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Jun 30, 2023

Dignity in Jerusalem of Europe

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. The Balkans is a compelling battle-hardened pocket of Southeast Europe, fractured by epic

You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image.

The Balkans is a compelling battle-hardened pocket of Southeast Europe, fractured by epic conflicts and duelling empires over the ages.

After becoming the Ottomans’ westernmost outpost, the mighty Hapsburgs ruled the roost, swallowing the Balkans into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Long resembling a geopolitical fault line, Sarajevo has been the epicentre of strife. World War 1 broke out after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. And then, just 30 years ago, as Tito’s communist Yugoslavia fell part, so did basic humanity.

Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks, who had co-existed for generations in a multi-ethnic society, suddenly weaponised their differences. Sarajevo found itself trapped in the longest siege of any city in modern history, during which Serb forces, underpinned by the brute strength of the former Yugoslav army, rained fury down on a defenceless city from the wraparound mountains.

Then there are the Sarajevo Roses, 200 petal-shaped craters in the pavement caused by shelling, which were embalmed in red resin as urban memorials.

From 1992 to 1996, the city smouldered under a blitz that killed 11,000 residents.

My grippingly compelling guide, Samra, remarked that dealing to the building scars is still a low priority for the city.

Sixty percent of Sarajevo’s buildings were destroyed.

My hotel was located in the heart of "snipers’ alley", where buildings sport battle wounds.

The Holiday Inn Hotel, where war correspondents were routinely based, has been rebuilt.

A friend of Samra’s was notified last month that two of her missing uncle’s bones had just been positively DNA-identified from a mass grave.

Samra boiled with anger about the United Nations, the "United Nothing" as she called it, particularly for failing to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in a UN "safe zone", which saw the genocidal killing of 8000 Muslim men and boys.

Today, the nation is governed by a three-way presidency made up of a Bosniak, a Serb and a Croat. Samra noted they do not like one another and do not agree on anything. She said many locals still yearn for the Tito era, when the country was at least productive and cohesive.

How does she feel about her Serbian neighbours?

"The relationship is fraught. It will take many generations for trust to be rebuilt with Serbia."

Just over 1m wide and 1.5m in height, this secret corridor enabled the beleaguered city to secretly regain access to telephone lines, food, weaponry and oil supplies. Eventually, a railway track was installed to haul wagons through it. It was never discovered by Serb forces.

We visited the Kolar family home where the cellar was used as its entry point, and walked through a small section of the tunnel, which has been preserved as a museum. Outside the tunnel, a gallery of grim black and white photos starkly portray Sarajevo’s bleakest days.

It seems so perverse that so much brutality ran riot amid such spectacular natural beauty.

Dubbed the Jerusalem of Europe, it’s an enthralling melting pot of faith, where the call to prayer serenades the old town, while church bells ring out from Sacred Heart Cathedral.

The labyrinthine old quarter at the heart of Sarajevo, Bascarsija, is a delight to stroll through. On the main pedestrian thoroughfare, Ferhadija, a pavement marking denotes the "cultural equator", encouraging visitors to take a photo looking first one way up the street and then the other. Austro-Hungarian architecture and a mash-up of Western shop signs dominates one direction, while the other direction transforms the streetscape into a Turkish bazaar. Gazi Husrev-Bey’s awe-inspiring mosque is a city emblem. Built in the 16th century, it is the largest Ottoman mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Significantly damaged in the war, it’s triumphant restoration is a major badge of honour.

We passed by the Latin Bridge, which crosses the Miljacka River, close to the old town. You can stand on the spot where the heir to the Hapsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by an 18-year-old Serbian, as his motorcade drove by. Not only did it spark World War 1, but the end of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires.

Bascarsija is the ideal place to heartily graze on the classic tastes of Sarajevo. Cevapi is a beloved staple, grilled necklaces of meat, typically stuffed in pita bread with onions. They love their roast lamb in Sarajevo. You’ll often see entire lambs on the spit-roast in the old town.

Head to the only preserved Ottoman-era caravanserai in Sarajevo, Morica Inn. Built in 1551, it was able to accommodate up to 300 guests and 70 horses.

Nowadays, it houses a gorgeous Persian carpet shop and the richly decorated central courtyard is an evocative setting to drink and eat.

Sarajevo’s story has borne witness to so much terror. But there is a strong sense of dignity, resilience, and an indomitable spirit in this profoundly remarkable Balkan city.

Just over an hour southwest of Sarajevo, my Trafalgar tour of the Balkans also ventured to Mostar.

The pockmarks of the war are equally conspicuous in Mostar, a city that sustained some of the most intense bombing.

The imposing bridge standing today is a replica, triumphantly rebuilt in 2004 using the Ottoman-era techniques of the original, which had been commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent. This bridge had the widest arch in the world when it was first built in 1566, soaring across the skyline like a rainbow arc in stone.

Despite the heaving crowds, Mostar is a morale-boosting delight.

You won’t want to leave.

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