Sarajevo tram

Of all the places we were due to visit on our trip to the Balkans, I was most excited at the prospect of finally visiting Sarajevo. Famous for the events that triggered the start of the First World War, for Torvill and Dean (especially in my home city of Nottingham) and for the horrific siege that the city suffered in the 1990s, this is a city that consistently punches above its weight in its ability to attract headlines. I came into Sarajevo with high expectations and I’m happy to say that our visit exceeded these; it’s now right up there as my favourite European city.

East meets West

The narrow Sarajevo lanes

This label has traditionally belonged to Istanbul, but after a few days I became convinced that Sarajevo should perhaps be the rightful holder of this strapline (for what it’s worth). It may be less than a tenth of the size of its Turkish rival, but the blend of mosques and churches, of merchants’ alleys and shopping malls, and of the sound of ubiquitious Balkan techno-pop drowning out the call to prayer created an atmosphere that I haven’t encountered elsewhere.

Most of the city’s mosques and churches (and even the synagogue, home to a good little museum) are freely open to the public. It is a compact city centre and perfect for strolling in and out of the alleys and markets. The narrow lanes were reminiscent more of Turkey than of the grey and soulless Yugoslavia that I had last visited over 20 years ago.

Ghosts of Sarajevo past

Sarajevo's famous Holiday Inn

There are many signs of Sarajevo’s recent bloody conflict and I mentioned these in a recent post. Those who remember the news coverage from the early 1990s may recognise the yellow block that is the Holiday Inn, the only working hotel during the siege and where the world’s press did their best to report on the unfolding tragedy. From the many viewpoints on the city’s surrounding hills it is easy to see where new buildings have sprung daringly from the rubble and where others are yet to be touched. When you stand on the hillsides it’s impossible not to consider that those vantage points were the strategic positions of the troops who tried to strangle the city.

Sarajevo had a rich history long before the latest conflict and you don’t have to look far to uncover signs of this past. The Yugoslav years are remembered in a kitsch bar that is shamelessly themed around the life of Tito, with garish displays of his life and old propaganda posters on the walls of the cafe. Positioned rather ironically behind the National History Museum, this hang-out is popular with the city’s students and has pictures of the former leader mingling with the world’s good, bad and ugly.

Tito Bar, Sarajevo

Further back again and the perhaps Sarajevo’s most important gunshot (there’s so many to choose from) was fired in 1914 by Gavrilo Princip opposite the city’s Latin Bridge. His effort killed the Archduke Franz Ferninand and set into motion a chain of events that quickly and inevitably led to the start of the Great War. Princip was originally honoured as a hero, and only in recent years was his memorial (a set of bronze footprints) moved from the spot where the assassination occurred and into the more appropriate setting of the nearby museum.

Latin Bridge, Sarajevo - the site of the 1914 assassination

Looking back beyond the events of 1914, Sarajevo is still home to some of the best examples of Ottoman architecture, and a few even survived the recent war. In fact the influence of the city’s many rulers over the generations has left its legacy in a rich mix of architctural styles.

Diverse cuisine

Sarajevo’s split personality is perhaps most evident in its food. While the Balkan staple food (pizza) is available on every street, there is plenty of Turkish influence in some of the Bosnian fare on offer. Meat kebabs (cevapcici) and burek (stuffed pastry) are served in abundance while the pekara (bakery) signs point to a world of irresistable cakes and sweet pastries. And no trip to Sarajevo is complete without trying a Bosnian coffee. Strong enough to put hairs on your chest, or perhaps to strip them off, the Bosnian coffee set is an intricate collection of pots and makes a popular gift, if the market traders are to be believed.

Our favourite find (courtesy of Lonely Planet) was Mala Kuhinja. Translating as ‘little kitchen’ this tiny restaurant just behind the cathedral has no menus and just a few cosy tables. On entering the waiter greeted us, checked if we had any allergies or aversions and proceeded to tell us about the dishes we would get. The chef then got to work in the open kitchen and prepared us a feast. The quality of the meal was first class and the whole lunch experience made this our best meal of the whole trip (the price was very reasonable too). They just need a little work on their website…

Don’t miss…

Chess men of Sarajevo

1. The old men playing chess in the park by the Orthodox cathedral. This is a Sarajevo institution and I have to admit to never having imagined that people could get so involved in a chess game. When one player had opened up a clear run for his pawn to get to the other end of the board, we could have easily imagined we were at the finishing line in a horse race, such was the excitement in the voices of those around us.

