The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a multicultural and colorful city. Its streets are somewhat reminiscent of the cities of Turkey or the Middle East. Sarajevo was tragically marked by the war in the Balkans at the end of the 20th century, which is still visible today in buildings and in numerous monuments and memorial plaques.
The heart of Sarajevo is Baščaršija, a Turkish bazaar with low stone houses, shops and stalls spread straight on the cobblestones. Here you can buy all handicrafts that can be found in the Balkans, from clothes and fabrics to metal saucepans and jewelry. The smells of roasted burqas, brewed coffee in saucepans and kebabs fried on the grill come out of the restaurants and bars and call for a snack.
Within Czarshiji you can see the 16th century Gazi Husrev Beja mosque with nice stonework decorations. Right next to it is the madrasah of his name with an internal courtyard with a fountain. All streets of the market lead to the square with the historic wooden well, Sebilj, which is the symbol of the city.
Sarajevo is one of the most marked cities in the country by the Balkan war. Many months of siege, shelling, and sniper attacks were for a long time the everyday life of its inhabitants. Outside the center, there are still houses with traces of bullets and burnt ruins, as well as huge cemeteries where the victims of the fighting were buried.
Walking down the city streets you can often see characteristic chips on the pavements, flooded with red resin. These so-called "Roses of Sarajevo", a place where fragments of mortar shells fell. The place of memory is the local Merkele market, where massacres of the population took place twice. The names of the victims are commemorated on plaques. The statue of the Sarajevo Children located in the park, of which more than 1,600 died during the war, is impressive.
