Comments on: Sarajevo, Mostar and the legacy of the Bosnian war

By: Travel Blogs: Best of the Week (September 12-18, 2010) | Adventurous Kate

Travel Blogs: Best of the Week (September 12-18, 2010) | Adventurous Kate — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:02:18 +0000

[...] Sarajevo, Mostar, and the Legacy of the Bosnian War: Why is it that this war seems to be forgotten by so many people? Andy from 501 Places paints a somber picture of Sarajevo and Mostar today, complete with heartbreaking images. When touring the Balkans, this is something you shouldn’t miss. [...]

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:48:39 +0000

Thanks Mark. It’s my fascination with history that was partly responsible for us landing in this part of the world in the first place, so I guess we were always going to look at the signs of the recent conflicts.
Like you, I can’t believe such deep rooted resentment and mistrust between communities can just evaporate, especially in light of these events. Yet people are learning on some level to co-exist again, even among the bullet holes and bombed out shells of buildings.
Are you tempted to return to Bosnia to see it 15 years on?
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

By: Mark Pawlak

Mark Pawlak — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:04:05 +0000

Andy,

I think the strength in what you wrote here is in the piece’s context. It would have been very easy to gloss over the history. And really, as a travel writer, the natural thought is to avoid the history as it seems too obvious. For example, when writing a guide to Vietnam, is there ever any need to say “despite the country’s war-torn history”?

I think this debate proves the value of blogs in providing useful/ invaluable contextual info for travelers. Your final part where you note “on the surface at least” is a well measured way of approaching the problem.

Having spent a lot of time in this country, I can only presume that the bigotry, which underpinned ethnic tensions post-war, still remains. I sincerely hope it has lessened and a more progressive generation is able to moderate what are deep-seated ethnic and political difficulties.

Anyone wishing to travel through this region should take a look at Prijidor/ Sanski Most and the routes between the two.

Such a wonderful country, but please let’s not patch over the bullet holes – they tell a tale that sometimes words cannot.

Best wishes

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:41:38 +0000

Thanks to all for the kind comments. Agree with you Emm that the video makes very difficult viewing (if you just put Mostar into a YouTube search there are plenty more horrors to witness – the consequence of a war fought in the modern age). Certainly well worth visiting, and as they are reconstructing so much and so quickly I imagine the cities will look very different in 5 years time.
John, like you I think the tourism revival in this region is a remarkable story. Dubrovnik had an even more dramatic recovery. It’s hard to believe what went on there, less than 20 years ago.

By: Emm

Emm — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:13:25 +0000

That video was really hard to watch. In fact, I think it might be better if I don’t try watch it again at work as it has made me quite ill.

This is the most incredible post and has made me more determined than ever to visit these places (and soon!). I had had a long obsession with the ex-Yugoslavia (my best friend in high school was Croatian and we lost touch in 1993) and my own visit to Serbia consolidated that obsession. Thank you for such a well-written and poignant post.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:25:53 +0000

Hey Andy – I wrote up a little piece about this post (and your blog) over at my site – here’ the link.

http://www.describetheclouds.com/?p=169

Enjoy!

By: War’s Residue in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Describe the Clouds

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:47:32 +0000

[...] Places is a blog I just added to my feed, but I’m really impressed with it. In this post, Sarajevo, Mostar and the Legacy of the Bosnian War, Andy Jarosz shows how as a visitor you’ll have access to the city’s physical scars, [...]

By: John

John — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:48:43 +0000

Andy, Moving stuff.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly destinations can change from being on the tourist map to being a conflict zone. Then back again, to hosting tourism.
The lives of the people affected by the conflicts, is a much more important story, than stones formed into a bridge. Thank you for covering this aspect of our very recent history.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:14:11 +0000

Thanks Cedric. It is incredible to believe it happened, especially now that the old adversaries are living side by side again.
Enjoyed your website by the way

By: Cedric

Cedric — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:26:57 +0000

I’ve numerous photos and videos of the war in Bosnia even as a kid in the early 90s. Now as an adult, it is still beyond me how and why things like these still happen at this day and age. I can’t believe it been almost 2 decades already.

Thanks for the insightful piece.

PS. By the way, glad to see a fellow copywriter here who also likes to travel.