Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia by Rick Steves & Cameron Hewitt

Author:Rick Steves & Cameron Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Publishing
Published: 2018-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

While repairs are ongoing, you’ll still be confronted by vivid and thought-provoking scars of the Yugoslav Wars, especially outside of the tourist zones. Poignant roadside memorials to fallen soldiers, burned-out husks of buildings, unmistakable starburst patterns in the pavement, and bullet holes in walls are a constant reminder that the country is still recovering—physically and psychologically. Driving through the countryside, you’ll pass between Muslim, Croat, and Serb towns—each one decorated with its own provocative sectarian symbols. Bosnia teaches an essential lesson about how real—and destructive—war and interethnic strife truly are.

Of all the former Yugoslav states, Bosnia is where you’ll sense the most nostalgia for communist-era leader Marshal Tito (at least, in the Bosniak-dominated parts of Bosnia, like Mostar and Sarajevo). This is likely because Bosniaks suffered the most from the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was only under Tito—who made it clear that ethnic division mattered far less than Yugoslav unity—that Bosniaks felt protected and respected.

And there’s another throwback to the past here: In Bosnia, you’ll be exposed to more cigarette smoke than in most of Europe. Hotels and restaurants permit smoking to an unusual degree.

In this book, I focus on a few user-friendly Bosnian destinations within easy reach of the Dalmatian Coast: the Turkish-flavored city of Mostar (with its restored Old Bridge—one of Europe’s most inspiring sights), some nearby attractions offering a more complete view of Herzegovina (Blagaj, Počitelj, and Stolac), the Catholic shrine at Međugorje, and—just over the Croatian border—an excellent Roman museum near Metković. A longer trip from Dalmatia—and well worth the trek—is the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, with a spectacular mountain-valley setting, a multilayered history, powerful wartime stories, and a resilient populace of proud Sarajevans eager to show you their city.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Almanac

Official Name: Bosna i Hercegovina (abbreviated “BiH”)—that’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country’s two regions. For simplicity, I generally call the whole country “Bosnia” in this book.

Snapshot History: Bosnia-Herzegovina’s early history is similar to the rest of the region: Illyrians, Romans, and Slavs (oh, my!). In the late 15th century, Turkish rulers from the Ottoman Empire began a 400-year domination of the country. Many of the Ottomans’ subjects converted to Islam, and their descendants remain Muslims today. Bosnia-Herzegovina became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1878, then Yugoslavia after World War I, until it declared independence in the spring of 1992. The bloody war that ensued came to an end in 1995. (For details, see the Understanding Yugoslavia chapter.)

Population: About 3.9 million. (There were about 100,000 identified casualties of the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, but many estimates of total casualties are double that number.) Someone who lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is called a “Bosnian.” A southern Slav who practices Islam is called a “Bosniak.” Today, about half of all Bosnians are Bosniaks (Muslims), about a third are Orthodox Serbs, and nearly 15 percent are Catholic Croats.

Area: 19,741 square miles (about the size of West Virginia). In both size and population, Bosnia is comparable to Croatia.

Geography: Bosnia and Herzegovina are two distinct regions that share the same mountainous country.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.