Advertisement
Published: November 10th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Good day people!
Bosnia & Herzegovina is an almost landlocked country, with just 20km of coast around a city called Neum. I guess most people would immediately think about the war when they hear the name Bosnia & Herzegovina. Most people probably don't know much more about the place (some even think there is still a war, lol). During the Yugoslav War between 1992 and 1996, Bosnia & Herzegovina was the country that suffered the most. Serbs wanted to take control of the whole country and large parts of Croatia to annex it to Serbia, which would become the "Big Serbia". During my visit I spoke to three or four different people about the war, mostly younger people because the older generation doesn't speak English. It was interesting to hear from different people how they and their family experienced the war. Believe it or not but for some people the war was the best time of their lives. Because they spent a lot of time together with family, friends or neighbours playing games, talking etc. because there wasn't much else to do. If it wasn't for the war they'd never spend so much time together and getting to know each
other so well. Of course they wouldn't wish another war ever again!
Bosnia & Herzegovina just had its first census since the war and has near 3.8 million inhabitants. The three largest ethnic groups living in this country are: "Bosnian Muslims, Serbs and Croats". Muslims came to this area with the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which was in control from the 1400's until late 1800's. The presence of three ethnic groups means that there is still some tension in the country. That's the reason why BiH, the abbreviation for Bosnia & Herzegovina, has three presidents. BiH also qualified for the first time for World Cup Football (Brazil 2014), finishing 1
st in their group! The currency is the Bosnian Convertible Mark (BAM or KM). 1 EUR equals 1,95 KM and it's easy to handle with by just counting 1 Euro as 2 Marks. In Bosnia & Herzegovina you'll notice that there are many beggars on the streets, many of them kids. Many times I felt like some kids where doing it "just for fun", like it's something trendy to do because many of them didn't seem poor to me (that was my impression at least). Some of them were very
annoying and wouldn't stop and followed me for a bit, kept asking and touching. Once time two boys were surrounding me and wouldn't let me walk and I had to shout loud to make them go away.
Visiting Bosnia & Herzegovina wasn't really on the plan. In 2007 I visited the city of Bihac in the extreme northwest of the country. Again I thought, I'm in the region why not do it? I took a bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar.
Mostar has just above 100.000 inhabitants. The city lies on the shores of the Neretva River and is well known for its "Stari Most", an old historical bridge. This bridge was originally built in the 1500's and was destroyed in November 1993 during the war. Reconstruction of the bridge, with all of the original stones, was completed in 2004. Until today, some people never cross the bridge because of ethnic tensions. The eastern part of the river is predominantly Muslim and the western part is predominantly Croat. One of my Croatian friends has a male cousin, a Croat of course, who has never crossed the river but his sister doesn't care and does it all the
time. Some local guys dive off the bridge, but only when they've received enough tips from tourists.
This city was almost completely destroyed during the war. Until today the signs are still visible all over the city with many buildings with bullet holes. The historical city is small but gorgeous and quite touristy. During the day its busy because many tourists come for a day trip...later in the afternoon and in the evening it's quiet. In the city I visited the small Turkish House Museum (Kajtaz), showing original clothes and artifacts used during the Ottoman period.
The bus trip from Mostar to Sarajevo was beautiful. The country has many freshwater lakes and mountains which offered some stunning views from the bus.
Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of the country with about half a million people. It lies on the shores of the Miljacka River and was host of the 1984 Winter Olympics, during which it was part of Yugoslavia. During the war there was a siege of the city by the Serbs, which lasted for almost 4 years. A tunnel was built underneath the airport, which was controlled by the UN, and was the only entrance
and exit to the city. All kinds of supplies, food, medicine etc. came to the city through this tunnel. I visited the tunnel and it was very interesting to see and hear about the history here. Sarajevo's city center and its sites to visit are within walking distance...it's not too big. I really liked the city, it was nicer than I expected, great atmosphere and is still cheap! Around the city there are some little squares on the floor with red, splashed painting. They show the place where explosives killed people during the war. The "Eternal Flame" is a monument with a flame, burning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to honour all those who died during the Second World War in Sarajevo. I guess it's now also considered to honour those who died during the Yugoslav War.
I also visited the "Gazi Husrev-begova Dzamija Mosque", built in the 1500's, during an actual service which was nice to see. It's located in the city centre. I had a very good "cevapi", which is a typical Bosnian dish. It consists of minced meat rolled like small sausages in pita bread with cream and onions! In the city I
met a local guy called Tarik when I asked him to take me a picture. I also spoke with him about Bosnia & Herzegovina in general and he invited me to go out that evening with some of his friends. He's known by a lot of people in Sarajevo because sometimes he organizes parties. He was really interested to know about my trip and about Curaçao and the Caribbean in general, since I was the first person he has ever met from the region. This didn't surprise me at all and you do not see other black people in this country. During my stay I've seen two or maybe three...not more. On the streets almost everybody was looking at me, but in a pleasant way and they greet, say hi, give you a hand hahaha. Many were always ready to help or show the way, even if you don't ask them they would approach you to ask if you need any help.
The place that had quite some impact on me, was the Srebrenica Gallery. The gallery was about the men and boys executed in Srebrenica in July 1995, in northeastern Bosnia & Herzegovina. If you never knew exactly
how everything happened, you'll know (almost) everything after a visit to this gallery. The walls were full of photos of men and boys, other walls were full of names. More than 8.000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed within a few days by the Serbs, with the help of some Greek and Russian volunteers. The whole thing was very well planned and executed. The Serbs made a fool of the United Nations, USA and all of the NATO and the Dutch peacekeepers in the area to be able to commit these atrocities. There were some screens in the gallery, where you could follow every detail of what happened the days before, during and after the massacre. It's SICK and HORRIBLE! I spent almost 3 hours watching the whole thing on the screen then I continued through the rest of the place for another hour. On big screen you could watch some interviews with several Bosnian Muslim women who lost literally everything: their home, their husband and son(s). I must admit that I found it a bit difficult to watch and I had to let a tear or two out of my eyes.
I was very satisfied with
my visit to Bosnia & Herzegovina and would definitely return in the future and see more parts of the country. The locals I experienced as very friendly. And the country is still cheap too which is a good deal!
Thanks for reading and till the next blog, in which I left Europe for some time.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.125s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0804s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Diana Pietersz
non-member comment
Foto Dode zee
Hallo Elton, Mi ta enjoy bo blogs pero e potret di bo drijvend den dode zee, ta grandios!!! Sigui propaganda Korsow den exterior ku bo t-shirt nan.Hopi sunchi i abraso pa bo.Cuida bo kurpa.