Saturday, June 30th, 2012
As I was planning this trip, many people asked me "why" Bosnia. My answer was usually "because I've heard it's an amazing country with great people and it's apparently really pretty". All true points but the truth is I've had a fascination with Bosnia and in particular Sarajevo since the late 1990's (1996) when The Cranberries (that's a band) released an album with the song "Bosnia" on it. The line "Sarajevo changed my mind" made me curious then and that curiosity has never gone away so as soon as I got the chance I knew I had to visit the city.
And while that Cranberries song was written about the Bosnian War of the early 90's, Sarajevo has a long and rich history that was certainly worth exploring. I needed way more time than I allowed myself but I assure you I tried to see as much as possible.
I got up quite early on a Saturday morning as I wanted to check out a couple museums that closed at noon. On the way I managed to check out a few other things too. Now before you ask, yes you will see signs of the Bosnian War around the city but it's been 20 years and in that time mostly everything has been rebuilt.
The Eternal Flame. It is a memorial to military and civilian casualties during World War II in Sarajevo. To many it is simply a symbol of the defeat of fascism.
City hall. This building was almost completely destroyed during the Siege of Sarajevo. It has since been totally rebuilt.
This is one of the buildings that has not been rebuilt for the most part and was my first destination today, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are two main exhibits. One shows the history of Sarajevo from before the Ottoman rule to now. The area has a very interesting history I must say. The main exhibit however is about the Siege on Sarajevo.The exhibit told the story of those who lived through it and how they survived. Basements and cellars were turned into makeshift schools, scraps of whatever could be found were turned into weapons, scraps of metal were turned into stoves for cooking and to provide heat. There were examples of uniforms worn by soldiers, many of whom wore sneaker because there were no boots available and first hand stories of that people told along with some very graphic photographs. Some of the statistics on display, 15,000 people were injured in the city and around 1620 children were killed. The building itself, is still missing parts of walls and the roof. The Siege lasted from April 5 1992 to February 29 1996.
The old and the new. An example of old buildings that have survived the years next to a newly constructed hotel.
The entrance to my second stop of the day, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is separated into a few different sections: Archaeological, Natural History and Ethnographic. This was the most oddly set up museum I have ever visited. It is separated into several different buildings but nothing really seems to be in any particular order. As well, when I entered the Ethnographic section , all the lights were out. As I was leaving the ladies came in and turned them on for me. It was odd.
The courtyard of the museum. Very pretty.
My museum touring done, I then headed off to find a few other spots before my tour started.
The plaque on Vrdanja Bridge also known as the "Romeo and Juliet Bridge". The story of the deaths of Admira Ismic and Boško Brkić was a turned into a documentary. She was a Bosniak and he a Bosnian Serb. They decided to flee the deteriorating conditions in Sarajevo May 19, 1993. It was believed that they could safely travel through Sniper Alley and cross the bridge into Serb occupied territory due to having friends on both sides. They were shot once they reached the foot of the bridge. The photograph of their dead bodies was run by many international media outlets and with the help of translators their story was told. Of course if you look at the plaque you will notice Admira and Bosko are not on it. Instead you see the names Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić, who are in fact believed to be the first Bosnian casualties of the Bosnian War in Sarajevo. Their deaths occurred during a peace rally on the bridge in early 1992. So although the bridge is nicknamed the Romeo and Juliet Bridge due to the attention the deaths of Admira and Bosko received, the plaque on it is in fact in memory of two different people killed on the same bridge.
Looking down the bridge. I cannot remember what that dome building use to be....but it was something like the Art Institute or something like that. It now houses such important institutes as an Apple Store.
The National Theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I then made my way back to the Visitor Information centre where I was to meet my driver who would take me out to the Tunnel of Life (also known as the War Tunnel).
It was in this house that the entrance to one end of the tunnel was hidden.
To give you an idea, this is a map of the area during the Siege on Sarajevo. The red area was controlled by Serbian forces and the white area is free Bosnian territory and the city of Sarajevo. How were the Serbian forces able to surround the city in such a way you ask. Well for the weeks leading up to the start of the Siege Serbian troops and tanks were moved into the area and the people were told that the Yugoslavian army was simply doing exercises. In fact they were preparing for the attack which would last from April 5 1992 to February 29 1996 and would be the longest siege on a Capital city in modern warfare.
The Tunnel of Life was built from inside Sarajevo and ran into free Bosnian territory that had been cut off by the Serbian forces. It ran under the airport, which was considered neutral ground and controlled by the United Nations. 90 percent of UN aid to the city was brought in by air so it was considered safe to build the tunnel beneath the airport. It was start in January 1993 and took over 4 months to complete. It was around 800 metres (0.5 miles) long, 1 metre (3 feet) wide and not higher than 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) tall (in many areas it was much shorter). It was dug by hand and shovel and the dirt was carted out by wheel barrels. It was a very important means to moves people in and out of the city as well as food and artillery.
Some of the artillery that was recovered, used and transported through the tunnel.
Supplies from the UN were very important during the siege. Most of the time these were the only supplies getting to people in the city.
A look at a short section of the tunnel that remains. It is estimated that about 3 million people were transported through the tunnel, an estimated 10,000 per day. Each time they travelled they would be required to pay and have papers from the army. The young man who took me on the tour was only a baby at the time but travelled through the tunnel with his mother. He suffered from meningitis so was transported out of the city for treatment.
A look at how small the tunnel really was. Imagine having to walk through this tunnel hunched over like this carrying supplies. Would not have been a comfortable journey.
As you can imagine, Serbian forces knew the tunnel existed and snipers were always on the look out for the entrances. Trenches connect the tunnels so that people could enter them undetected by the snipers. It was most often entered as night as well. The entrances were never found or destroyed.
The majority of the tunnel has now been filled in (when the airport runway was re-enforced) but the owner of the house (who was involved with the building and maintenance of the tunnel) has opened it up as a museum. It is a must visit if you are ever in Sarajevo.
Once I left the tunnel my tour guide took me up the hill so I could get a full view of the city. It really is a beautiful spot.
Looking down on the many buildings in the city.
Once of the many cemeteries throughout the city.
Once back in the city I took a look at a few more things before heading out to check out some evening entertainment.
One of the old clock towers. It runs on lunar time and is used for calculating Muslim prayer times.
The red resin you see is the remains of one of Sarajevo's Roses. They mark spots where 3 or more people were killed in mortar attacks. Sadly they are slowly disappearing around the city. As the sidewalks are replaced, the roses are removed.
One of the main streets in Old Sarajevo. Great shopping along here.
After dinner I headed out to check out some free entertainment for the evening. There was a street dance competition going on, with teams of dancers from all over the region competing. I thought it would be fun to check out and I was right. As a side note I wanted to mention that this was the first night on my entire trip that it was actually cool enough to require pants. I had some great weather on this trip.
A look at some of the young crowd enjoying the dancing.
Of course there is some video. This is actually one of the judges showing off some of his skills.
A little bit of the routine by the Yugoslav Boys. They won the group competition. It was pretty impressive.
Eventually I made my way back to my hotel. It was a very long day of touring and I would be heading out of town tomorrow. My flight was later in the day however so I would be able to check out just a few more things before I had to leave. And if you think I've missed some important historical event....not to worry it will more than likely be in the next post.
With one full day in the city, Sarajevo did not disappoint.
Julie
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