Assalamualaikum, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
All praise to Him, the Ruler of the World, and salawah upon Beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
I went to Balkans area. One of my destination was Bosnia-Herzegovina. This time, I travel to a place where Islam came and the people accept it. The country has so many potential to be one of the great Islamic country, yet so many tragedies happened to the region.
Sarajevo has faced so many wars and death. If you go there, you can see a lot of graveyard across the city. From the Ottoman empire to Austro-Hungarian empire, and the break up of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, so many people had died.
First world war started in Sarajevo. The heir to the throne was killed in the city. That was one of the bloody tragedy. So many people were involved in the war, and so many lost their loved ones.
During the break up of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Sarajevo was surrounded by Serbian army. So many people fled to neighbouring countries, like Montenegro, German and others. The situation was so dire that nobody was able go out the street, neither the children can play football at the field.
Nejla, one of the friends I made in Sarajevo told me the dark stories. She was born in the era, lost a lot of relatives during the period. Her family escape to Montenegro for shelter as the city was very dangerous to live in. Nejla told me the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Bosnia nowadays, that much resemble a civil war in modern world.
I visited the monument erected for the memorial of the lost during the period. It was such a sad moment that people killed each other because of their differences. I went to yellow fortress up on a hill to see the whole city and to my view, I saw a lot of gravestone, spread over the city, the martyr of the fallen people during the war.
Nejla and her friends were so friendly. The first time I came to Sarajevo, I was treated with Pita and cookies, a Bosnian specialty. Its shaped like a pie but tasted like our murtabak, but you can choose the fillings, either meat, potato or vegetables. I like it very much. I also had Cevapi, which looks like kebab. Eat it while you hungry and it is so delicious. Also, I met Mr Shahril Kadir, a solo traveller from Malaysia. We talked a lot about our trip and he treated me with Burek. Alhamdulillah rezeki.
In Mostar, one of the city that badly attacked during the war I met Sumija. We talked about a lot of things, from the country condition to the people. They (the Muslims) also having a conflict with Croats people. Sumija and her family fled to Koln for shelter during the war. She was very nice. She helped with car rental & breakfast. If I got the time in future, I will come to visit Sumija and Nejla. Insya-Allah.
Nejla, one of the friends I made in Sarajevo told me the dark stories. She was born in the era, lost a lot of relatives during the period. Her family escape to Montenegro for shelter as the city was very dangerous to live in. Nejla told me the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Bosnia nowadays, that much resemble a civil war in modern world.
War Memorial of Children Sarajevo
Near yellow fortress
City of Sarajevo during the night
Nejla and her friends were so friendly. The first time I came to Sarajevo, I was treated with Pita and cookies, a Bosnian specialty. Its shaped like a pie but tasted like our murtabak, but you can choose the fillings, either meat, potato or vegetables. I like it very much. I also had Cevapi, which looks like kebab. Eat it while you hungry and it is so delicious. Also, I met Mr Shahril Kadir, a solo traveller from Malaysia. We talked a lot about our trip and he treated me with Burek. Alhamdulillah rezeki.
Pita, I will miss this.
Something I had, which also very delicious. I think it's called Bosanski Lonac.
Cevapi
In Mostar, one of the city that badly attacked during the war I met Sumija. We talked about a lot of things, from the country condition to the people. They (the Muslims) also having a conflict with Croats people. Sumija and her family fled to Koln for shelter during the war. She was very nice. She helped with car rental & breakfast. If I got the time in future, I will come to visit Sumija and Nejla. Insya-Allah.
The famous Mostar bridge, Stari Most.
I met Mr Mustafa during my visit to Tekija, Blagaj. Though he doesn't speak English, but luckily I can understand a bit of German. He told me the story of the Tekija. Also, I met two traveller from Thailand and a group of chinese Malaysian who were so kind to offer me a ride to Montenegro.
Tekija, Blagaj.
I really like Bosnia. The food was good. The people were nice, though some people were nice to you because you have money. And also they have a lot of Masjids almost everywhere. I really miss the sound of azan 5 times daily and the feeling for jamaah prayer in proper Masjid.
Masjid in Bascarsija
One regret from my trip was I didn't spend enough time in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I will come again to Bosnia, to learn about their culture, people and food. I met a lot of people that helped me and gave me advices and tips for travel. Alhamdulillah. Insya-Allah I am planning for future trip to this beautiful places.
"O Allah, give the people I met during my journey a lot of baraqah and rezeki. Guide us to righteous and take us to Your Jannah."
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