Day 122: Sarajevo

Aug 3 - I had mentioned a few days ago that after the 1992-95 war, the three major ethnicities in BiH gravitated toward like people, solidifying ethnic dominance in particular cantons of the country. In the last few days, there has been further discontent voiced regarding a proposal for new voter laws. The new law states that any ethnic group represented by less than 3% in any district will not receive the right to vote. Since this law was proposed by the main Bosnian Croat party (HDZ), and supported by Croatia’s government, the suspicion amongst Bosniaks is that it is designed to increase representation of Bosnian Croats at the expense of Bosniaks. Of course, the Croat party claims that they were under-represented to begin with, so this will right a previous wrong.

On the surface this seems a preposterous situation to be in. The idea that you can be a citizen of a country and not have any right to vote makes no sense. However, it follows an already observed voting rule, which states that ONLY Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs have voting rights, since the parties and three presidents are directly connected to those ethnicities. Hence other groups, such as Roma and Jews, have no representation in government and therefore have no say in elections.

Today, first thing, I sorted out train tickets for tomorrow. This involves taking the tram down to the train station. On the return tram, I buy the ticket but forget to stamp it at the till. While I am sitting there, a ticket validator comes around and immediately makes a scene about me holding an unvalidated ticket.

“Camera!” he shouts, pointing at a little CCTV lens at the front of the carriage.

We disembark and he goes on and on about how I have this unvalidated ticket. It all seems an effort to frighten the foreigner. Another ticket checker suddenly appears out of nowhere to help berate me.

“I understand the situation,” I type into the translate app on my phone, “and if I need to pay a fine, tell me what it is.”

Finally he gets out a ticket book and tears me off a ticket valid for 24 hours that costs about $18. It seems like a lot, but I really just want to get back on a tram and continue my day.

On the return I meet up with Janet and Odette in the market and we see some more sights in the historical district.

On to a number of related structures, all built in the time of Gazi Husrev-beg. He is considered the greatest legator of BiH. He was born about 1480 in Greece, to a Bosnian father and mother who was daughter of a Turkish sultan. Hence, he himself was royalty, and took a position of authority in Sarajevo. Here, he undertook many building projects.

The new building housing the library of old manuscripts. The many old books of the previous library had to be moved several times, by hand and at great risk, during the 1992-95 war due to threat of destruction by bombardment.

The Gazi Husrev-beg library has a well-laid out museum to accompany the library.

The oldest book in the library is the fourth volume of a famous theological-mystical work by Ihya’Ulum Ad-Din, copied in 1106 CE.

Next to the library is Gazi Husrev-beg’s Madrassa, or secondary school, founded in 1537,

The open central courtyard of the madrassa has water for ablution.

The wooden fountain in front of Gazi Husrev-beg’s mosque, on the other side of the street from the madrassa.

The main entrance to the mosque. Constructed in 1530, it is considered to be the finest mosque in BiH.

The nearby clock tower, which has been burnt down and repaired several times since the 1500’s. There are four clocks on it, facing the four cardinal directions. All are lunar, such that ‘12’ is the astronomical sunset. Because the length of a day varies throughout the year, it has to be constantly adjusted.

Gazi Husrev-beg’s Bezistan, a long, enclosed souk to the west of the mosque.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral, dating to the 19th Century, in Gothic style.

In the front of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

This building was just too odd to ignore.

The Latin Bridge, next to the site at which the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in 1914, by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. This has long been considered the single event that sparked WWI, though in truth there were many events and decisions that had been leading to war prior to this.

Take the cable car up the side Mt. Trebević on the south side of the city. This transport was originally running by 1959, but was completely destroyed in the 1992-95 war and since rebuilt.

It takes about 9 minutes to ascend.

At the top are a number of hiking trails through the dense forests. On our short hike here, according to Google maps, we pass briefly into Republika Srpska.

Comprehensive views of the city can be had. This was a real problem during the war, as the mountain was used to shell Sarajevo during the years long siege.

A wall of Fort Draguljak, a 19th Century fortification to defend the city during the Austro-Hungarian times, and turned against it during the 1992-95 war.

Bosnia and Herzegovina