The train station was a little bit far away from the center of town. It was slowly getting dark and I was still feeling a little bit groggy with my lack of sleep.
The hostel itself was conveniently located near a fruit market and just a 5-minute walk to the center if walking by the cathedral. I chose that one despite having zero reviews. Hostel Massimo opened for business last March 2013. The room looked like hotels with well rolled towels on the beds and good quality bed covers. It was a little bit cramped up though for a 6-bed dorm. In fairness though, there were lockers and the shower and toilet were well kept. One of the things I noticed though was the absence of wifi in the room and the advert noting that the hostel had aircon well in fact we only had our windows open. However, I didn’t complain. I was happy to have a decent place to sleep. Later on though there was a girl from Poland who had an argument with the front desk and demanded a discount because the room was full and she found it so overcrowded. Fair enough. The front desk guy though warned me that she was really feisty and like a snake. I had my own opinion regarding the matter by the time I met her.
I went out for the evening to have dinner and check out the place. I was there bang on during the Ramadan season, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I did do my early research though and found that establishments were still open despite the fact. Apparently, Bosnia is known to have a different feel when it's Ramadan, so I was excited to see how it was.
By the time I found my way to the old town centre, the streets were packed and busy. However, it wasn’t
busy with tourists, it was more of locals. Later on I learned that this is always the case after 5 pm, which is when the fasting ends and they all go out. The next few days I found myself smiling every time I walked the streets at night because I could see the massive difference of the vibe during the day. I found a place far away from the crowd, quietly hidden in one of the dark alley ways. There I had my fish, which I’ve been craving for since it was in the Balkan Peninsula. Oh yeah, I was full and happy whilst sipping my Sarajevo “sort of” beer.
Before I move on with my blurbs about my Bosnia trip, I’d like to cover a little bit about the country and its history. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Bosnia even before I decided to go. All I had in my knowledge bank was the war that they had in the early 1990’s and that was about it. Talk about ignorance aye?
As we approached Sarajevo I noticed the buildings with remnants of the war. Bullet holes and what seemed to be ruins of what was once an area with several structures remained, eerie and gray from a distance. Suddenly I tried to imagine what it was like back then, when war tanks and soldiers walked the streets, smoke in the background resulting from bombings.
Bosnia is known to be BiH, short for Bosna I Hercegovina. Seriously I didn’t even know about that name AT ALL. Gee weez. I was trying to absorb everything. Bosnia covers the northern area which can be said 4/5 of the whole country itself. Herzegovina then covers the southern part or easier to say, the rest of the country. Located in the Balkan peninsula, Bosnia is bordered by Crotia to the north and south-west, Serbia in the East and Montenegro to the South east. If you look at the map, it is more of an inland country, except for a small strip that is part of the city of Neum. Due to the recent war, a lot of the railways were bombed by the opposition thus the bus system can be found to be more reliable.
The whole of Bosnia has 3 major ethnic groups, mainly consisting of Bosniaks, Serbs and then Croats. Some
of the locals can speak the different languages through and there has been a lot of intermarriages which I guess goes back to the history of the old Yugoslavia. In terms of etymology, Bosnia must have originated from the word “Bossina” which dates back to the Roman era. “Bos” or “bogh” means running water, and that fits the Bosnia river. On the other hand, Herzegovina comes out of the Middle ages where Herzog means “duke” in German and ovina as “land”. Back in 1992, the country was once called the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was only in 1995 that the word Republic was removed.
History predates back even before Christ (B.C.), when it was inhabited during the Neolithic age. Celtic, Illyrians and Roman existence seems to be part of its humble beginnings. What made me interested was when I was reading more about the Ottomans. It was in 1463 that the Kingdom of Bosnia got invaded by the Ottoman Empire. I guess reading about that part of their history, it seemed that there were radical changes to Bosnia. With this however started the downfall of Christianity and the Slavic-speaking Muslim community emerged as the bigger group. Influence in architecture can be seen in the different monuments around the country.
Between 1918-1941, Bosnia became part of the old Yugoslavia. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, the identity or let’s say entity of Bosnia slowly disappeared and became the minority compared to the Serb-Croat administration. But then when World War II started, Bosnia was ceded to the puppet Nazi regime.
