On July 1, 2016, Amanda and I arrived at the Sarajevo International Airport. On the descent into the airport in Sarajevo we struck up a conversation with a man who had fled the city during the war. He ended up in London, where he makes furniture, but returns each year to the city. In the short amount of time we spent talking with him about his home, I could already tell we would love the country. During our chat he explained to us that we were standing on top of the tunnel that was used by the residents of Sarajevo to flee the city into Free Bosnia, bring in supplies, and carry out the wounded during the siege of the city, which lasted from 1992-1995.
Needless to say, I've learned a lot more about the conflict that tore this country apart in the first two days of travel than I have the past five years of teaching about it in my world history class. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain first why we are here, then I'll get to a day-by-day of our experiences and along the way explain why your next vacation should be here too.
A view from the top of one of the mountains overlooking Sarajevo... it's even more amazing in person.
This past March I joined the Dayton Sister City Committee, a committee under the Dayton City Commission that is responsible for handling relationships with Dayton's sister cities, one of which is Sarajevo. Last year (in 2015) Dayton was host to the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, which featured a keynote address by Bill Clinton at the University of Dayton.
This year it was our delegation's turn to visit, with Mayor Nan Whaley and Commissioner Matt Joseph and a large delegation of folks from the city and other Dayton organizations taking a turn traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina to visit not just one, but three cities: Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar, all of whom signed a memorandum of understanding last year to work more closely with one another in key areas. This was Dayton's first visit to all three cities, and I was lucky to join at the right time (as treasurer) and Amanda and I tagged along for our first delegation trip.
This is our delegation in Mostar, one of the four cities in the MOU located in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia & Herzegovina. This trip was awesome in no small part because we got to travel with all of these great people!
The flight over wasn't too bad, although the layover in Newark (seven hours) was a bit long. Having another couple (Hunt and Anne Brown) to travel there with us on the same flights was nice, plus they must have been good luck, because we've never not had a delayed flight and/or missed connection on a trip before! We met so many great new friends and became closer with ones we knew already during the trip as well.
Hunt Brown, Amanda and I in Mostar
Anne and Amanda in Mostar
Traveling with Mayor Whaley as part of her delegation has its pluses too, and BiH (the shortened form of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pronounced "bey-ha") certainly rolled out the red carpet for us, which was nice because the delegation was paying its own way and the majority of us had to take vacation time in order to attend. It is truly a generous and hospitable country.
Mayor Whaley and I before heading out to dinner with the delegation. I was really proud to be a part of her delegation, and really proud that she was representing Dayton in BiH.
And, of course, I have to thank Dayton Commissioner Matt Joseph and Mayor Whaley's Senior Policy Aide, Ariel Walker, for organizing the trip. Both are members of the Sister City Committee, and Matt frequents BiH with his wife and children to visit his in-laws. He met his wife, Irena, in BiH when traveling there back during Dayton's inaugural visit to Sarajevo in 1999. As "citizen diplomats," our most important goal on this trip was making connections with folks from the three cities, and I think it is safe to say that we succeeded in that regard.
Dayton Commissioner Matt Joseph is the city's ex officio member of the Dayton Sister City Committee, and he does a great deal of work as a committee member (in addition to everything else he does). His passion for BiH was infectious, and he's also just a really great person. There's no doubt that Dayton's commitment to maintaining and strengthening our ties to Sarajevo (and BiH as a whole) is so strong because of his countless hours spent working behind the scenes.
Now that thank-yous and background are out of the way, I'll be posting about each city separately, starting with Sarajevo!
Day 1 - Sarajevo, July 1st
Seeing the stark contrast between the beauty of the hills surrounding the city and the pockmarks in many of the old buildings on the drive into the city was a stark reminder that BiH still bears many of the scars of war. This contrast was always at the forefront of our trip and was not just physical, but economic, political, cultural, and sociological. It's cliche to point out, but the city is famous for two wars, the first of which was, of course, the start of WWI. One of my goals through this blog though is to unequivocally convince
anyone who reads it that BiH is an amazing travel destination place
both in spite of and because of the tumult of its recent past.
It's a bit hard to read, but this plaque stands right next to the spot where, on June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, sparking the events that led to WWI.
This is the view of the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, which spans the Miljacka River and terminates (on its northern end) in the spot of the Archduke's assassination. You can see from the photo just how beautiful the city is.
