevo

I didn't fifty-fifty instruct to the tunnel museum, preferring to wander the city. I fifty-fifty visited a traditional Ottoman house, equally good as a Srebrenica massacre exhibition that I found actually interesting too touching. Sarajevo is a metropolis that is trying non to forget the atrocities of the 1990s, but to motility on spell preserving the memory. It has a immature population, amongst some cool bars too restaurants. Perhaps it is non equally rich or equally hip equally Croatia, but it is catching upward amongst the residue of Europe.

The Irish Gaelic pub

As I came out of the Srebrenica exhibition, I saw an Ottoman military machine band - a mehter - playing inwards traditional costumes inwards front end of the Catholic Cathedral. As a thing of fact, it was business office of a music festival celebrating friendship betwixt Bosnia too Turkey. It was interesting to run into people waving Turkish flags, since the Ottomans were 1 time the invaders. In the exhibition I saw a war-time video that explained - to me at least  - the otherwise-inexplicable hate towards Bosnian Muslims. Bosnia is, together amongst Albania, the exclusively business office of the Ottoman empire where a large discover of people converted to Islam too stayed inwards the province later the autumn of the empire. In the footage, a Serbian full general said that he considered Bosniaks traitors for giving inwards to the invaders, religiously too culturally.

Sarajevo it is the variety of metropolis that is to a greater extent than interesting or fascinating than truly beautiful. There are places that you lot tin give the sack definitely telephone yell upward beautiful of course, but inwards full general it is an austere city, peculiarly exterior of Baščaršija. For example I was surprised that the famous Latin Bridge, where archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, looked then dull.

The Latin Bridge

Sarajevo is non equally aesthetically pleasing equally Dubrovnik, that's for sure. It is gritty too unattractive in some parts, but it does have the charm of a house that is soundless a chip uncharted, touristically speaking. I didn't expect it to blow me away from an aesthetical indicate of view, too it didn't for the most part, but it is definitely an intriguing city.

View of Sarajevo from the Yellow Fortress

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