Stories from Sarajevo

After a four hour drive in a minibus, through whiteout snows in the Bosnian mountains, we arrived to a cold and grey Sarajevo. Being a complete idiot, I brought just two sweaters,which I ended up wearing on top of each other just to keep from freezing! In any event, it was still incredibly nice to see the snow!

One of the courses I’m taking in Morocco is on Political Violence and Reconciliation. In it, we look at different ways political power is used, attempts to reconcile after violent acts, and how the events are remembered, both individually as well as collectively. Because we spent four full days in Sarajevo, it made for a really interesting case study. Sam and I had the chance to talk to people who lived through the conflict, see different exhibitions on it, and just see the physical toll the siege took on the city.

One of my favourite things we did was we took a city tour with a guide in his car. He was an older guy, probably in his seventies, who had lived through the siege, and told us lots of stories of survival from it. He was lucky enough to have survived the conflict, but afterwards when he returned to his house, all of his things had been stolen and he had to start his life over again at the age of 50. While the places he showed us were incredible, the fact that every one corresponded with his deep knowledge of the city as well as his own personal connection with each site made it probably the best tour I’ve ever been on!

Here are some photos

Some of the dead from the conflict

Super powerful image of a boy trying to shoot down a plane in the sky

Cemetery from the war

The eternal flame to remember the conflict

The ring road surrounding the city which the Serbian Forces controlled. This was how they held the city under siege

The old bobsled track from the 1984 Olympics

One of the main Serbian sniper points

The tunnel of freedom- the only way in or out of the city during the war. The Bosnians dug it under the UN controlled airport to ferry supplies and people in and out of the city.

Culturally, Bosnia (and especially Sarajevo) had a strong Ottoman Turkish influence, and as such has a ton of incredible mosques. It was really cool because Bosnians are pale, relative to Moroccans, showing the vast diversity in Islam today. It was also really cool to see a city full of mosques covered in snow! Did I mention how much I missed the snow?

Finally the food!

Turkish tea!

Burek is a Bosnian meat-pie which was our lunch every day!

Next up, Mostar!