We were greeted at the airport, and it was telling when the first thing we were asked by the friendly Sarajevo City staffer who picked us up at the airport was, "You're not vegetarians, are you?" She was relieved when we told her that we very much enjoyed eating meat, but I soon realized that the initial concerned look in her eyes was justified just shortly under a half an hour after she took us to join the rest of the delegation, (which had arrived in Sarajevo the day before) for lunch. We found them at a small restaurant, Petica, that served traditional food in the Old City, where we ordered steak and Ćevapcici (ćevapi for short), a skinless meat sausage traditionally served with a thick, grilled, pita bread and (often) onions. Cevapcici is amazing, but having had that once already I opted for the "bistek," which is just a steak, because I noticed that it cost just 7 Konvertible Marks (KM), which equates to about $4.00. Thinking it too good to be true, I was blown away when they brought me an amazing steak (plus fries) that was at least seven ounces. It was mildly spiced (and extremely delicious).
Full disclosure: this isn't from the restaurant (I forgot to get a picture), but Anne's face pretty much sums up the entire delegation's amazement at how much food we were served throughout our trip. Plus, it's a good picture of ćevapi...
After lunch we visited Gallery 11/07/95, which features an exhibit on one of the most horrible massacres of the war, which took place in a town called Srebrenica. The city was one of a number of "Safe Areas" set up by the United Nations during the war, but in reality they were anything but safe, and on November 7th, 1995, 8,372 people (predominantly Bosniaks, or Bosnian Muslims) lost their lives at the hands of the Republika Syrpska army under the command of Ratko Mladić.
Take a moment and check out their homepage, which features pictures of the exhibit. We weren't allowed to take any, but they have a number of the powerful pieces displayed on their site.
The first of its kind in Sarajevo, this museum has a powerful mixed-media exhibit that blends history and art, as well as a very knowledgeable staff. The Gallery features photos that tell the story of the war, including a very moving exhibit with pictures of many of those who were killed during the massacre. There is also a room where you can hear from the survivors and see documentaries about the genocide. Most interesting to me, though, was the current exhibit, "Postcards from Sarajevo," which was full of posters by a group called "The Trio," which created a great deal of art during the war bemoaning the international community's refusal to act in a decisive manner for first three years of the war.
Perhaps one of their most famous pieces, this one obviously plays off of the Coca-Cola logo. Definitely check out their gallery for more of the posters.
One reason I found this artwork so intriguing is that from 2010-2015, I taught a unit on conflict and genocide alongside language arts teacher Jenn Reid at the Dayton Regional STEM School, and our students created some artwork that in many ways resembles these authors, which I didn't even know about. It made me wish I was still teaching the unit, and I'd love to figure out a way to connect with the gallery!
This is one of my favorite posters about this particular event. It was created by Justin This, a DRSS graduate in the Class of 2016. Learn more about this unit in this article by United to End Genocide.
After this sobering visit, we had a much less emotionally demanding time exploring the city on our own, particularly since we were a day behind the rest of the delegation. Below are some of the stops we made:
The spot of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is a stop you
have to check off your list, and there is a museum right next to the
spot as well. While we visited there was a replica of the car Ferdinand was riding in when he was killed right next to the spot. For a small fee you can ride in it! We just shot a picture...
The Latin Bridge (behind us) is a must-see stop. The bridge just east of it also makes for a great selfie spot.
This is the Markale Market, which is the spot of an infamous massacre that took place in 1995, whereby Bosnian Serbs launched shells into the market. Though tragic, the incident pushed US decision-makers to act and (eventually) led to the Dayton Peace Accords.
If you look closely at the back of the market, you'll find a memorial honoring those whose lives were lost in the attack. While After I took this picture and put my phone into my back pocket, a friendly vendor tried to explain to me that my phone was easy for pickpockets. I didn't understand though so he tapped the phone and motioned to put it in my front pocket. After that I bought some rasberries from him and Amanda wouldn't let me have my phone anymore...
We walked through the Old City part of town next to see a few things we had found in the Brandt Travel Guide, which was recommended to us by Matt. I'd definitely recommend it if you travel to BiH, and I'd also get it on Kindle and download it to your phone.
Sarajevo has a cafe culture, and had the feel of Italy to Amanda and I in that regard, although if I had traveled to more places in Europe I'd probably just say "European." The interesting thing about Sarajevo though is how visible the transitions are between the various rulers of this country that is the size of West Virginia.
There is definitely some Roman influence, and all we had to do was look across the patio from our hotel to find evidence of their presence.
