From Dubrovnik I headed north into Bosnia and Herzegovina, more specifically, the town of Mostar. Mostar was hit hard during the fighting of the early 90s. Initially the Serbs were attacking the predominantly Muslim (Bosniak) city, but there is/was also a large Croat population as well. The Serbs were driven out, but then the Croat inhabitants became afraid of losing their ground in the area and started fighting within the city against the Bosniaks. The city became literally divided into two parts with a major road in between being the front line. This ethnic separation was not nearly as strong in pre-war times, and there were many people who did not even know what their heritage was. The Bosniaks are pretty liberal Muslims and many identify with it as a culture and heritage, but not so much with the Islamic religion.
The fighting decimated a lot of buildings, many of which still lay ruined today. Some, with international funding, have been repaired, and others were partially prepared by original inhabitants. The ethnic divide is larger than ever with fights breaking out between youth on opposite sides frequently during events like soccer matches. While there used to be one secondary school, police station, etc. there is now two of everything. Perhaps the biggest property loss in Mostar was a 16th century bridge in the old town that the Croats bombed. It has since been rebuilt in the same manner, with the same materials, as the original bridge.
Destroyed building in Mostar
Stari Most (old bridge) in Mostar
From Mostar I continued north to Sarajevo (where, unfortunately, it was still 36 degrees!). Sarajevo is probably the most well-known area of fighting from the Yugoslavia breakup as its inhabitants were held under a medieval style seige for almost 4 years by the Serbs. 11 000 people died from starvation, snipers, bombings. Snipers were positioned on all of the high buildings and would literally pick of civilians crossing roads and whatnot. They would have to run or hide behind UN vehicles to avoid (or try to) being shot. The main road for this has been dubbed "Sniper Alley" and runs by the infamous Holiday Inn which housed a lot of journalists and UN workers. The UN was able to maintain control of the airport so some supplies were able to make it through that route. The Sarajevans managed to build an 800m tunnel from the city to an outlying farm to transport supplies through, even running gas and electricity through it. There was a really well done exhibit at the museum on personal stories from the seige that was also pretty chilling. I can't imagine what four years of living in constant fear would be like. There was also a museum at the entrance of the war tunnel.
The War Tunnel
The Holiday Inn (yellow building) along Sniper Alley
Besides the terrible war history, Sarajevo was a neat city. It is very multicultural with mosques, synagogues, and Christian churches all sharing the old town. It is also the city where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, which fueled the start of WW1. There is a very lively night life with bars and restaurants everywhere (and packed with tourists and locals alike). There are many festivals throughout the year, including the Sarajevo Film Festival which was actually started during the seige as a way to lift people's spirits and has continued since. I went rafting again here on the Neretva River which was great in the crazy heat wave they were experience.
And that's my trip! I also met a ton of interesting, friendly, amazing people from all over the world along they way. Honestly, they made my trip and gave me inspiration to keep travelling! This will unfortunately be my last longer trip for quite some time, but that's ok as I need to figure out my next destination anyways. South America? Tanzania? Western Europe? Middle East?
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