The call to prayer

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Our last ever night train took us to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  This train was unfortunately not a sleeper train, but as we are now hard core and seasoned travellers, we contented ourselves with 3 seats and stretched out. haha. :)

Bosnia is officially the first muslim country I have been to, but it was especially unusual for me as the population are obviously Caucasian, and European.  Seeing white women in headscarves looked more normal than I would have imagined; it was actually the men who were physically virtually indistinguishable from your average European that surprised me.

Here is the cemetery near our hostel, housing the bodies of people killed during the conflict in the 90s.

Our second day in Sarajevo was spent on an intense tour of the city by our hostel owner Haris, and what a tour!

Our first stop was the tunnel museum, where we were taught the history and background of the Yugoslav war in a nutshell.  I shall go under the assumption that most of you do not know the ins and outs of the conflict, so shall do my best to explain it in a few words (although I am definitely no expert!).

Summary of the War (ignore if you want to)

After the death of  the Yugoslav leader, Tito, in 1980, there was much debate over what to do with Yugoslavia, and many of the leaders of the separate nations were vying for power, in particular Slobodan Milosevic, the Serb leader.  He wanted to form a 'Greater Serbia' by taking land from the other countries, in particular Bosnia and Croatia.  The other countries understandably did not agree to this.

However, the Yugoslav army, one of the most powerful armies in Europe, consisted almost 80% of Serbs.  This allowed Milosevic to have greater control over them, and in short they surrounded Sarajevo, ultimately for 4 years, so that they were under siege and had no contact with the outside world.  During this time the army attacked the city, killing lots of innocent civilians, and destroying much of the city.  The Bosnians however were very resourceful and built a secret tunnel to outside the city, allowing the passing of food, supplies, and people.  This tunnel was obviously a real lifeline and hope for many people. Here is Gill by the entrance:

This map above right shows how Sarajevo was surrounded by the Yugoslav forces.  The gap in the top right is where the tunnel came out, an area which was defended by the recently formed Bosnian army.

Bosnia held the Winter Olympics in 1984.  Below is a picture of the Olympic Bobsleigh track which was destroyed during the siege.  This now lies unused because no one will invest in it as the surrounding area was littered with landmines by both sides during the war.  Below left is my attempt to bobsleigh, sleigh-less.

Gill is just incorrigible.  To the right is a picture of her reading her book again, above the track:



We were taken to the famous bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking off World War 1. Here is a building just behind it covered in bullet holes, remnants of the Bosnian War.

 To end our tour we were given 'cevapci', Bosnian sausages in flat bread with raw onion.  Yummy! (although we did have stinky breath!)

During our stay we were made Bosnian coffee (a similar version of Turkish coffee).  I particularly liked it because it was so sugary yum!  Here are directions on how to make it yourself, if you have a magnifying glass...

We met some great people at our hostel in Sarajevo, and had a great time.  We were chuffed to see from the below chalk board that we had made a good impression :) :

Mostar

Mostar was our second stop in Bosnia.  We got a lift there with some charming dutch boys which was also a bonus!

Here is the famous 'Stari Most' bridge, internationally known for jumping off.  Not out of desperation though, just macho bravado!  Regular jumpers even go around collecting money before doing it, kind of like street performance.  The distance is so high that not just anyone is allowed to throw themselves off, you must first pay 25 euros for a lesson, and also sign a death waiver to say that you accept responsibility if you die!  We saw a speedo clad young man threaten to jump, but sadly did not hang around long enough to see it...

Top right is the same bridge at night also, what stunning scenery!

The call to prayer

I forgot to mention that we actually were visiting during Ramadan! Hence my not so cryptic title, 'the call to prayer'.  At exactly sunset the television crews and crowds surrounded a viewpoint where they set off what seemed to be a type of giant firework/rocket, to signify sunset so everyone can start eating.

At this point all the mosques lit up (as you can see above) and you could hear the call to prayer coming from every minaret.  The resounding effect was stunning.  Here is what I captured from one minaret:

Kravice Waterfalls

Those waterfalls just seem to crop up everywhere don't they?!  This was our day trip with some other girls from our hostel.  We spent the day climbing rocks, bathing in waterfalls and sunbathing.  :)

Sniper Tower

  Sniper tower, what was originally the Yugo bank, is where the Yugoslav troops aimed for, and where the defence troops shot from.  It is an often visited site for  travellers separate from organised tours, as insurance would likely never cover it.  We were warned about the less than savoury atmosphere it adopts after dark, so hastened to arrive there before sunset.  

The building was completely devasted, with no walls by the staircases, no windows (apart from below) and even original items left there, such as financial documents, shoes etc.  This certainly was an eye opener.

On a lighter note to end, after seeing advertisements for 'Poli:  the No. 1 Chicken Sausage in Europe', we (or maybe it was just me) couldn't help sample this hilarious delicacy.  Honestly, it was kinda like spam!  But frying it certainly redeemed the famous sausage.....

Next update from Dubrovnik, oh, and the tourist hordes say 'hi'.  :)

xxxxx