Sarajevo, city of hope

 Assassination site of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria, whose death in 1914 triggered WWI

Sarajevo is an enigma. The city today is warm, welcoming, safe, and pleasantly multicultural, yet reminders of its turbulent history are hard to miss.

The city is nestled in a mountain valley, surrounded on all sides by rugged terrain. In winter there is usually snow (Sarajevo hosted the 1976 Winter Olympics) but this year, in March, what snow had fallen was long gone, and the hills were brilliantly green. Except, that is, for large white patches on all sides... no matter which direction you look, you see the green interrupted by white. It isn't snow. It's gravestones. Thousands of gravestones. The modern capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina is surrounded by the victims of the Yugoslav civil war, a constant reminder of the atrocities committed here and throughout Bosnia as the former communist nation was torn apart by separatists. In some parts of town, most buildings more than 3 stories tall are pock-marked with holes from mortar shells and artillery fire. It's quite sobering, yet hope is also everywhere evident... in the artwork, sculptures, monuments, and memorials found throughout the city encouraging remembrance, forgiveness, and vigilance against hate.

Hotel VIP, Sarajevo....

My return flight is out of Sarajevo; I look forward to coming back to learn more about this fascinating city. I hope to join one of the organized walking tours about the lives of citizens during the civil war, when the locals were essentially trapped in the city by Yugoslav-Serbian forces in the surrounding hills. I remember back in the early 90's, seeing footage of people pinned down by sniper fire ("Sniper Alley" was infamous for fatalities, as it's orientation afforded the Serbian snipers a clear shot of anyone on the street), running for their lives. As a traveler, I like to think that people are essentially good-- and my faith is not yet shaken, but one gift from Sarajevo is knowing that people can overcome even the worst of human nature.