Wednesday, June 20
Written by: Brian

Current Location - Sophia, Bulgaria on the way to Greece

Sarajevo a diamond in the Rough,

The city is nestled on beautiful green mountain side that held the 1984 winter Olympics.  It is hard to imagine such a event occured in the city today as it tries to pull itself back together after the war almost destroyed the country in the 1990s.  The country is described as East meets West and that can be seen in the religious culture of the city of Sarajevo, 40% Muslim, 31% Orthodox, and 15% Roman Catholic.  The city is made up of beautiful Mosques, Church's and a Synagogue that allow you to explore and experience the different religions.

The war, which took me 4 times reading it to understand it and I probably still dont have it right, was fought over the Bosnia Serbians starting taking land over, as well as a campaign of brutal ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the country.  The US urged the Croatians to back the Bosnia Government (mostly Bosnian Croatians and Bosnian Muslims) to back the Croatian troops to expel the Bosnia Serbian Military.

Bill Clinton, the former President,  is actually a hero here.  Ok really no joke here, he proposed a peace agreement called the "The Dayton Agreement" that is still in effect today, that brought peace to this country.  We learned first hand the respect that the former President has in the country from one shop owner, that made metal coffee pots, as he proudly displayed his photo with the former President.

Walking around the city seems like any other city across Eastern Europe until you turn on a lesser known corner and see the destruction  from the war that still resides in many of the buildings around the city, at no time though do feel insecure.  The people are all very friendly and smile once greeted with Doberdon (hello) and are always willing to help.

We entered our first Mosque today, I had never been in a Mosque before and was not sure what to expect.  A gentleman showed us in and gave us a short tour, Susan was required to wear her long sleeve shirt and scarf that we had brought, of the Mosque and answered any questions we had about the religion and building.  It was very peaceful inside the Mosque, there were beautiful multi-colored carpets that lined the floor and beautiful painted walls.  It was a great experience and very educational. 

We have really enjoyed our experience here and wish we could have spent a few more days in the city and country to really experience the culture.

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