Bosnia is still a poor and somewhat gritty place. But interesting and inhabited by plenty of friendly, tolerant and optimistic people….despite having endured centuries of invasion and occupation and war.

Their capital, Sarajevo, is a smallish city straddling a river in the mountains.

This was once the western border of the Empire of the Ottoman Turks, the extent of their push into Europe. Zagreb, about a hundred miles north, never fell to the Ottomans, but they occupied what is now Bosnia for around 400 years.

In America we have been led to think of all Muslims like the murderous arab jihadists. But Sarajevo, where maybe 60 percent of the population are Muslim is probably the most tolerant city I know on the planet. It is surprising but true that the Ottomans exercised total religious freedom throughout their Empire. The Franciscans not only carried on their operations throughout the Ottoman occupation ….

but even opened a brewery two blocks from the palace of the Bey.

This tradition of religious tolerance continues today. Churches of all denominations .. Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Synagogues, and lots of Mosques fill the city.

The old Ottoman market is an interesting area although today totally given over to tourist shopping and restaurants.

Here is an interesting artifact left from the days of the Ottomans:

You cannot read the face of the clock in this photo, but the face does not have numbers, but (to me) strange symbols. Here the hands are showing that there are still 5 and a half hours remaining until sundown, because the position of 12 o’clock corresponds to sundown. How do they do that when sundown is at a different time every day?? Well, for centuries and continuing today a person climbs the tower every day and sets the clock so that it will properly forecast the sundown.

Some other notable things:

Downriver in the suburbs there is a stretch of quiet good walking.

A cable car will take you up onto the top of the hills for some real hiking.

You can even hike in the remains of the bobsled run from the 1984 Olympics.

After the Ottomans were defeated by the Hapsburgs, Bosnia was incorporated into the Austrian-Hungarian empire. That is why much of the city looks like little Budapest.

Then the Nazis invaded with their horrors including wiping out most of the resident Jews. Then the Soviets incorporated them into the Communist state of Yugoslavia.

And when Yugoslavia dissolved, they were attacked by the Serbians in their attempt to become a regional power.

Sarajevo endured a siege of over a thousand days under constant murderous artillery fire. Extensive damage, many deaths, no electricity, no water .. until Bill Clinton (via NATO) put a stop to it.

This fine old building, now completely rebuilt, had been converted into a Library. Two million books were lost when it was shelled and burned. Today it is a museum.

And of course time heals all of these things.

There is a nice little park here just along the river bank with no remaining indication at all that it was once the market where the Ottomans bought and sold horses.

So, poor and somewhat gritty yes, but I admire their sprit, their positive open attitude and how far their rebuilding has come. There are homeless for sure but also the eternal flame.

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If you are still here and want more about Sarajevo here is a previous post:

some notes about SARAJEVO | Lew’s Walkabout (lewswalkabout.com)

And this post contains a little rift about “understanding the Balkans”

Banja Luka and the clash of civilizations | Lew’s Walkabout (lewswalkabout.com)

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I am leaving tomorrow to push further into even more Muslim areas of Bosnia .. south to Mostar.

Thanks for coming along.