The Ottoman Empire certainly had a huge lasting presence on the region as well, and Turkish coffee sets like this were everywhere in the old city.
The bazaar at the center of the Old City is also a leftover from Ottoman rule.
In the Old City proper you can spend hours inside small shops like this one, which featured Persian rugs.
After
the Ottomans came the Austro-Hungarians in the late 1800s. Their
influence can be seen in a literal dividing line that separates the
older Old City with the newer part, after which you see Austro-Hungarian
architecture...
...like this!
While significantly smaller, there has been a Jewish presence in BiH since the late 15th century, when Spain severely persecuted Jews and Muslims. Pictured here is the Old Synagogue, although we couldn't go inside that evening.
While this was taken on a different day, this is a view of the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, which is dates back to the Ottoman Empire. The mosque is the primary one in Sarajevo, and most official Sarajevo Muslim ceremonies are celebrated here.
A view of the minaret of the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, which didn't fit in the other picture.
We headed over to the Cathedral of Jesus' Sacred Heart Church next, which is a beautiful Catholic church. Some of the members of the delegation attended service here before we left on Sunday, although pictures inside are forbidden (according to the sign).
After all of that we had to stop at Cafe Moj (right next to the Cathedral) and get a drink, which included a mojito for Amanda and my first taste of rakija, BiH's national drink. It's usually translated as plum brandy or moonshine, although I would consider it more consistent with what we'd call moonshine... whatever it is it's definitely strong!
Sarajevo Brewery (Sarajevsko Pivaro)
After all the walking we did, we had to head over to the brewery that Amanda had read about. This is a special place not only because they make great beer (or "pivo"), but because during the war it served as the city's only supply of fresh water thanks to its strategic location on top of an underground spring... thanks, beer!
On our last night in Sarajevo I really wanted to go back to the bar that's attached to the brewery: Pivnica HS,
and I'm glad we did. The bar came alive as a band played traditional
music. We had our last Sarajevan meal there, an outstanding peppercorn
steak and a delicious chicken (with some kind of Alfredo-type sauce) and
a couple of their famous dark beers.
Inside the attached bar, Pivnica HS, which serves some great food and even better beer! The bar dates back to 1864.
Peppercorn steak and a dark Sarajevsko (Sarajevo beer)... what more could you want?
After dinner we turned in for the night and returned to the hotel. Somehow I failed to get a picture of the outside, but our accommodations at Hotel Europe were very nice. It's on the more expensive side, but because of the favorable exchange rate you will likely pay under $100USD for a really nice room. Great breakfasts, and perfect location for exploring both sides of the river. It has all of the accommodations you could need, and then some.
One more thing before I go on - it's worth noting that travel for English-speakers is much simpler than I had anticipated (throughout the country). As Matt explained to us before the trip, most people under 30 speak English (in varying levels of proficiency), so you shouldn't have difficulty getting around and/or talking to people, although I'd recommend bringing a Bosnian dictionary or an downloading an app.
Day 2 - Sarajevo, July 2nd
This was one of the days I was looking forward to a great deal. We were given a tour of the city by representatives from City Hall, who had arranged for a number of local experts to give us tours at each of our stops, the first of which was the National Museum of Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH).
National Museum of Bosnia & Herzegovina
At the National Museum we were given a personal tour by the head of each of their three departments: archeology, ethnography, and natural history. Their archeological exhibit was most impressive to me, particularly seeing their collection of Roman ruins and artifacts from the (earlier) times of the Illyrians. It was a good reminder that all of the three primary different ethnic groups came from the same heritage, with allegiances shifting over time.
We were led on a tour of the archeological exhibit by the head of the archeology department.
Up next was the ethnography exhibit. While I didn't get many pictures inside, my favorite part was this ceiling, which gives a nod to the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) through its design.
After the ethnography tour we saw the natural history exhibit, although we were running late and I didn't get any pictures. After that though we went into the courtyard to see their impressive collection of Stećci tombstones, which you can find all across BiH. They are definitely one of BiH's national symbols, and their unique history is fascinating. You can learn more about them here.
Amanda examines one of the Stećci on the museum grounds.
The highlight of the museum though was seeing the Sarajevo Haggadah, a rare Sephardic (Spanish) Illuminated Jewish text that is used by Jews during Passover ceremonies. The text survived emigration from Spain and many wars and ended up back in Sarajevo, where they put it in its special display room just for our delegation's visit. Normally it's not displayed for visitors. You can watch a video from PBS about it here.
