Sunday, July 1st, 2012
HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!! For another year I would be spending Canada Day away from Canada but in my books Sarajevo was a pretty good replacement. Before I left the city and headed back to Riyadh I met up with a young student named Neno for a free walking tour of the city. Many students in the city offer tours for free (for tips only) as a way to make a little extra cash but also as a way to share the great history of their city with others.
We met out front of the National Theatre, a very nice building.
Neno's papers......kept after all these years. These allowed him to get aid during the Siege. Neno was about 8 years old when the Siege started. He has many memories of the basement school rooms and hiding from snipers. He also has very not so fond memories of some of the food provided by the UN. He told us stories about the canned beef that even their pets wouldn't eat.
I had to steal this from another blog as I never found out about this until Neno told me about it. This is the monument in thanks to the UN in Sarajevo. Kind of a sarcastic thanks for the not so edible canned beef. This was just down the road from the Museums I was at yesterday but I didn't travel far enough to see it.
A little summary of the history of Sarajevo (and Bosnia and Herzegovina). I'll try to be as accurate as possible and not leave too much out. Dating back to about 2,500 years before the birth of Christ, there is evidence of pre-historic settlements in Sarajevo. Starting in the second half of the 15th century, the Ottoman's gained control and ruled the region for about 400 years. Sarajevo also spent 40 years under the Austrian-Hungry Monarchy. After World War I the first Yugoslavian State was formed (the King of Yugoslavia) and then after World War II you saw the creation of the second Yugoslavian State better known as the " Tito Yugoslavia". Tito was in power from 1945 to 1980. It was in 1992 that the referendum to declare Bosnia and Herzegovina independent was voted on. This also saw the start of the Bosnian War and the Siege of Sarajevo.
BiH (the abbreviation for Bosnia and Herzegovina) has 3 presidents, one Bosnian, One Serbian and one BiH.
Where does the name come from and how is the country split? Good question. Bosnia is the northern 75% of the country and is named for the River Bosna. Herzegovina is the Southern 25% of the country. The 2 names have origins in medieval times.
OK enough, history lessons, on with the walking tour.
There is that fancy building again.....you know the one that is now an Apple Store. Fanciest Apple Store I've ever seen.
The old post office. It was heavily damaged during The Siege due to the fact that the cities telephone lines ran through this building. It was rebuilt in 2001.
A little reminder that it wasn't just war and sadness in Sarajevo. They also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984.
A better example of a Sarajevo Rose. You can see how they used the resin to fill in the damage instead of using concrete. I like seeing them. A reminder of the past but also how far the city and country has come.
One of the many monuments in the city. This one is dedicated to the children who were killed during the war. The fountain is filled with the footprints of family members of those children killed.
Another part of that memorial. It was been made from melted down grenade and other munitions cases. The names of all the children killed are engraved on these pillars, and when they are turned they make the sounds of toys and things like that. When you turn them all at once it sounds like you're hanging out in a park with a bunch of kids playing.
One of the many cemeteries you will find around the city.
More random headstones in a park.
The fish market. Always a hub of excitement in any city.
Another Sarajevo Rose. I have no doubt many people just walk by these and have no idea what they are.
Neno considers this the ugliest building in Sarajevo. I would have to agree.
The infamous Latin Bridge, where near by a very important event in world history occurred.
That event was of course the assassination of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.
As the plaque says, on June 28th 1914 the assassination occurred, which of course is the event that most consider to have sparked the start of the first world war. I had never actually paid attention to the story of this assassination until today. There were in fact 6 Bosnian Serbs trained and placed in various locations to ensure the assassination would take place. A few didn't act and one threw a bomb that bounced off the Arch Duke's car and hit the one behind instead. Arch Duke Ferdinand then continued on with his planned engagements, understandably stressed about the earlier events. It wasn't until later in the day when the driver took a wrong turn, was reversing up the street, stalled the engine that the Arch Duke and his wife were shot by Gavrilo Princip. They were transported to the Governors residences for medical treatment. Sophie was dead on arrival, and the Arch Duke died about 10 minutes later.
This happens to be the oldest public toilet still in use. It is over 500 years old. It's a men's toilet so I just have to assume it is still in good working order.
A very interesting sign leading into the Ghazi Husrev Bey's Mosque. I love the little fat guy with is stomach hanging out eating a sandwich. That's a much more fun way to say no food.
The main entrance to the mosque. The mosque was built in 1530. There is a large Muslim population in Sarajevo but I must say call to prayers are so much more quiet here than in Saudi. You hardly noticed it where as in Riyadh it'd be impossible not to notice it.
Another look at the courtyard of the mosque.
Eventually my walking tour ended and I said goodbye to Neno. I was able to get a lot of information from him and certainly filled my final day of vacation.
It was then time for me to head to the airport.....the worst part of the trip. I celebrated Canada Day at the airport with a couple Bosnian beers and then I was off.
I eventually made it back to Riyadh.....although my luggage only made it as far as Istanbul ( I got it 2 days later). I didn't have a lot of time to get readjusted as I arrived back in Riyadh at 0500 and was back at work at 1900.
So in short, my tour of the Balkans was nothing but fantastic. The people, the food, the history......everything. If you ever have a chance to visit this area of the world I highly......highly recommend you do it.
Julie
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