I have posted numerous photos of my travels since arriving here, but hardly any of Sarajevo itself. There are some of the old city (Stari Grad), pictured left, also called Baščaršija (pronounced like ba-shar-shi-ya). This part of the city is very beautiful and contrasts the old way of market life in the Turk-Ottoman Empire which lasted 400 years, with newer Western traditions and styles. You will find traditional foods in this area...it's always wonderful to walk through the small, polished stone streets to see the old merchants making and selling their crafts and also to smell the rich aromas of the lamb and beef being barbequed in the many little, family-operated restaurants.
There are some photos of my little apartment as well as of areas outside of the Sarajevo city centre. You see, Sarajevo is quite spread out with many people residing in the hills surrounding the main part of the city which lies in a valley.
Also, I recently visited the tunnel which Bosniacs used to exit the city, to transport necessities, and for soldiers to move to new fighting positions closer to the Serb lines. The Serb army held Sarajevo under siege for 4 years shelling and firing upon it almost everyday for that period, killing about 11-12,000 people and injuring many more. In my photos, there are just a few examples of the mortar, grenade, and bullet holes which litter EVERY SINGLE building in this city. Parks and what used to be open spaces were replaced with cemeteries...in this collection of photos, I have some shots of the largest such cemetery--here is one view.
To read more on the siege of Sarajevo, CLICK HERE for a BBC News Article and HERE for Wikipedia information.
To see the photo collection, please visit this website.
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