The view from the room where the Spanish Haggadah is displayed.
What I didn't realize at the time of our visit was that the museum actually closed due to lack of funding from the BiH government for a number of years back in 2012, and only recently reopened. During that time the staff members actually came in and continued to curate exhibits and take care of the artifacts, unpaid. If you go, it's definitely worth a visit, and their dedication was greatly appreciated by our delegation.
After the museum we rode down the main road that travels along the river, which became known as "Sniper Alley" during the siege. From the bus we saw much of the damage that still exists, including one former retirement apartment that has yet to be demolished.
The former apartment for retirees serves as a reminder of the destruction Sarajevo suffered during the Bosnian War.
The famous Sarajevo Holiday Inn, which sits along "Sniper Alley," was built for the 1984 Olympics, but it became the base camp for journalists covering the war during the 1990s. This is also the hotel where snipers who "loyal to Ratko Mladic" (see BBC article here) shot at peaceful protestors in 1992.
In contrast to the remaining war-torn buildings, many new buildings (including a large mosque) can be seen throughout the city. Much of the new investment is coming from middle eastern countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. Tourism is growing here as well at a rate of 10% per year.
The good news is that investments are returning to Sarajevo and new buildings are going up, such as this one, which is on the same street as the Holiday Inn. There's even a McDonald's, which CNN journalist David Russ covered during his visit on the 20th anniversary celebration of the Dayton Accords.
After the museum we had our second war-related visit to the Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum. During the war 11,500 Sarajevans were killed, and the tunnel served as the city's only connection to Free Bosnia.
This map, originally created for the Olympic Games, now illustrates just how surrounded Sarajevo was during the war. In the top right corner you can see the "Free Bosnian Territory," and the tunnel was the city's only connection with the outside world.
This house became the terminus for the tunnel, which started at the UN-controlled Sarajevo airport, the same one we flew into the day before.
Our guide was a commander of Bosniak forces in the Bosniak (Muslim/BiH) army, and he was proud to tell us that his soldiers did not destroy Orthodox (Serb) cultural sites. The same could not be said by BiH Croat/Bosniak soldiers in Mostar, the final city we visited. The Dayton Peace Accords, of course, are talked about frequently in BiH. He explained that Dayton was good in the sense that it ended the war, but bad in the sense that the country continues to live under this document in the absence of a long-term agreement on a permanent constitution. His sentiments are shared by most people in the country, and figuring out how to get past Dayton drives a lot of the conversation here.
Our guide, a former commander during the war, explained the history of the tunnel and the siege before we entered.
Going back to the tunnel though, it's a worthwhile visit where you can experience just a small fraction of what it was like to travel through the 800-meter tunnel. It's construction took approximately four months, and traveling through the entire tunnel would take you over an hour. Oh, and traffic was one way. Over three million passed through the tunnel in total, including President Izetbegovich, BiH's first president and the country's leader during the war, who used the tunnel on a number of occasions to raise the spirits of the city's inhabitants during the war.
I followed Hunt through the short portion of the tunnel they have set up for visitors to experience a bit of what it was like to travel through its tight corridors. It was enough to get a very small sense of just how difficult it would have been to get so many necessary supplies to such a large city.
We were shown typical accommodations during the war and learned about how every home was a target. People lived in constant fear of a mortar round hitting their home throughout the siege.
During the war, cigarettes served as a form of currency, as money and
resources were scarce. While the city was under siege, a single egg
could cost as much as three Euros! One of our Tunnel Museum tour guides
explained that, because of their role during the war, Drina cigarettes
actually make a much more authentic souvenir than the bullet pens you
see throughout the city. I have some at home... they were the cheapest souvenir I purchased.
After the Tunnel Museum we headed over to lunch at Pod Lipom, where Bill Clinton and other foreign dignitaries have dined.
Outside Pod Lipom, which translates to "Under the Linden Tree."
Every time we thought we were finished the lunch kept on coming! All of it was delicious, and most of it was meat. I couldn't be happier with the food, and the favorable exchange rate was a source of constant amazement for everyone in the group. This is one of the many reasons I'd recommend traveling here!
Our appetizer was an amazing platter of meats and cheeses. I had to get a light Sarajevsko to go along with it, naturally.
This came next, and I don't know what it's called but there were different fillings inside each pastry and they were all delicious.
