Days 19 & 20: Sarajevo
This is such an incredible city that we decided to spend another night here. What's more we have just got tickets to a concert by Darko Rundek and Cargo Okestar tonight!! Ancient mosques, churches, a Turkish bazaar, fascinating people, and of course the recent war.
We rode the trams, and sheltered under the welcome umbrella of a cafe from a huge thunderstorm and drank huge generous cappuccinos.
It is impossible to avoid mentioning the war, and the siege of this beautiful city for so many years. It is true that the residents of Sarajevo are living their lives, and going forward into the future positively. However, stark reminders of te terrible conflict and suffering are still everywhere. For example, the marks left in pavements where shells burst have been filled in with red cement.... a kind of bloody memorial to those who perished or were injured.
Most of the buildings in the central city area are still peppered with bullet marks, although there are signs of new plastering being done
This image will be familiar to anyone who watched TV during the war. On the left is the Holiday Inn where all the western journalists stayed, and on the right a derelict tower block... still empty.
A much more sobering sight are the billboards advertising the Srebrenica Identification Project. About 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred at Srebrenica after the Dutch Peacekeepers failed to protect a UN Safe Haven.
Did we mention that we went to see Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar?? What a magnificant stunning beautiful awesome concert it was. Held in a basketball court outdoors in central Sarajevo, the crowd was young and knew the lyrics for all the songs. It was a genuinely moving experience.
We rode the trams, and sheltered under the welcome umbrella of a cafe from a huge thunderstorm and drank huge generous cappuccinos.
It is impossible to avoid mentioning the war, and the siege of this beautiful city for so many years. It is true that the residents of Sarajevo are living their lives, and going forward into the future positively. However, stark reminders of te terrible conflict and suffering are still everywhere. For example, the marks left in pavements where shells burst have been filled in with red cement.... a kind of bloody memorial to those who perished or were injured.
Most of the buildings in the central city area are still peppered with bullet marks, although there are signs of new plastering being done
This image will be familiar to anyone who watched TV during the war. On the left is the Holiday Inn where all the western journalists stayed, and on the right a derelict tower block... still empty.
A much more sobering sight are the billboards advertising the Srebrenica Identification Project. About 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred at Srebrenica after the Dutch Peacekeepers failed to protect a UN Safe Haven.
Did we mention that we went to see Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar?? What a magnificant stunning beautiful awesome concert it was. Held in a basketball court outdoors in central Sarajevo, the crowd was young and knew the lyrics for all the songs. It was a genuinely moving experience.
posted by Sally & Nick at
11:02 AM
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