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Bosnia’s capital city of Sarajevo is a great melting pot of culture, art, religion, and [very] old meets new ideologies. You’ll find mosques, synagogues, and Catholic and Christian churches taking up residence in any given part of the city, and you’re also likely to experience centuries-old ethnic tensions. Sarajevo is inhabited by three different ethnic groups who have lived together for centuries, and whose tensions only began in the 1920's over the constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The last time that pressures amidst the three groups boiled over resulted in the the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, which saw 100,000 people die and over 2 million people displaced. Challenges remain today, and people go about their daily lives. Sarajevo is a beautiful and eclectic multicultural city that is determined not to let its past extinguish its future. It’s entirely natural to feel like you belong here in the beautiful fertile valley that the city has spread itself out into. Mountains rise up all around, making portions of their inhabited areas actually a part of the city proper. Sarajevo has a long, rich, and also painful history that has seen its land inhabited since neolithic times. The indigenous Illyrians, Romans, Goths, and Slavs have all called this place home. Sarajevo was eventually founded as a city in 1461 as part of the Ottoman Empire. In the old city you’ll find plenty of intact buildings from that period, including a thriving inn and cafe that are still in use to this day. The Olympics were held here in 1984 and it has a lot in common with many other modern, sophisticated European cities.
Less than thirty years ago, however, Sarajevo was in the midst of a horrific war that saw it under siege for nearly four years (3 yrs, 10 months, 3 weeks and 3 days). All the while, less than 500 kilometers away on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, people were sipping coffees as usual in seaside cafes in Italy. The international community, while at nearly arm’s reach, did little to intervene in the crisis or come to the aid of the city who just eight years before was home to the Olympics. In addition to the 100,000 people that were killed, over 2.2 million were displaced. The country’s survivors have been healing slowly ever since, but as longtime international aid worker Tim Clancy said, “once you’ve experienced a war you see your life in very simple terms: life before the war and life after the war.” Sarajevo after the war sees its troubled past juxtaposed against its present on nearly every city block. Signs of the war are still visible most places here, the most obvious ones being the countless bullet holes that remain in many buildings today. There’s a feeling here that’s crying out to be heard beneath the bustle on the rebuilt streets, and it is one of tremendous grief. Plenty of signs of the war are not so easy to see and I’m fortunate to meet a number of people who share their stories with me. Stories about how they escaped with their lives and about many loved one who did not.
The people of Sarajevo have tremendous courage and resilience and in spite of everything there is a strong sense of togetherness here. Still, the rise of nationalism around the country seeks once again to divide the three primary ethnic groups that reside here, the Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. While the Bosniaks are predominantly Muslim, the Serbs predominantly Orthodox Christian, and the Croats predominantly Catholic, they all share a common language in Serbo-Croatian. Walking the streets of this place reminds me of walking the ancient streets of the old city in Jerusalem. Tensions are inherent in the land in both places, and yet there is tremendous beauty to be experienced. The images that you’ll see in this gallery provide barely a glimpse of the beauty that Sarajevo and its people have to offer. My time photographing this place is all too brief as I am in Bosnia primarily to visit a dear friend and to spend my time editing photos from prior travels. I will return, and I am happy to have captured the images featured below and in the second Bosnia gallery.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-1
A cemetery’s markers name the dead below them with Sarajevo in the distance.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-2
Tufo is the proprietor of a small Arabian horse farm/equestrian club and guesthouse/family restaurant where he lives with his family in the mountains of Sarajevo. He is also a cook and crafts the most beautiful castle style, ornate iron doors you’ve ever seen.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-3
DJeca Vjetra Restaurant, Guesthouse, and Equestrian Club, Sarajevo.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-4
Two Sarajevo residents pose together while the elder of the two is on a break from work in the old city.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-5
A mosque’s minaret rises above the landscape.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-6
Closeup, Sarajevo man on break.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-7
People come and go on one of the city’s main thoroughfares in Central Sarajevo.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-8
Deep in conversation, a trolley driver focuses intently on the road ahead. Communist-era trolleys run the length of the city and are a common and inexpensive form of transport.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-9
Apartments buildings bare the scars of bullets and shillings.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-10
A local street musician at work near the old city. He plays a traditional instrument of the Balkans called a shargia that originated in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-11
Mountains rise above the thriving downtown shopping and hotels district.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-12
Sarajevo resident opens herself cautiously to the camera.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-13
Another apartment building tells the story of war.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-14
Tufo’s daughter Sanja works in the lounge of the restaurant before opening hours. She is on hand most days the restaurant is open, helping with everything.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-15
A house in the mountains across the restaurant. This area is considered to be a part of the old city of Sarajevo.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-16
Sanja looks up from her work.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-17
The Tunnel Museum in Sarajevo is dedicated to preserving the hand dug tunnel that kept the city alive during the siege. It took six months to dig out the 800 meter stretch that ran under the then Serb controlled airstrip. Laborers worked under near constant shelling and often with water up to their wastes that had to be emptied one bucket at a time. Once finished, the one and a half meter high tunnel was used to deliver essential food, gas, and weapons into the city that had no other way in. It proved crucial to the survival of its inhabitants.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-18
Longtime international volunteer, author, and Bosnian eco tourism specialist Tim Clancy bends down inside the War Tunnel. Tim delivered supplies through the tunnel on multiple occasions during the war.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Sarajevo After Wartime-Photos by The Humans Being Project-19
A Muslim gravestone and the city in the distance.