Karanac

This morning we bid farewell to Sarajevo. What a strange, sad city! The pall of war still hangs over it after 30 years, yet it strives to move forward. And the shadow of another conflict lurks nearby. 

One thing we noticed while visiting was the trams -- all different, and all antiques. On the way out of town we passed the tram garage, and got a good look at a batch of them. Most were donated by other cities around the world to replace those destroyed in the 1990s. Yet Sarajevo keeps them running.

We traveled north through low mountains covered with timber and many small villages tucked into the valleys. It reminded me of Appalachia, because so many of the villages were barely recovered from their post-war state.

In some places we passed huge factories from the Tito era of socialist Yugoslavia. Most of these sit idle now, rusting away slowly. Yugoslavia's industrial center is now Bosnia & Herzegovina's rust belt.

We made a rest stop at a sort of supermarket in a small town along the way. It was a cross between Walmart and Fleet-Farm. The restaurant/deli at the front of the store reaked with cigarette smoke, as smoking in bars and restaurants is not forbidden here. The store stocked a bit of everything, from auto parts to children's toys to groceries, wine, liquor, and beer. Stray dogs followed us through the parking lot, looking for handouts.

Later, we stopped for lunch at a rustic inn that had very good food, but the cabins they were renting, the playground for children, and the other buildings around the grounds were in terrible disrepair.

It took a while to cross the border. Leaving Bosnia took only minutes, but we waited behind a line of cars to enter Croatia once again. This is the southeastern edge of the European Union, and security is tighter here. We saw one car pulled aside and all contents pulled out for inspection. The luggage areas of our bus had to be opened and inspected, as well. That was a first.

Eastern Croatia is completely different terrain. Table-top flat and agricultural, it looked a lot like home. We drove on a modern, divided highway, but noticed that the tolls were quite high. That may have accounted for the lack of traffic. It also seemed like there was a rest area every 10 miles or so, with literally no vehicles using them.

We got off the beaten track a bit to get to the village of Karanac. This small town was established during Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and it follows a very orderly city plan duplicated in countless other villages in the region. Houses are neatly lined up on both sides of streets with sewage/drainage ditches on both sides of the road. A small walking bridge crosses the ditch for each house.

Each city lot is long and narrow, with the house at the street, a barn attached behind the house, and about an acre of land for a garden stretched out behind.

The house in which we are staying was built in 1905 by the great-grandfather of the current owner. He and his wife and son operate this house, and another just a few doors down, as a sort of living history tourist inn. Everything is based on the 1905 model, with the old woodwork, doors, furnishings, etc. Of course, bathrooms and electricity have been added. The wi-fi here is very poor, but better than it was 100 years ago!

We were welcomed with a shot of rakija -- the traditional Croatian brandy. It is usually made from grapes, berries, or some other fruit. It is distilled clear, and the alcohol content is about 80 proof. But it is smoother than vodka or most other clear liquors. Then we were served a "snack" of huge donuts with apricot topping, freshly made by the wife.

After settling into our rooms, we returned to the dining room where a neighbor woman came to give a demonstration of cheesemaking. It took about an hour to make "young cheese" that we will have for breakfast tomorrow morning.

We then divided into two groups for another home-hosted meal (the second in as many days). Our group walked down the block with the cheesemaker. The meal was wonderful and the family delightful. Her father and son joined us for the meal. The father makes rakija and kept pouring!

The Siege

This morning's tour was rather somber. We left by bus to reach a site near the Sarajevo Airport where the Bosnian Army built a 800 meter long tunnel from the city. This was known as the "Tunnel of Hope," the "Tunnel of Salvation," or sometimes, the "Tunnel of Life."

Along the way, Samra, our local guide, explained to us the "Sniper's Alley" and other realities of the four year siege, during which Serbian forces surrounded and shelled the city. It was through the tunnel that meager supplies entered, and that those who could, escaped.

At only three feet in width and five feet in height, the entire half mile had to be traversed in a crouching position. Frequently, the floor of the tunnel was covered with six inches or more of water. And yet, it was the city's only lifeline.

Samra told us her own story as a child in the besieged city, and of her escape through the tunnel at age 9, with her mother. They first spent two months living with strangers in Zagreb, awaiting paperwork. Then to New Jersey, as arranged by an uncle who had become an American citizen. Her mother had vowed never to return to Sarajevo, but as soon as the war ended, they did so.

