Balkan Trip : Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina
Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, Part 1
3rd - 4th May
Ayuh teruskan perjalanan ke jajaran pergunungan Balkan menuju ke Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Walau hati ini terkilan tidak dapat melawat tempat2 menarik di Croatia spt Dubrovnic dan Taman Negara Plitvice. Next time, maybe, insyaAllah. Dari Zagreb ke Sarajevo melalui perjalanan yang sejauh 400km lagi adoiiiii... ai. Tp the view - oh so breathtakingly beautiful. According to TG, Balkan means blood and honey - refers to the history of war and blood of the region, and 'honey' to the produce dari tanah yang subur lagi indah. Yang paling teruja utk perjalanan ini adalah TG sendiri, sbb beliau adalah Bosnian. Excited dia bercerita dlm bas kisah dia dan Sarajevo, yg akhirnya kedengaran sayup2 di telingaku #tertidor.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Antara bumi yg sgt indah di muka bumi yg Allah ciptakan. Memasuki the boarder, seolah2 memasuki the sleeping and hollow country of Bosnia. Traces and scars of bloody civil war in 1992-1995 still can be seen along the way of country side after crossing the border of Croatia. Ruined houses and buildings are everywhere ...no descendants left to rebuild as whole family were killed. Untung juga TG org Bosnia and told us the first hand story as he witnessed the war himself. He was 13 then and like other children of Bosnia, sent to a foster family in Spain to forget and get better future. Some returned as home is where the heart is. The city is now alive and people move on. Some tend to forget, some - just don't.
Baiklah. Setiba kami di Sarajevo, wide spread of Bosnian food awaited us at the hotel! Elok je sampai time dinner. The food was marvelous, really so sedap! TG kata please help yourself, welcome to my country, all are halal! Baik. Ke sbb lapar sgt atau apa ke, semua rasa nak ngap.
Sbb gamba makanan kena amik 2 pikul. All variety of local food and they were proud to serve us. Sorry la Elvis, aku dah tak endah apa ko ckp pasal makanan ko ni, aku dah lapa. Oh ye, nama TG tu mmg Elvis, nama belakang mak aiii payah nak eja, payah juga nak sebut. For me the most awesome meal mlm tu...the calf or (lembu muda?) yg dipanggang, bah atas, kanannnn sekali tu. Lembut and simply delicious!
Pilihan salads.
Ok, malam tu kami tumpang berteduh di Hotel Hollywood, Sarajevo.
Morning! View from our room. Walau pernah terpalit dengan bloody civil war in the 90s, Bosnia pada hari ini, amat dikenali dengan keindahan pergunungan, dan sungai yang mengalir jernih yg melewati pekan2 nya. So hari ni kami nak explore pekan Sarajevo.
Okay.. sarapan dah menanti...pani pilo...
The fresh fruit jam..nyums!
Makan sampai sekak perut
In the city of Sarajevo
Bosnia itu sendiri adalah "east-meets-west", blended from Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian histories. Hari ini kami akan menerawang sekitar Baščaršija, the city centre. This is where east meet west, and the city itself called "the Jerusalem of Europe."
Who will ever forget you Sarajevo... we cried with you once.. Even dalam bandar ini parut perangnya sgt jelas kelihatan...in the eastern part of Bosnia, the genocide story and event is more alarming, such as genocide of Srebrenica on 11th July 1995.
"Genocide in Srebrenica is not an event which just took place in one narrow region or one town, in fact, it is an overall story of aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning Genocide events took place in wider area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially of the region of East Bosnia. "
Pergelokan berlaku adalah impact kepada "the death of Yugoslavia", bilamana Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia ingin keluar dr kesatuan Yusgoslavia, tetapi Serbia yg plg dominan dlm kesatuan tersebut tidak bersetuju. Maka berlaku lah civil war yg mana utk sebahagian dari Serbs menganggap shooting civilians is just a game, like what happened in Sarajevo, hingga ribuan nyawa yg tak berdosa menjadi mangsa. History will remember Podrinje, where during July 1995, the genocide event took place.
Miljacka river, melalui Sarajevo dan membahagikannya kepada 2 bahagian. Kami lalu dan lepak sini dulu. People say airnya taste 'sweet'.
Seher-Cehajina Bridge, crossing Miljacka River. Kebanyakan bridge di Bosnia di bina ketika empire Ottoman bertapak di sini dari abad ke 15-16. The Ottomans telah membina sistem sungai yang terancang untuk perhubungan dan perdagangan ketika itu.
Sekitar jambatan
Cantiknya dengan berlatarbelakangkan gunung ganang, dan in between, ada air sungai yg mengalir jernih. Sblm pi Balkan, depa kata snow turun kt Bosnia. Masa kami sampai matahari terik memancar. Dingin dalam warm matahari, just nice.
In the city...
Di tengah jalan itu juga laluan tram, kompius hakak nak jalan2 ni, kejap2 org soh tepi-tepi..tram nak lalu oiii.. and they are so proud of the tram sbb kata depa the first trial utk laluan tram kt region ni adalah kt Sarajevo ni lah.
The one with the TG, the ever proud Bosnian man, man...
We walk...
Menuju ke Baščaršija, the city centre.
Around Baščaršija..
"Centred on what foreigners nickname Pigeon Sq, Baščaršija is the heart of old Sarajevo with pedestrians padding pale stone alleys and squares between lively (if tourist-centric) coppersmith alleys, grand Ottoma mosques, caravanserai-restaurants and lots of inviting little cafes and ćevapi serveries."
