Osijek was nothing to shout about. The town is so depressing, run down with dilapidated buildings. Obviously it was a poor part of the country with unfriendly people. But we changed our mind when we met a guy who operated a petrol station there, He could speak English well and was so helpful especially when Detlef enquired about a mosque or Islamic Center. Croatia was a country who was hand in hand with Serbia to do ethnic cleansing, aiming to wipe out Bosnian Muslims. Of course the western non- Islamic world did NOT make so much hue and cry over this monstrosities. Had it been a Muslim country doing the aggression, America would send missiles to destroy it with a thousand and one excuses, like Iraq - such disgusting hypocrisy, injustice and double standard. Refused to give up, Detlef drove round and round and asked dozens of people the where about of the Islamic Center so that we could do our prayer. It was hot and we asked him to proceed on to Sarajevo. But no, he wouldn't until finally he found the Islamic Center but unfortunately it was closed. Thank you Detlef for your perseverance.
Driving to Sarajevo and looking at Bosnia, I understood why the Serbian aggression took place. I was actually amazed at the beauty of the country, which seemed better off compared to their neighbours. The roads are good, houses nestled attractively among the green trees, people worked diligently in their farms and their houses are pretty. We stayed at Holiday Inn Sarajevo. The next morning, Mohamad, the local tour guide came to take us to sight see Sarajevo. The first visit was to the Tunnel. Izan made a mistake by not putting down clearly in her itinerary that entry to any tourist attraction was on our own. I was fully aware of that but another unkind outburst from the same member came out. My response was simple, 'Don't go in if you don't want to pay!'
The Tunnel was the life line of the Bosnians during the war. They were cut off supply of food and water by Croatian and Serbian snipers and Serbian fires. To overcome this, in early 1993, the Bosnians dug a tunnel in secrecy across the airport starting at a family home near the airport. We visited the house which has become a museum with bullet-riddled walls. I salute the courage of these Bosnians, with a sad story of sufferings and degradation of human dignity but determination and courage bind them together.
In the afternoon we spent our time in Sarajevo city at the market where we met a Malay girl, Nur Hidayah, who has lived in Bosnia and speaks Bosnian. She was visiting a friend there. Bosnian's craft was mainly of intricate copper work, too cumbersome to carry home.
The most memorable experience we had in Sarajevo was a visit to a Bosnian village and was welcomed by a family with warmth and friendliness. There are clusters of villages mostly at hillside with mosque minarets indicating they are Muslims. Detlef randomly drove into the hills with winding road and stunning views. No bus or big group of tourists would be able to access to these hillside villages. We were lucky that there were only 6 of us in a van. We parked at an open space to take photos of the majestic valley below and Sarajevo. We made friends with Shamil and wife, Sabarta and beautiful cousin, Aida who received us with warmth and friendliness. Thank you. Communication was mainly in German and English. They served us Turkish coffee. We hope to keep in touch with them.
Malaysia has a good name among Bosnians. Much help was given to them during the war and after the war.
The next day we left Sarajevo with much sweet memory, for Mostar and Plitvice. So sorry, I still haven't found a way to write a short description of the photos......yyaahhhh (frust!)
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