Samra's father had become a soldier, defending the city, but was MIA in the first year. His body was not identified until 2005, about the time of her graduation from high school. After her presentation, we had opportunity to walk through a short section of the tunnel, which has been preserved. It was a moving experience.

Having seen pretty much what we wanted to see in Sarajevo, we spent the afternoon resting and reading in our room. About 6:30 p.m. we boarded the bus once again for a home-hosted meal. The meal was with a Muslim family, living in one of the tall, gray, socialist-era apartment buildings that were in the heart of "Sniper Alley" during the war. The hallways were run-down and filled with graffiti, and the old elevator was painfully slow. But the inside of the small, 2-bedroom apartment was well-kept and nicely decorated. 

Because of Ramadan, we thought that they would not able to eat until after sunset, but either they aren't observant or they counted it as close enough. Our hosts were a retired couple, probably pretty close to our age. They were joined by a younger cousin -- a woman probably in her mid- to late-40s -- who acted as translator, and by their eldest grandson, age 13, who only lives two blocks away and clearly spends a lot of time there.

Grandma was an excellent cook, and our translator was very adept. So, it was a good meal and a pretty lively conversation. We were back to the hotel about 9:30 p.m.

Sarajevo

A young local guide by the name of Samra took our group on a three hour walking tour of Sarajevo this morning. The first stop on the tour was just a block or so from our hotel. It was the intersection at which the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, precipitating World War I.

The irony, of course, is that the assassin was a partisan advocating “greater Serbia,” the expansion of Serbia to encompass the entire area of Yugoslavia. And the desire for Serbian expansion is the same cause that brought about the brutal war here in the early 1990s. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

From the site of the assassination, we crossed the muddy river Miljacka via the Latin Bridge, which was actually built, not by Latins, but by the Ottomans in the early 16th century. The other side of the river is where Sarajevo was actually founded, and very near this location was the original palace of the local Ottoman Sultan who founded the city.

Still here, and the primary feature from our hotel window, is the imperial mosque — the first mosque built in the city after the Ottomans founded it in the 1463.

Yet another irony is that, just up the street from the mosque, is the city brewery. Beer brewing was established here in the 19th century, when the Austrian-Hungarian Empire took over from the Ottomans. The brewery was of special importance during the war of the 1990s because it had its own wells, and was therefore one of the few sources of drinkable water for a city under siege.

Also a short distance up river is the reconstructed City Hall. Although built in the Austrian era, the architect sought to blend with the city that had been ruled by the Turks for more than 400 years. So, it looks very Islamic in style. We came back to tour it later.

From City Hall, we entered the Old City, back on the other side of the river. The narrow streets here are pedestrian only, and have the feel of a Turkish bazaar. Although souvenir shops have taken over many spaces now, traditionally each street had its own collection of similar trades.

One street that has maintained tradition is the coppersmith’s street. We visited one shop where the artisan explained some of his work, which includes transforming some of the thousands of brass shell casings left over from the war into works of art. We could hear other smiths pounding away at their handiwork as we continued down the street.

Next stop was the city’s largest mosque, which, along with the adjacent school and library, had been constructed by one of the city’s most prominent benefactors of the 16th century, Gazi Husrev Beg. His large tomb is also on the grounds of the mosque. Inside, one of the imams explained some of the features of the mosque, but mostly got a little preachy about Islam and the current Ramadan observance.

The tour concluded with walk-by visits to sites related to the three other religious traditions of Sarajevo. The oldest synagogue of the city still stands, however it is primarily a museum now. In the late Ottoman period, nearly 20% of the population was Jewish. When the Nazi occupation ended in 1943, things were much different. There are now fewer than 1,000 Jews in a population of 400,000.

The Roman Catholic cathedral was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1997, very shortly after the end of the war. A statue in front of the building commemorates the Pope’s visit. And the largest Serbian Orthodox church in Bosnia is just around the corner.

On the sidewalk between the churches is a “Sarajevo Rose,” a preserved section of pavement damaged by a mortar round, unrepaired and marked with red paint symbolizing blood. Each of these “Roses” represents a spot where there were multiple casualties.

Our tour leader treated us to lunch in a tiny, hole in the wall restaurant where the specialty is Burek, a dish of phyllo pastry and various fillings rolled into a sort of wrap and fried. Very tasty!

The afternoon was free, and we used it first to return to City Hall. The building is mostly ceremonial now, with most city offices elsewhere. There were several exhibits about the war, the building's destruction, and its reconstruction.

There was also an exhibit about the visit here by the Archduke and his wife in 1914. Their stop at City Hall was their last official act prior to their assassination, just down the street.

