Passing through

In 1993 I was living a pretty good life. I didn't have to go to school and I didn't have to work. Most days I spent playing basketball, fishing and driving around in my Datsun 1600 with mates. And I celebrated my football team winning the premiership. Meanwhile in Bosnia, the people were in a whole world of trouble. Bosnia and Herzegovina had chosen independence from Yugoslavia and this resulted in some serious conflict.

On one side there were Serbian forces and on the other were Croatian. In Mostar the people were literally stuck in the middle. They couldn't get out and nothing could get in and I'm told there was no food for three years. Every day there were up to 3000 grenades thrown back and forth and sniper action was 24/7. It must have been horrible and the town was decimated.

Now days it's still on the mend and the signs of war are still very evident. The town and surrounding area is home to only 100,000 people but in the peak tourist season this number can grow to 1 million. I'm glad I was there in the off-peak season because given the tiny size of the city and old town, that many people would be a nightmare. Given what I saw of the city and its original remaining structures I can imagine that it would have been a beautiful city and with the slow rebuilding effort and tourism dollar I envisage it will be again.

I didn’t know Sarajevo existed until I heard the song “Miss Sarajevo” by Pavarotti and U2 in 1995. I had no idea what to expect prior to arriving in Sarajevo. After all the city and its people suffered terribly during the the 90’s. I had heard that is was unique, culturally rich and nice. Given the recent history of the area I don’t want to be too critical but, it doesn’t have much to offer a traveler such as me. The old town is just souvenir shops, each one selling the same products.

The urban area is unattractive concrete. Litter is common. And it’s expensive! I didn’t expect that. I felt a somber and somewhat tired atmosphere. I’m told in Sarajevo your either a sheep or a wolf and lethargy is common at the moment so there are plenty of sheep. Looks to me (with an unqualified opinion) even though it's been 25 years, it’s going to be quite a while longer before Sarajevo recovers regardless of it progress thus far.