Belma Nahic, EER Volunteer
European Solidarity Corps Young Active Citizens support Ecological Actions
Today I will be describing two cities that I came from, Visoko and Sarajevo.
Visoko is a town in which I have lived most of my life. It is near Sarajevo , about 30-minute drive. There are many things for which Visoko is famous for but it is considered mostly as a City of pyramids and Royal city. Yes, you read that right it is considered as a City of pyramids!
From 2005. there were claims made by Semir Osmanagic that in Visoko our most famous hill called Visocica is actually a pyramid and that it wasn't the only one.
But there are now divided opinions about this matter as a large part of the scientific community does not support the idea of existence of this pyramid complex.
The second characteristic of Visoko, being the Royal city, is already proven and backed up with many archeological sites. The most famous one is called Mile and it was a place where kings were crowned.
The second city that I consider my home is Sarajevo - the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If you would like to see a place where cultures meet this is an ideal place for you! When you take a stroll down Ferhadija street you can find the exact place where East meets West, a point where two different architectural styles Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian style meet. Ferhadija street will also take you to the famous place Bascarsija.
Sarajevo was recognized many times as a city that puts culture as a center of its developing strategies. In the world is also known as an European Jerusalem because its home for many religions (Islam, Orthodox and Catholic Christianity, Judaism).
In summer the streets are full of tourists. Many of them come to see natural beauties that are hiding in the city or in a surrounding area. Some of them come to one of the major summer events - Sarajevo Film Festival. Others may come in the winter to enjoy the surrounding mountains and to try to recreate the feeling and the atmosphere of 1984. The Winter Olympic Games that were held here.
Sadly the city is also known for its gruesome and bloody history. The siege of Sarajevo that lasted from 5 April 1992. to 29 February 1996. was the longest siege of the capital city in modern history. More than 13 000 people were killed during the siege. Maximum shell impact happened on 22 July in 1993. when 3777 shells hit the city. Sarajevo is also known for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinard of Austria and his wife Sofie in 1914. which led directly to World War I.
If i could pick one thing that is the best in the city and that it makes it worth living there or visiting it would definitely be the people. You won't find anywhere in the world people as welcoming as people generally in Bosnia but especially in Sarajevo. Just our cuisine and the meal cevapi is worth your while. Come and see the city if you ever need the soft place to land and to understand the meaning of Bosnian cejf (the art of passing time usually with a cup of fresh coffee or any other activity that brings one a pleasure. There is mindfulness and intentionality to cejf that can be enacted with friends or by oneself).