I live for travel and I travel to eat. While others savour the tourist delights of architecture, history, and scenic views, I only think of my next meal. I seek out local delicacies, exotic cuisine, and without hesitation can recite my favourite meals across the globe.
When I visit new destinations I rate them in terms of gastronomic “liveability”, and Sarajevo is one city I could make my home. The food is a colourful blend of east and west, particularly the spicy potato pita (pie).
Ten years ago this charming city was under siege by the marauding Yugoslav army. The war was messy and vicious and the scars linger deep within the people, the destroyed buildings a visual testament to human madness. As you drive through the countryside of Bosnia & Herzegovina the most glaring image is the shiny new cemeteries littered with white headstones for Muslims and black for Christians, who often died on the same day and now lay side by side for eternity.
Sarajevo was a popular host to the 1984 winter Olympics but the main stadium no longer hears the cries of sporting victory but the wails of heartbreak for the dead. It’s a surreal sight as you stand among the graves surrounded by the intact grandstands, a glaring reminder of the continuing power of the dead over the living.
Ultimately, it is people which shape a nation and its soul and the Sarajevans exude life with an infectious zeal. Maybe it is a simple gratitude for having survived, or possibly having experienced hell, everything and anything else is a bonus. Whichever, you will not find a friendlier nor more hospitable society anywhere.
The city bustles with an invigorated fervour and entrepreneurs have embraced any and all commercial opportunities. My favourite being a real life Indiana Jones, Semir Osmanagic. In them thar hills of Visoko (which fittingly translates as high), 40km east of Sarajevo, Semir believes that over 27,000 years ago the pyramids of the Sun, Moon and Dragon were built by an ancient civilisation.
You can imagine the controversy his assertions of pyramids in Europe have provoked with international archaeologists, but charismatic Semir, whose costume is ready for filming the next Spielberg epic, claims that within the next five years he will fully clarify their existence. He is a passionate soul and already has the locals fully convinced they live in the midst of these awesome structures covered with centuries of dirt and vegetation.
From a distance Visoko’s overshadowing hills certainly appear in the distinct shape of a pyramid. The climb to the summit is arduous and fraught with mishaps, Flip flops are not recommended hiking attire, and although there is not much to see you will want to bring along an Aussie flag to plant and mark your achievement. Like every good tourist I have the t-shirt and happy snap as proof of my sweaty efforts.
Although not quite the believer I am a little besotted by Semir and his convictions. I am also enamoured by the locals who have won my heart with their tourist attraction 3-cornered pizzas, sandwiches and cakes. In these parts a lamington is a chocolate pyramid shape with green coconut. Bless them.