Another exhibit was adjacent to a courtroom and detailed those who had been convicted of war crimes following the 1990s war. We thought it odd that there was such a big display about the war criminals, rather than highlighting the victims.

After City Hall, we crossed the street and began climbing a rather steep hill, through a residential neighborhood that had mostly -- but not entirely -- been rebuilt after the war. About halfway up, we encountered a large Muslim cemetery, with almost all of the stones showing death dates of 1992.

We continued to the top of the hill, where a Napoleonic era fortification afforded a sweeping view of the city. It was amazing how many cemeteries, just like the one immediately below us, were in our field of view.

Coming back down hill, we re-entered the Old City, where we walked through the entry of the reconstructed Gazi Husrev Beg Library. This is not a restoration, but a modern building. It houses Islamic manuscripts, and is not a lending library as such.

We tried to visit the Jewish Museum, but we didn't have the right currency for a ticket. Few places here take credit cards, but most will accept dollars or Euros. This museum only accepts Bosnian Marks. Juggling multiple currencies here is a pain!

We visited the Roman Catholic Cathedral inside this time, and we were quite surprised that the interior architecture has such an Islamic style. Photos weren't allowed, but I cheated.

Finally, we paid a visit to a museum dedicated to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were rounded up and executed. The town was supposedly under the protection of Dutch UN Peacekeepers, but the Dutch failed to carry out their mandate. Mass graves are still being uncovered to this day. It was a sobering exhibit.

After a short rest back at the hotel, we met our group and walked to a nearby museum where we heard a presentation from a Bosnian Serb who gave his version of the 1990s war. Basically, this fellow is a believer in the lost cause of a united and socialist Yugoslavia, as it existed under Tito. He considers himself still today to be victimized by Bosniaks and Croats.

From there, we joined our tour leader for an optional visit to yet another restaurant where we enjoyed a variety of typical Bosnian dishes served family style. It was a lot of food for the money, and we are feeling very heavy.

To Bosnia, and Again

Putting Dubrovnik in the rear view mirror was rather sad. We only had time for a brief walk on the promenade after breakfast before we had to be on the bus. The highways are all two lanes, and speed limits are generally around 45 mph, so this was a long day on the bus.

The Dalmatian Coast is extraordinarily beautiful, with many small islands just off shore. Along one bay, our tour leader stopped the bus and explained that the ecosystem of this particular bay made it ideal for the farming of oysters. We walked a short way to where a woman was selling fresh oysters. We got a lesson in oyster farming, and got to sample fresh oysters on the half shell.

The southernmost section of Croatia, where Dubrovnik is located, is cut off from the rest of the country by a short stretch of about 20 miles where Bosnia-Herzegovina owns the coastline. Croatia contracted with the Chinese to build a bridge that would allow going around this.

The bridge is finished, but the contractors building the road to connect to the bridge have been slow. So we had to stop, go through passport control, then stop again to leave Bosnia and re-enter Croatia -- only to leave Croatia once again and re-enter Bosnia-Herzegovina an hour or so later.

Our lunch stop was in the city of Mostar. And lunch was a traditional Bosnian meal of chicken kebabs. It has a name, but we couldn't pronounce it. Dessert was Hurmasica, a sweet pastry very similar to some we have had in Turkey. It was served with Bosnian coffee, which is as strong as Turkish coffee, but even heavier on the sugar.

Mostar was much in the news in the early 1990s during the war here. A river runs through the city, and a very famous high arched bridge built here in the 1500s was destroyed. It has been rebuilt to Medieval specifications using stone from the same quarry and the original, but it's still new.

There is a Croat side of the river and a Bosniac side. War damage is still visible on both sides, and some neighbors still refuse to cross the bridge. But one tradition is that young men still stand on the bridge in swimsuits, offering to dive off for the right offer of cash. One young man approached our group and tried to get us to put up four Euros each for a dive, but we declined. We saw no divers while there.

We drove through some very beautiful countryside along a winding river. At one point, we came down into a wide valley where orange groves spread as far as the eye could see. In other spots, the mountains themselves were the scenery.

We made a bathroom stop near a place where General Tito had battled Nazis during WW II. The battle was made into a movie in the early 1970s, with Richard Burton playing the role of Tito. "The Battle of Sutjeska" was filmed on location here.

Just outside of Sarajevo, we finally got onto a highway that approximated a modern interstate, and made better time. Here, the topography changed, and we saw a number of shepherds in fields with their dogs, herding sheep.

