Bosnia & Herzegovina! Day 12

I have stayed in lots of hotels during my lifetime.  Never have I been unable to figure out the light switches until last night!  I couldn’t find any except for the entry light.  I searched, thought about calling the front desk, but decided to simple remove my keycard from the inset by the door that turns the lights on when inserted.  It worked well until this morning when I realized it also turned off all the room’s electricity which means nothing got charged!

I didn’t feel like a complete idiot when several in our group admitted not being able to turn on the shower.  There are instructions inside by the faucet, but unless you wear your glasses into the shower, you are out of luck.  1 for 2.

We meet a local guide for a walking tour of Sarajevo.  He is a life long resident and lived here during the war years.  He calls Sarajevo the Balkan Jerusalem with an abundance of churches and mosques.  It’s a very multi-cultural city embracing a long history of Muslims, Serbs, Croatians, Jews, Turks, and others all living together peacefully until the conflicts of the early 1990’s.

In June, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie of Austria, were visiting Sarajevo.  This is a photo taken of them minutes before a strange twist of fate would change the course of world events.

An earlier assassination bombing attempt had failed to injure the royal couple.  After crossing the Latin Bridge, a Bosnian Serb student standing on the street corner finishing his lunch…

pulled out a pistol and killed both Ferdinand and his wife.  This lit the spark leading to WWI.  Just like today, some people thought he was a terrorist and others thought he was a hero.

Legend is that the assassination happened on the bridge, but it was across the street.

This is a replicate of the car they were riding in that fateful day.

As I mentioned yesterday, there are contemporary buildings such as city hall which was once a library and was bombed and burned during the war before being rebuilt.  

This castle on a hill overlooking the city is barely a shell with a front facade only due to the war.

  

As we walk, another Ottoman bridge decorated with flowers.

In the marketplace, different aisles represent the various trades…carpets…

the hammering of metal smiths…

  

fruit vendors and a public water supply in a large courtyard called pigeon square.

  

A beautiful mosque…

  

  

and a Catholic Church all represent the population of Sarajevo.

We are told about “Sarajevo Roses”.  Throughout the city, puddles of red paint stains the places where massacres occurred during the war.

  

We are told the story of the Romeo and Juliet of Sarajevo, two young people in love, one Serb and one Muslim, given permission to leave the city to get married.  They were assassinated on a bridge and left for seven days as a reminder to others not to flee.

The Sarajevo Haggadah is an almost priceless manuscript originating in Barcelona around 1350.  Owned and displayed at the National Museum of Bosnia & Herzegovina, the text tells the traditional story used at the Jewish Passover Seder of creation to Moses’ death.  It is handwritten on calfskin and illustrated with 34 key stories with evidence of wine stains from use.

Smuggled out of Spain by exiled Jews in 1492, it traveled to Italy and then was sold to the Sarajevo museum in 1894.  During WWII, Nazis came to take the book as a gift to Hitler.  The museum’s librarian heard of the plan and risked his life to smuggle the book into hiding in a mosque, lied to the Nazis, and explained another Nazi had already taken it.  During the Seige of Sarajevo, it survived in an underground vault controlled by Serb forces.  Thus, this Jewish treasure was twice saved and protected by Muslims.

A plethora of ancient items are displayed at the museum.  It is so tempting to touch, but this incredible history is a blessing to behold so close and intimate.

  

  

These tall rounded towers are roadway mile markers.

I took time this afternoon to take a nap!  My first during this entire trip!  I wanted to wander the market stalls, but I have learned that I need time to recharge about every 7-10 days when I travel.  Today was it.

Dinner is a traditional Bosnian meal of cevapi, delicious sausages tucked inside pillowy pita-like crusted bread served with a soft cheese, onions, tomatoes, and a red pepper relish.  I don’t succeed in getting the delicious red pepper recipe, but I tried!

Tomorrow will be a stressful day as we meet with a war veteran to discuss his experiences and visit the underground tunnel which kept citizens alive and supplied during the Seize of Sarajevo.

Temperatures have dropped, but after the heat earlier, it feels delightful.  Bundle up because Travels with GJ continues!