On the 18th of November 1990, after the first multi-party parliamentary elections were held, the different ethnic countries just wanted to be independent from each other. I wont cover too much details on this write up. From what I gathered, Serbs still wanted to be part of Yugoslavia while Bosnia and Croatia wanted to be independent. What was sad to know though was that the administration of Croatia wanted to own a part of Bosnia too. Sometimes it gets to me reading history and learning about such greediness for land ownership and power. Part of this war is the well-known Srebrenica massacre in 1993 where 8,372 Bosnians were killed by the Serbian political authorities. The Bosnian war lasted until 1995.
As you walk the city center, you’d notice different monuments in memory of the souls who perished due to the Bosnian war. By the side of the catholic church, you’d notice a spot of red, in commemoration for those who were killed by the bombings. The nearby fruit market to my hostel had names inscribed on the walls. But of course with the hustle-bustle of the market, it can be quite unnoticeable.
Part of Sarajevo’s main attraction is the Bascarsija which serves as the city’s old bazaar and historical and cultural center. You’ll notice that a lot of locals would commune right around the area, where different cafes and restaurants can be found. 2 major mosques also stand within close proximity to the square. The word Bascarsija originates from the Turkish language, “bas” as head or man while “carsija” means bazaar or market. People usually use it as the meeting point too. The size of the square itself is said to be half its magnitude now due to a big fire during the early 19th century.
I stayed in Sarajevo for 5 days if I remember right. But it was filled with so many good memories. For the first 2 nights, I’d chat with first guy who was on night shift. He’d talk to me about Ramadan and how he wasn’t really a believer of it and I’d just laugh. We’d watch the people pass by the side streets and he’d wave to the guy next door. He actually told me off one night because he said I’m too friendly and might be giving guys the wrong signals. I found that observation a bit false though.
My last 3 nights were usually talking to the next night shift guy who was just 26 years old, turning 27 on my
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| group of local musicians jamming @ barcasija |
2nd to last night. We’d usually end our discussion around 2 am and he’d tell me stories about his teenage life and how him and his friends would be crazy hanging out, getting drunk and stoned. What I did enjoy about the conversation was when he’d tell me about how they felt about the war and how this has impacted him and his friends. He did tell me about one of his friends who had a father who was Bosnian and a mother who was Serbian. Both passed away already, but the father died because of the war. The Mother followed eventually, maybe because of sadness is what I figure. The trauma of the war, which was just happened when we were still young, had impacted so many Bosnians. It was a weird feeling to talk to someone who has experienced living amidst a war. It’s crazy to think that back when I was in my highschool, there was war in Bosnia / Balkan Peninsula…when I was worried for my grades and about my crush while there were kids my age who were worried if they’d still be alive to see the next day.
There was a day when I just roamed the streets of Sarajevo. Taking the tram and checking out a few other places too. Now, one of my memories of Sarajevo was getting fined by the Local tram control and charged 25 (local currency) because I didn’t register my tram ticket. Blah blah. But hey I didn’t want have a bad reputation in the country, not that it mattered. However, I’d like to exist in respect with the rules, so I paid heavy hearted. I explored one of the big parks where a river runs through. It is the called Vrelo Bosne, the spring of the River Bosna and is one of the top natural landmarks of the country. There I found a lot of local families just hanging out, having a picnic. It was a long stretch of a walk where big trees arched over the main road, but the hour’s walk was really relaxing and I enjoyed it.
I remembered one day when I was out and about, needing to buy something from a shop, the lady at the counter asked how old I was, if I was single and how long I was staying in Sarajevo. Again, picture hand gestures and the struggle trying to work out what she was saying coz she couldn’t speak a single word of English and of course my Bosnian wasn’t good either. I thought she was just being friendly, Eventually, I realized what she was getting at. She wanted to set me up with her son who was just 29 years old. I smiled, winked at her and waved goodbye.
I learned from one of my roomies that majority of the museums in Sarajevo were closed due to insufficient funds. I found that a little bit sad. I believe Bosnia can offer so much but because of the recent war history, it seemed to shun away people in terms of Tourism. I even noticed that so far, it was the least touristy place I’ve been to, more of locals roam the streets. And talking to a few locals made me observe that they always say the same thing… “The rest of the world thinks there’s nothing in Bosnia”. I found the statement sad. Really sad. And I felt for them. So much felt for them. Coz I believe the locals are really friendly and the country has a lot to offer.
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