My first visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia was a few years ago,- to think this place is twinned with Coventry!
At the time, it was hardly a tourist desitination, and I made a Lada Riva shift like a Ferrari as my skin tone turned a whiter shade of pale due to the onslaught of bullets falling around me.
Fortunately, I, and said Lada made it out of there in just about one piece (The exhaust fell off as I hand break turned around a corner to come face to face with an IFOR truck full of Germans)
In latter years, certainly since the end of the war, the City has cleaned up a bit, and you can walk freely without stepping on a corpse, or indeed, joining the corpse on the floor courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood sniper.
Sarajevo is the capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia, It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, and the
de jure capital of the Republika Srpska entity, as well as the center of the Sarajevo Canton.
Sarajevo is located in the Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated around the Miljacka river. The city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism peacefully coexisting there for centuries.
The Miljacka river is one of the city\'s chief geographic features. It flows through the city from east through the center of Sarajevo to west part of city where eventually meets up with the Bosna river.
Miljacka river is \"The Sarajevo River\", with its source in the town of Pale, several kilometers to the east of Sarajevo. The Bosna\'s source, Vrelo Bosne near Ilidža (west Sarajevo), is another notable natural landmark and a popular destination for Sarajevans and other tourists. Several smaller rivers and streams also run through the city and its vicinity.
Sarajevo is located close to the center of the triangular shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina in southeastern Europe.
It consists of four municipalities, Centar (Center), Novi Grad (New City), Novo Sarajevo (New Sarajevo), and Stari Grad (Old Town). Greater Sarajevo includes these and the neighbouring municipalities of Ilidža and Vogošća.
After decades of communism and years of war, Sarajevo\'s economy has been subject to reconstruction and rehabilitation programs. Amongst other economic landmarks, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened in Sarajevo in the mid 1990\'s and the Sarajevo Stock Exchange began trading in 2002. The city\'s large manufacturing, administration, and tourism base, combined with a large informal market, makes it one of the strongest economic regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo is the main center of the country\'s media. Most of the communications and media infrastructure was destroyed during the war but reconstruction led by the Office of the High Representative have helped modernize the industry.
Sarajevo is regionally renowned for its Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) and its Sarajevo Jazz Festival.
The SFF has been hosted in Sarajevo at the National Theatre in the center of Sarajevo and has received such world-renowned actors, directors, and musicians as: Steve Buscemi, Bono, Coolio, John Malkovich, Nick Nolte, Daniel Craig, Willem Dafoe, Anthony Minghella, Katrin Cartlidge, Alexander Payne, Sophie Okonedo, Stephen Frears, and much more.
For the past twelve years, the festival has entertained people and celebrities alike, elevating it to an international level. The first one was opened in still-warring Sarajevo in 1995, and has progressed into a classy representation of what Sarajevo can really be.
Amongst the touristy type attractions you will find:
Alley in Ilidza An attractive promenade from the spa - tourist complex Ilidza to Vrelo Bosne, planted with trees of plane-trees and chestnuts.
Ali Pasha\'s Mosque One of the most beautiful cupolaed mosques, built in 1561 beside the tomb of the founder of Bosnian governor of the sandjak province.
Bascarsija The word \"Bascarsija\" literarily means \"main marketplace\" and designates the area of market square around the fountain called "sebilj", and later this name spread on the whole nowadays Old Sarajevo\'s marketplace. A favourite haunt of mine, as here you will find the black market!
The Bosniac institute The Bosniac Institute is a cultural and scientific educational institution that deals with promotion, development and research of history, culture, cultural heritage, literature, religion, and all forms of art of Bosniac people, as well as of other peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bijambare cave Between the villages of Nišići and Krivajevići, in the municipality of Ilijaš, a forest road about 2 km long branches out from the main road Sarajevo-Olovo and leads through the beautiful setting of the conifer forest towards the Bijambare area. Immediately by the mountain home \"Bijambare\"
Botanical Garden The Botanical Garden is placed in the central part of the city and makes a component of the National Museum complex. It is the only monument of this kind in Sarajevo.
Butmir The first human settlements in this area derive from the Neolithic period, in the Butmir settlements, located on the banks of the river Željeznica.
There are loads of other places to see, and the tourist info office is ready to help, on hand with its English Speaking staff.
The people are fiery, and friendly, all at once. and as a city, now the war is over, its worth a visit, even with the family!
.¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸Great Review .¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ :o) Lisa x
andrewfleminguk 20.11.2007 23:46
Very close to being an E but as you pitch this to would be tourists I think you need to touch on eating and sleeping possibilities if at all possible (or if you had private accommodation and board explain the absence of such information); nightlife is another important sub topic. A really good review there with the right mix of contextual moden history and information on what a visitor might see. I hope to knock something out on Belgrade soon so look out for that.
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very helpful by (100%):
