Bosnia Pt. 2

I can't help but post more pictures of our time here in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Brian and I really have enjoyed our time here. It is really a beautiful city, not yet too expensive to enjoy, the food is great and there is a great night life in the downtown area. The hills and mountains around the city are fresh on our eyes as we have been looking at a flat landscape for the last 10 months in Russia.

We have done quite a bit of climbing on the steep, twisting streets. It is fun to look at the lovely little houses, often adorned with rose bushes or other flowers of the season. 

Last night we climbed up and up and up and got to where most of the houses stopped. It was really nice to get a view of the whole city!

The war and siege that happened here from 1992-1995 has made a lasting impact on Sarajevo. This market below was bombed and 68 people died at one time. 

This apartment building (below) was along "Sniper Alley", and is just one of many buildings with bullet holes still remaining. Apparently there were signs outside saying "Run or RIP" to warn city dwellers to be careful. A few roads and crossroads were more dangerous than others because there was no cover from the surrounding mountains. Most people went out at night or literally rain across the street to get supplies or the things they needed.

What is interesting, is that the city lived on. The tobacco factory continued to produce cigarettes and people used them as currency and a type of exchange for other goods. The factory even had to start using books like dictionaries to made the cigarette boxes in. One liter of milk could cost as much as $25.00. One egg was about $5.00. The journalists and people who produced TV shows in the city all continued to work. The newspaper was still printed, even if it only had two pages. Most of the workers had to go to work at night for safety reasons of course, so they wouldn't get shot on the way to work. There were still clubs and music festivals going on, just underground, in basements and without electricity of course. We heard the winter was the hardest.They had to burn all that they could to keep warm. No fuel or electricity would make a winter pretty miserable!

Looking on the map, you can see the large red line, that is were the enemy was located. At the bottom left hand corner is the airport. The UN was in charge of the airport, so it was the best place for the people of Sarajevo to dig a secret tunnel, under the runway, to get people in and out and get supplies. 

This is the exit of the tunnel, "Tunnel of Hope". Food, wounded men and women, ammunition, electric and gas lines and more were brought in through this tunnel. 

They even had a rail system set up so they could push instead of always carrying people or food through the tunnel. 

Thankfully now Sarajevo is a relatively peaceful city. Muslim, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Jewish people all live intermingled with each other. They may not fully accept the other religion, but they have learned to live together.