We thought we were done, then this came (after the salad)... at this point I was too stuffed to eat more, but we all did anyways. I was too full to remember to get a picture of the desserts, but they were all different and each was amazing.
After lunch we were taken on a walking tour of the Old City bazaar, and I've already included many of the pictures/insights from the tour above. Our guide was great though, and she took us to the famous spring-fed fountain during the tour where (according to legend) if you drink from it, you will return to Sarajevo. I had to get a drink so I could come back again, and we also got a nice group shot of the delegation.
Our huge Dayton Sister City Delegation! All of us will have to come back now...
After our tour was the part of the trip I was perhaps most looking forward to, which was a Bosnian BBQ! Last year during the celebration of the Dayton Peace Accords at 20, I was lucky to attend thanks to Joel Baker, one of my students. He was invited because he won a competition to design the logo that would be used for the ceremonies, and I got to tag along.
Joel Baker and I, along with his parents, at the opening ceremony for the Dayton Peace Accords at 20 celebrations last November.
While we were there we met a group from BiH who was creating a documentary, Looking for Dayton, which follows the lives of three Bosniak veterans of the siege of Sarajevo as they search for answers to their tough questions about the Dayton agreement. I just happened to sit at their table on the last day of the event at the Hope Hotel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where the agreement was reached, so needless to say I was surprised when Hunt told me that he had arranged for a BBQ with them.
Last year I met Paja Fukarek (far left) and Valery Perry (not pictured). Dr. Perry works at the Democratization Policy Council, and I'd definitely recommend checking out her articles if you'd like to get a better understanding of post-Dayton BiH.
Valery Perry and Kurt Bassuener of the Democratization Policy Institute and Sue Folger of Internews were at the event last year and the BBQ and are still working on the documentary. Check out the trailer below! If you're interested in donating to the project let me know and I'll put you in touch with Valery.
Like much of our trip, the night was a whirlwind. I jumped into Paja's car (pronounced "Piya") and he took us straight up to the top of the mountain where his friend owns a farm. The farm was on the front lines during the war (most of it actually lies in what was the "no man's land" between Serb and BiH forces) and was where he and his friends spent their time during the siege. On the way up he showed us the grave of President Izetbegovich and the spot where he hid during a Serb charge during the war.
The cemetery where President Izetbegovich is buried.
On the way up the mountain...
Once we arrived we had some "real" rakija.
Cevapi was being grilled next to the tent
and there were Sarajevsko Pivos in the tub next to the barn. They were doing some filming for the documentary as well. Below are some of my favorite memories.
We had our first taste of "real" rakija made in the mountains of Sarajevo... we're fans.
Valery's dog Froya was adorable... she earned her living begging on the streets of Sarajevo before Valery adopted her. She's still quite good at it...
How can you say no to that face? I couldn't...
There was a lot of great food under the tent waiting for us at the top...
...and Sue was filming as well.
Kemo and Azem Velić were on the grill...
...and Sarajevskos were in the tub by the barn.
The best part was the great company though.
We couldn't ask for much more, although what we got next was a tour led by Paija, who showed us the layout of the battlefield he served on during the war, including the trenches they defended the city in. He pointed out all the trees too and noted that his unit was the only one that didn't clear cut the forest.
Paja's sense of humor was best displayed when he warned us to stay on
the trail and away from the mines leftover from the war (which wasn't
the funny part). He pointed to the sheep and said that they like to send
them out to graze in the minefield so they can find the mines. He
explained that "they find the mines and you get to have a barbecue...
It's a lambicide."
This is one of the trenches where they took cover during the war.
The view from the top... it was much easier to understand just how important their strategic locations were after seeing the map at the War Tunnel Museum. It's also beautiful.
Paja explained to the delegation just how strategic the location was during the war.
On the way back he was offering selfies, so naturally we had to take him up on it. That's a sign warning of mines in the area in the top right of the photo.
After the BBQ we actually ended the night at the Marquee Bar, a local favorite that makes up part of the lively bar scene in Sarajevo. It was a great time, and the best part was that they were celebrating the Fourth of July (albeit a couple days early). Nothing quite like celebrating July 4th in Sarajevo! I had to take one of the posters home for a souvenir too, which we all signed...
And a fun time was had by all...
Our time in Sarajevo was too short, but it was great to experience our sister city like we did in the time we had. We woke up the next day to travel to the second city of our visit: Banja Luka, in Republika Syrpska.
No comments:
Post a Comment