Sarajevo Sojourn

I don’t know very much about Sarajevo. I remember from rote learning my essay answers at school that in 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, was assassinated in Sarajevo, sparking World War One (but I don’t remember why the world went to war over this). And I know that Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia-Herzogovina. I know that the city of Sarajevo is in a valley surrounded by hills. I know this because I have read about the Sarajevo siege that took place between 1992 and 1995 (the longest military siege in history). The Serb armies set up their forces in the hills surrounding the city and attacked with snipers and machine guns and other horrible weapons from these vantage points. In this siege civilians were terrorised and 10000 people were killed. And I know that the Serbs blockaded the city during the war so the people were starving. So I know a little bit about Sarajevo. But I have never been there and I had imagined it to be wrecked and depressing, politically unstable, and a frightening place to visit. But Sean said he had a good time, so there you go.
Sean mentioned the fantastic views of the city from the hills, the contrast between old and new in the city from ancient cobbled streets and mosques to the spanking new Saudi owned shopping centres. He told me about the shell damaged buildings that were conspicuously poorly repaired. He enlightened me on the glamorous Muslim women who do not wear a hijab but are immaculately made up (he noticed!) He visited a beautiful Cave out of the city that had stalactites hanging from the ceiling – some of these were removed as souvenirs by Bosniaks who took shelter in the caves during the war. He visited a tunnel which had been used during the war to carry UN food aid between the airport and the city. Prior to the top secret tunnel being finished in 1993 many Bosniaks were killed by snipers trying to get supplies from the airport. At this time buildings, hospitals, schools had been destroyed in the city and there was not always water or electricity. Sean referred to ‘Sniper Alley’ in his stories because this is what the main road of Sarajevo is still known as.
Sean also met some eccentric personalities. The Phoenix Bar is an institution popular with expats and owned by Armen, a crazy Bosnian musician who married a wealthy ‘English royal’, and rebuilt his bombed house as ye olde English pub. Armen hobnobs with his customers dominating the conversation becoming overexcited till he is frothing at the mouth. You can’t just walk in to Phoenix - you have to be buzzed in from the street, so it’s rather exclusive. Phoenix’s barmen had terrible teeth so the ingenious expats started a teeth fund with a jar on the bar - he now has perfect pearly whites.
Some of Sean’s stories were heartbreaking like the one about the poor Bosnian women who were setting up a small hotel in a less populated area and prepared Sean and his colleagues an enormous feast of traditional fare, that cost Sean very little. When Sean and his colleagues left a tip, the woman was “beside herself”. Sean also told me about a Bosnian man who said “We just want to live like it was before the war. We all got along.”
Postscript: Sean has reviewed this document and accepts it as a true and accurate version of events.