Yang dinamakan "Jerusalem of Europe' itu adalah kerana diversity of culture and religionnya. The orthodox christians and Jewish community dikatakan datang ke Sarajevo pada kurun ke 16 dan hidup harmoni antara satu sama lain dengan Muslim ketika itu. The Orthodox and a Catholic church, a mosque and a synagogue adalah within easy walking distance of each other. Sebelah menyebelah je, where you can hear bell's ringing from the church and azan dari masjid yg berdekatan. I think that's when people said ada krisis identiti di sini.
"Here the Byzantine and Ottoman empires of the east and the Roman, Venetian and Austro-Hungarian empires of the west left an indelible mark through culture, traditions and religions".
And so I can see that. Masjid2 tinggalan dari era Othmaniyyah dulu masih tersergam di tengah pekan dan dinamakan sempena panglima Ottoman yang dtg dan ada yg mewakafkan masjid, antaranya yg plg masyhur adalah Gazi Husrev Bey mosque, dan Ali Pasha mosque. Sarajevo was founded by Ottoman empire. The Ottoman dtg dan conquered Bosnia in 1463 dan sejak itu bertapaknya Islam di sini.
Di celah2 lorong di Pekan Sarajevo. Cafe and bar, souvenir shops byk kt sini. Hari ni pakai tebal sket sbb takut turun salji katanyerr...poyo je.
Beli jgn tak beli, ramai jumpa org Mesia tang ni. Yg peniaga plak suka je kt org Mesia kan.
The old town. Aku carik t-shirt tp tak jumpa kedai yg menarik, kt depan2 Pigeon square tu ada tp cekik. So end up beli jugalah kt kedai kt dalam2 alley tu. Not good quality though, and design pun nan ado. So beli lagi kt Mostar.
"A walk through Sarajevo is a walk through its past. From the oriental Ottoman quarters lined with sweet shops, café's and handicraft workshops, to the administrative and cultural centre of Austro-Hungarian times". They say masa civil war dulu, snipers bertebaran di celah2 bukit gunung tu dan akan menembak sesapa saje yg lalu kt sini.
More souvenir shops... cari lah apa yg patut - dari fridge magnet hingga kekacang, pilih yg kamu suka.
Kita sampai pula di the infamous Sarajevo's pigeons square.
Sbb byk pigeons di sini jadi dia di namakan Pigeons Square.
Kelihatan di belakang Kak Yong, a wooden public fountain yang dipanggil Sebilj. "The Sebilj is a pseudo-Ottoman-style wooden fountain (sebil) in the centre of Baščaršija square in Sarajevo built by Mehmed Pasha Kukavica in 1753". Ramai plak minah Turki pada hari itu yg sama2 bergambar dan nak minum air dari fountain yg dibina oleh Ottoman empire ni.
The locals or legend has it said that kalau minum ayo dari fountain ni alamatnya nak datang semula. Aku minum ke main2 sbb nak amik gambo tak pasti pulak dah. However, amin ya Rab, semoga diperkenankan doa itu, atas izinNya jua. Byk tpt cantik kt Bosnia ni yg Kak Yong nak explore lagi esp. taman negara and waterfalls and river dia yg cantik itu.
Matahari dah makin meninggi.
The koya pose sekali.
"Enjoy the scent of fresh made coffee, flavours from hookah, sound of church bells and call from the minarets". Okay, mari kita cari kopi Bosnia pula.
Ahhh dah jumpa tempat lepak..
Kami pun masuk lorong celah2 bangunan tu, punya byk coffe shop (and bar uuu) dlm tu. Sambil tumpang cari WC. eh, sebenonya nak cari WC tp taknak nampak sgt so order kopi, gitewww kekdah.
Mengopi Bosnian style.
The Bosnian coffee. Mai aiii pahit piangggg hakak tak dapat nak abiskan pun uols, dpt 2 sip je rasa nak haktui ke apa... ke sbb tak pandai nak adun tak tau lah... juga ada sikit manisan cam Turkish pnyer manisan.
Auwww... che tot. Igt che ta je ke boley posing hipstur walau dah 40s..akak pom boleyyy hik. Setia aku pakai tag nama tu padahal tak macho langsung ntah apa2 mmg lupa sungguh nak buang simpan dlm beg. Terasa cam jemaah umrah atau jemaah simposium pula.
Koya lagi seround alang2 tempat comey ni. Almost all nama tpt lepak sini adalah cafe and bar ermmm.
Hi sistur.
ok, satu gamba ngan anak ikan ehhh tetiba, with Bosnian boy yg keje kt kedai kopi tu.
Dah lepak2 mengopi sume kami wandering along lagi the streets, melintasi National Library ni. Ahhh this is so sad, so so sad... DO NOT FORGET! ingat tu...
Gorgeous view along the bridge, ok, termasuk acik ni.
And the view over the bridge.
And with that, kami lepak lagi sementera menunggu everyone board the bus, and moved on to the next destination : Mostar.
Bas bergerak lagi meninggalkan Sarajevo. Cantikkan view ni... Sampai jumpa lagi Sarajevo, don't forget the history no matter what happened okay.
The view alongside the outskirt of Bosnia is breathtakingly beauuuutiful (ikut pronunciation Steve Erwin). Tengok tu jajaran pergunungan Balkan yg indah... tak terkata.
Dengan aliran sungai yg jernih dan menghijau.
Along the way, nampak perkampungan Bosnia dan juga deretan kuburan yg ada sebahagiannya terpaut dari peristiwa civil war, memutih kuburannya di lerengan.
Ahhhh...tasik dan empangan juga saujana mata memandang.
Til kita jumpa lagi di lain entry : Mostar.
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