Hilltop view of the city

2. Climbing one of the nearby hills to get a view of the city. From the old city quarter there is a clear view of a hill fort just beyond the city. The fort can be reached in a gentle half hour of walking and offers superb views of the city.While climbing the hill the road passes through several sleepy surburban streets, where only the odd bullet hole or ruined building give any clue that the neighbourhood has ever been woken from its lazy slumber.

It is also the sunset hang-out spot for young Sarajevans so expect plenty of noise and techno-music rather than a spiritual sunset experience.

The Sarajevo tunnel

3. A trip out to the Tunnel Museum. This is a simple yet very powerful display at the spot where the people of the city built a tunnel under the airport runway to bring supplies into the city during the three year siege. You can still walk through a part of the tunnel, and the curator of the museum is one of the family who owned the land where the tunnel was built and who were deeply involved in its construction and in keeping it secret. A trip to the museum involves a tram and bus ride from the city.

Sarajevo: so much more than bombs and bullets is a post from: 501 Places

One of the many cemeteries of Sarajevo

At first glance the cemetery in Mostar looked like any other. Nestled alongside a mosque and on the main road heading out of town, this quiet corner of the old city would be unremarkable if I hadn’t looked a little closer. As I started to wander among these tall white stones the enormity of the tragedy that had hit this region suddenly struck home. Every soul in that graveyard had died in the spring and early summer of 1993. One tiny grave even bore the dates ‘1993-1993’.

We found many similar cemeteries on our visit to Sarajevo a couple of days before. Here the dates were a little wider (1992 to 1995) although the number of grave stones ran into their thousands. Indeed standing on a hilltop overlooking the city I was reminded of our visit to the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, such were the number of cemeteries that we could see. Yet these were civilians, ordinary people who just happened to be the wrong religion or the wrong ethnic grouping when their doomed Yugoslav nation fell apart and turned in on itself.

One of Sarajevo's many ruins

Over 100,000 died in a four year war that pitched neighbour against neighbour and friend against friend, in a tragedy that resulted in mass evictions, rape camps, massacres and horrendous human suffering for the people of this troubled region. While the vast majority of victims were Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), atrocities were commited on all sides and by all sides.

Buildings on the Mostar front line

We came across a series of harrowing exhibtions, in Sarajevo and later also in Dubrovnik that attempted to recall the personal stories of the conflict. These provided photographic and written accounts on how people suddenly and without warning learned at first hand how humans have the ability plunge to the depths of depravity. It was very uncomfortable to witness these sights and not unlike visiting the Nazi concentration camps or the Khmer Rouge killing fieds. Just as in the case of those horrors, this conflict has now formed an indelible stain on our collective failure to co-exist in peace. Yet these reminders serve a valuable role in ensuring the world never forgets.

Open air exhibition recalling first hand accounts from all sides of the conflict

People we spoke with were understandably reticent to recall their experiences. Three years under siege in Sarajevo or life under the mortar attacks of Mostar and worse does not provide memories that you want to share with strangers. “We survived, thank God” was a commonly heard phrase. But for evidence of the conflict one does not need words. Sarajevo has many bombed out shells of buildings; those where reconstruction has yet to start. The famous ‘Sarajevo Roses’, mortar holes in the pavements that were filled symbolically with red paint, are now a rare sight but can still be found. And so many buildings in the centre of both Sarajevo and Mostar are pockmarked with bullet holes, tiny gifts from the snipers that might not bring down a building but that threatened to destroy an entire city’s ability to survive.

'Sarajevo Rose'

Perhaps no single structure symbolises the stupidity of the war more than Mostar’s famous Old Bridge. Built in the 16th century, it had withstood so much and served as one of Europe’s crucial crossing points throughout many wars and changes of government. Yet it was no match for the heavy artillery that destroyed it in November 1993. Being widely regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful bridges was not enough to save it from destruction, as its strategic importance rendered it a prime target that needed to be removed; such was the warped thinking that had taken hold by that time. The powerful clip below though quite long is well worth watching, and shows the footage of the moment the bridge was destroyed.

Yet while the loss of a historic bridge is a tragedy in itself and a powerful symbol of the futility of this war, it is perhaps not right to cry over a bridge when millions of lives were destroyed forever. The bridge is now restored to its former glory. For the people of the city that straddles the Neretva river their emotional restoration, if it can ever truly be achieved, will take a lot longer.

As a footnote, if there was ever a place where I have been heartened to find mass tourism, it has to be Mostar. While the Old Bridge is now packed with cruise ship daytrippers from Dubrovnik, it is impossible not to feel a sense of relief for the people of Mostar that, on the surface at least, things have returned to something approaching normal. More on Mostar and Sarajevo (without doubt one of my favourite European cities) coming up.

Sarajevo, Mostar and the legacy of the Bosnian war is a post from: 501 Places