Jerusalem of Europe

Today I do begin a side-trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina.  I had went to Herzegovina in 2002 and other parts of the Balkans during several other trips.  It is a rather expensive place to get to from Europe by flight due to limited options.  But from Istanbul, I managed to prebook great fares on Pegasus Air.  It seemed like a great opportunity to see parts of the Balkans that I had missed out on previously.

Leaving Istanbul

I had booked a shuttle to Sabiha Gokcen airport at 0730, with a likely arrival there by 0900 for a 1025 departure. Strangely, they were one seat short on the shuttle. As they collected the booking vouchers onboard, it turned out they had picked up one customer from another company. It isn’t practical to check it upon boarding in those narrow alleys as it holds up traffic. I ended up sitting on the floor; standing isn’t an option in case we get spotted by traffic cops.

Fortunately for us, the travel time to the airport was just over an hour only. The queues at check-in were shocking but fortunately I had done an online check-in which allowed me to use a shorter queue and go through to the lounge for breakfast.

Boarding started 50 minutes prior to the flight. Luckily I took heed as it wasn’t just a ploy to get people to the gate early. With a remote gate, it did take all this time and three bus loads to get everyone on. There were a few stragglers (probably connections) which held up the flight.

Down Sniper Alley

As we approached Sarajevo airport to land, I could see stretches of white in the urban landscape.  These were the graves of those who had died in genocide by the Serbs.  The scale and expanse of these made me feel sick.  Two hours after take-off, we landed in Sarajevo’s small but very functional airport where all processes were quick. The 20 minute taxi ride cost more than what the guidebook suggests, perhaps due to inflation. But the guesthouse suggests it should be cheaper than the book, perhaps by private (pirate) taxi. I might have got ripped off a little.

The ride took us down “sniper alley” which is essentially the main road from the airport into the city.  Serb snipers would shoot at civilians on the main thoroughfare who risked their life to attend to the essentials of life. These snipers would station themselves on tall buildings on either side of the road or on the hillsides further away.

Around Sarajevo

My hostel was a dream. It’s a few steps away from all the attractions of old town Sarajevo, next to the fruit/vege market and very clean and comfortable.

After lunch, I wandered around the old town which was an enchanting mix of Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. The visitors are a mix of westerners and Arabs (who can now travel to a great range of destinations with budget airlines). I think for the latter, it is an easy way of being in Europe while also being in a Muslim-ish country.

The Ottoman part of old town had low-rise Ottoman shops, now home to souvenir shops and cafes. The mosque and medrassa are also there. The higher-rise Austro-Hungarian building are nearby with the Catholic Cathedral. There is an Orthodox Cathedral around too plus a Jewish Synagogue.

The Jews were welcome into the Bosnia by the Ottoman rulers in the 1400s, escaping from the Spanish Inquisition. More Jews arrived from Hungary when the Ottoman empire fell there and the new authorities weren’t as hospitable to them. Sadly, the Nazis had their ways with Bosnian Jews during WWII and this time, there was no Ottoman Empire left to host them.

Because Sarajevo was home to Muslims, Christians and Jews, it was sometimes referred to as the Jerusalem of Europe.

For me, I think Sarajevo must be the cheapest European capital! A huge sandwich was less than KM4, a gelato KM1, 200ml carafe of wine KM5, huge kebab meal KM5, cakes/desserts in a cafe KM1.50! Currently the BiH Mark (KM) is just less than 1 NZD or SGD.