It’s impossible to be a tourist in Sarajevo without the reminders of the recent Bosnian War being so frighteningly visible. We were given a very comprehensive commentary on the Balkans War by a local guide and it’s fair to say that the complexity of the ethnic and religious divisions amongst the former Yugoslavian nations is hard to fathom and the causes of the war vary depending upon the country you’re in. Needless to say the 1992-1995 Bosnian War was fought because Serbs and Croats living in Bosnia wanted to annex Bosnian territory for Serbia and Croatia respectively. An underlying factor was that Bosnia Herzegovina is largely a Muslim country whereas Croatia is predominantly Catholic and Serbs are mainly Orthodox Christians.
During the war the Bosnian Serbs through the support of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic held the city of Sarajevo under siege and on-going aggression included bombing and shooting for four years. According to the demographic survey after the war it is estimated that 25 600 Bosniak civilians died and 42 500 Bosniak military personnel were killed during the conflict. The Bosnian Serbs suffered a total of 23 000 deaths.
During the siege the Saravejo city was effectively isolated from an external food supply and to overcome this issue they built a tunnel under the NATO operated Saravejo airport runway. This 800m long tunnel now referred to as the ‘Tunnel of Hope’ was the lifeline for the city and allowed the movement of supplies into the sieged city. We spent several hours visiting the western end of the tunnel and we had the opportunity of walking through a small section. It was quite narrow and not high enough to stand upright. Apart from being under continual attack from snipers, the Bosniaks had additional difficulties with keeping the tunnel adequately aerated and sufficiently dry for safe movement.
House of the Kolar family, Tunnel of Hope, Sarajevo
Tunnel of Hope, Sarajevo, Bosnia
After this very distressing exposure to the outcomes of the civil war we drove to Trebevic Mountain, the high southern point overlooking the city. The panoramic view was expansive and impressive with the Miljacka River being the central focal point of the valley below. With parking spaces being severely limited at the mountaintop our driver could not turn the bus around. Instead he reversed the bus at breakneck speed for several hundred metres down the narrow road to a point where he could turn! We attribute the exceptional driving skills of the Bosnians to their need to dodge enemy fire during the war.
View of Sarajevo from Trebevic Mountain
Group photo, Trebevic Mountain
Apart from the view, visitors venture to the mountain to see the Olympic bobsled and luge track or more correctly what remains of them.
Bobsleigh track, Trebevic Mountain
Bobsleigh track, Trebevic Mountain
These were damaged by bombing in 1992 during the civil war and sections of the associated Olympic buildings were used as bunkers. We walked down about 300m of the bobsleigh track which is now decorated with graffiti mostly proclaiming peace messages. The banking on the corners is such that the bobsledss travel at right angles to the horizontal and apparently reached speeds of just under 150 km/h. There is talk of the tracks being renovated but finance seems to be the present stumbling block. We were also advised not to venture off the track as there are still live mines in the surrounding shrubbery.
On our way back down the mountain we stopped at a Jewish cemetery where there was a high degree of damage apparent with many of the tombstones smashed or at least damaged by gunfire. This occurred during the civil war when the Bosnian Serbs who were bunkered within the cemetery engaged in crossfire with the Bosniak nationalists.
Jewish cemetery - old area, Sarajevo
Jewish cemetery, Sarajevo
Once back down in the city centre we had a lunch break before participating in a city walking tour around the old part of Sarajevo. We started at the Bascarsija fountain at the heart of old Saravejo. The building of the fountain commenced in 1462 and was further added to in the mid 16th century.
Bascarsija fountain, Sarajevo
Market area, Sarajevo
The narrow pedestrian streets in amongst the mosques are filled with little shops mostly selling silverware mugs, jugs, spoons, bracelets, ear-rings and similar touristy items. In some of the shop fronts the local artisans were demonstrating their crafts.
Another prominent building in the centre is the City Hall (Vijenica). The original building was constructed in 1896 in pseudo-Moorish architectural style and served as the seat of government until the end of World War II when it became the National Library. During the civil war in 1992 it was bombed and burnt by the Bosnian Serbs leading to the destruction of countless thousands of priceless volumes of ancient historical documents. After nearly twenty years of reconstruction/renovation the building was reopened in May 2014.
City Hall (Vijenica), Sarajevo
The Brewery, Sarajevo
The Sarajevska Pivara brewery building was a point of interest on the riverbank and surprisingly survived the war with minimal damage.
A few hundred metres along the river we passed the Emperor’s Mosque and then arrived at the 16th century built Latin Bridge.
Latin Bridge, Sarajevo
Latin Bridge, Sarajevo
The Latin Bridge acquired fame in 1914 as it was here that a young Bosnian Nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. This triggered the start of World War I. An earlier attempt to kill the archduke on the same day by another nationalist failed and subsequently this would-be assassin tried to commit suicide by initially consuming poison and then jumping off the bridge into the (shallow) river. Both attempts failed and the youth was caught and arrested. Being under 20 he was not subject to adult laws and was later released.
The Ashkenazi Synagogue is an imposing structure on the southern bank of the Miljacka River. It was built in 1902 in the then popular pseudo-Moorish style and is the third largest synagogue in Europe.
Orthodox Church, Sarajevo
Opera, Sarajevo
Men playing chess, Sarajevo
We then wandered back past the Sarajevo Opera building which shows, as do many buildings, the pock marks of bullet holes marring its beauty. The Holy Synod Orthodox Church is nearby fronting onto a small parkland area where briefly we watched men playing chess on a 4m x 4m board. The loser walked off in a huff and the spectators (all male) were clearly pleased by his defeat.
In this park is the Statue of Rebirth; a naked male within a spherical framework. Apparently Moslem women objected to his unclad body so someone put on him a pair of red underpants and he then became affectionately known by the local as ‘Superman’. The underpants have since been removed and his nakedness is now embellished with a red left testicle!
On the way home we passed the Gazi Husrev Bey’s Mosque which is the most important Islamic house of worship in Bosnia Herzegovina. It was constructed in 1531 and was part of the bequest to the city of Gazi Husrev Bey, the Ottoman ruler of Bosnia.
At this stage of the day having walked many, many kilometres we were ready for some refreshments back at our hotel. Vodkas and beers were the order of the day and after a brief rest we all headed back down the one kilometre to the old city for a meal complemented with some quite reasonable red and white wines.
Tomorrow we leave in the mid-afternoon for the town of Mostar which is famous for, amongst other things, its reconstructed Ottoman-style bridge.