The Hills of Sarajevo

As Rich tells me, we have uphill and we have downhill, and on some walks we are all out of down. But, in Sarajevo, our hotel is not very far up the hill, so when we walk up, we must come down. It is a city of hills and a river valley.



We arrived at the Sarajevo airport on Monday Sept 11th. To see the war scars on the buildings near the airport, and on many other buildings in the City, is a grim reminder of what Sarajevo went through, and what other cities and towns are going through in the Middle East because of my country and our mis guided war on an abstract notion.



There is a long pedestrian street which is crowded with shoppers and strollers. It starts in the old town with narrow streets and cobblestones. Young muslim women wearing headscarves and modest clothing also wear make up and carry handbags. The young muslim men blend right in with everyone else. Yesterday evening we heard the evening call to prayers broadcast over a loudspeaker from a mosque, and then as we were walking by the mosque we saw teenage boys running, late for prayers, pulling off their shoes at the entrance and getting inside as fast as they could. On the old street shoppers walked eating ice cream cones. It is an amazing City.