Bosnia has not been as prosperous as Croatia, and thus recovery from the war has been slower. We saw a number of bombed out buildings that have yet to be rebuilt or repaired. We also saw that many people continue to live in dreary-looking Soviet-style apartment high rises left over from the Tito days of the former Yugoslavia.

Expectations were low for our hotel, as our tour leader had been careful to let us know not to expect anything as nice as the place we stayed in Dubrovnik. But we think she over-stated the issue, because the room was quite nice.

Our evening meal was at a small restaurant on the Muslim side of Sarajevo, not far from our hotel. We ate Cevapi, spicy sausages stuffed into a grilled flatbread called lepinja -- sort of like a pita pocket -- with a clotted cream spread and eggplant relish. Dessert was a steamed apple dish called tufahija, also very sweet.

Taken on the Mostar bridge

With a large included meal last night, and three large meals included today, we are feeling very full this evening!

The Homeland War

This morning our group was divided into two vans, because the road we would be taking would be too narrow and too winding for a bus. Our destination was the Homeland War Museum, which occupies a Napoleonic fortress atop Mount Srd, overlooking the old city. (Don't ask how to pronounce Srd -- I heard it several times, but I still can't say it).

Our group was addressed by a woman who is a survivor of the war. She made several points: First, it is known in Croatia as the Homeland War, and people get upset if they hear it called a "civil war." this is because, from the Croatian standpoint, they were an independent nation that was invaded from outside, and the war was in defense of the homeland.

Second, the war was complicated. That is underscored by the fact that, when asked what the war was about, no one is able to answer in a single sentence. The answer always comes in paragraphs.

Third, the war in Ukraine is triggering for many Croatians because there are so many similarities to their own experience in the 1990s. So, this is a difficult time with many bad memories being dredged up for people here. Many still carry physical or emotional wounds of war.

After our presentation, we rode the gondola down to the old city. These rides are always over-rated and over-priced in our estimation, but it was part of the tour. And the view of the city from above was, indeed, spectacular on this beautiful, sunny day.

In the old city of Dubrovnik we had free time. We spent it by using our Dubrovnik Card to check off three more museums.

Our first stop was the Franciscan Pharmacy. The monks of this monastery have maintained a pharmacy dispensing medicines here since the middle ages. Medical care here was considered at the cutting edge for centuries.

The modern pharmacy is still in operation today, but the museum shows pharmaceutical trends over the centuries.

At the Museum of Ethnography, the theme was displaying folk art from the area, dating primarily from the 19th century. The museum is nicely laid out, and features a lot of textiles and traditional costumes, as well as artifacts from daily life, both in the cities and in the countryside.

Finally, we visited the home of "The Croatian Shakespeare," Marin Držić (completely unpronounceable) who was born in 1508 and raised in Dubrovnik, studied at the university, was ordained a priest, but then went off to study, teach, and rabble-rouse in various parts of Europe until his death in 1567. He is considered to be one of the finest of the Renaissance, though we had never heard of him before coming here.

After so much high culture, we found a table at a cafe along the main street and enjoyed a beverage while people-watching. Then we caught the city bus back to the hotel.

Some other folks on the tour told us about a bar near our hotel that is built in a cave along the sea. We had just finished our bar time in the old town, but decided to walk down and take a look, at least. It was pretty cool, but we didn't do anything other than walk in, take our photos, and leave.

At 3:15 p.m. we met in the lobby and boarded the bus for a trip to a farm about a half hour out of the city. The farmer was a rather gruff sort, a bit of a bully, really. His schtick involved mild insults to various members of his audience, as well as to his competitors in the food business.

But he explained about the olives they grow and the olive oil pressing process they use, the grapes they grow and the wine they make, etc. We got samples of several wines, a shot of brandy, and some of their dried fruits. Along the way, he showed off various antique farm implements.

Then we were seated for a meal which was entirely made up of produce from the farm: Meats, cheeses, nuts, salad, veal, lamb, potatoes, and an "apple pie" dessert -- which was really more of what we would call an apple cake. It was an excellent and very abundant meal.

As we ate, a couple of musicians entered the room with an accordion and guitar, performing Croatian folks songs. After dessert, they even got the group on its feet, clapping and dancing (well, sort of).

Upon our return to the hotel, we felt the need to walk off some of the huge dinner. Since it was once again a gorgeous evening, we repeated last evening's walk along the promenade to see the sunset. Then it was back to the room to pack, because we depart Dubrovnik first thing tomorrow morning.