The Jerusalem of the West

Cars become a resounding rumble as they drive on the cobblestone streets, barely intrusive in the tight alleyways filled with the wafting aroma of shisha smoke in the hot afternoon and the colours of Ottoman style silks and fabrics hanging from shop windows. It doesn't really feel like Europe. The streets are like something from much further east, overhung by wooden sitting rooms with lattice windows and bordered by the roofed entrances to courtyards. If was to see a picture and hazard a guess prior to coming to Bosnia I would probably think it was somewhere in northern Africa or Turkey.

Burek in Bosnia comes in Spinach and Cheese and Spiced Potato varieties that you'll find nowhere else

Sarajevo is a city divided. Minarets pierce the ubiquitous red roofs that cover the cities hilly landscape but grand churches remain hidden in the depths of the city centre, only noticeable when you're in the thick of it. Sarajevo has a very particular feel. When I picture Sarajevo I picture the red roofs, the extensive cemeteries of white head stones and the mosques which make it a city like no other. When viewed from above the colours are unique, working together to create some kind of fusion on juxtaposition. It's sometimes known as the Jerusalem of the west as the city houses a divided population of Jews, Christians and Muslims which have all lived in relative harmony until the more recent conflicts in the Balkans. 

We had driven here from Mostar, arriving at around three-o'clock. Driving in Bosnia is overrated. I had read online about how there's only 40km of two lane road in the whole country, limited to the cities and how all the roads are terrible and require patience. This simply isn't true. Most of the way the road was better than the midlands and had similar, short overtaking lanes every so often. People from the EU seem to be so soft in regards to roads, they seem to think that any road that doesn't have at least two lanes in each direction and isn't safe to go 130 on is a bad road. As a Tasmania I simply don't feel the same way.

We got some well priced accommodation right in the city centre, a great base to explore the city's charm as it is situated right outside the Ottoman quarter. That afternoon we had a bit of a walk around and sat down for a hookah in a shisha bar. In typical style you lounge on couches, covered in middle eastern fabrics. I'll freely admit, its a very relaxing experience. The smoke is aromatic and non-intrusive and the process itself takes a long time and is by nature very social. Its also demotivating and bad for your health. I don't know any statistics but if someone was to tell me it was equal to smoking half a pack of cigarettes I wouldn't be surprised. 

It took us about one and a half hours to share a ceramic cone piece filled with mint flavoured tobacco. It was somewhat of a hypnotic atmosphere, lying on couches, smoke clouds hanging in the air, deep in a narrow Sarajevo alleyway. I noticeably found it harder to draw in towards the end, wondering if the health issues were already starting. No. They would be evident when I would later walk up to the accommodation in dying light, breathing noticeably more heavily than usual. 

Oh well, it was a cool experience but not one I'd want to make a regular occurrence. It doesn't take long to purge the system.

That night I stayed up real late, watching a movie and talking to a Spaniard for ages on Shared Talk to try and improve my Spanish. I don't know how much I retained considering it was 12:30 when I first called someone. We woke late the next morning and explored the city for a few hours, leaving in the late afternoon.

I had found out about an abandoned Olympic bobsled track high above the city online so we were on our way to check that out and find camping. First we headed up above the city to get a view over the white tombstones of an Islamic cemetery to the city below. The roads were beyond interesting. In Sarajevo's residential suburbs there were roads we couldn't get up in our car despite being fully paved, they were that steep. We looked at cars in driveways above and simply couldn't comprehend how its done. An old woman made hand gestures indicating momentum but momentum was no match for the sheer gradient. 

When we finally left the sun was only two hours off setting. We were quickly well off the tourist track, the road winding its way towards a 1600m+ peak that backs the city on one side. The bobsled track sits on the hill side of a hillock below the peak.

We knew we were in the right place when we saw a small section of the track on the side of the road. By a small section I mean maybe 3m of track standing free like some kind of demo for what awaits below. We headed down a narrow road, passing under the track at one point. Quickly after the 1984 Olympics this place became overgrown and fell into disrepair. Its hard to see why they invested so much and then let it go. It's obvious that the siege of Sarajevo even reached here, evident in the shell holes in the track itself and crumbling buildings, far outside the scope of thirty years exposure to the elements. 

The track meanders through thick forest, an almost eerie sight and a reminder of how easily things can collapse. A mere thirty years ago this was a world class complex with a network of access roads, toilet blocks and restaurants. Now its a mere shadow of its former glory, lurking in the forest waiting for only those that are curious enough to venture into Sarajevo's fringes looking for it.