26 Days in Bosnia

The one photo of my hometown of Sarajevo that I took. Usually,...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:01:53 -0400

The one photo of my hometown of Sarajevo that I took. Usually, I’m much more prolific but this time around I just wanted to live there…without the camera around my neck.

A friend of mine asked me why I loved this city so much, and I was surprised by the question and had no poetic answer. I still don’t. Maybe because the city is still so real, it’s not cookie-cutter pre-packaged. It’s raw. It’s unorganized. It’s unapologetic. It has problems, and maybe to a designer such as myself these challenges present themselves as opportunities, as genuine, honest design-soul-bread that’s ready to be cracked.

I once heard that designers will never be happy because the world is so ugly, constantly throwing in our face endless problems to solve—but that’s exactly what makes me happy—the challenge of making the bad, good. I want to prove to myself and others that things can be better, that there is progress, that with the combination of right attitude, skills and most of all empathy for ourselves and others, we can improve bit by bit. Call me an idealist, go ahead, I’ll own that title proudly.

As I leave Sarajevo for now, I leave optimistic and inspired. December couldn’t come fast enough.

Until we meet again…

And forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:15:37 -0400

And forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair.

Kahlil Gibran

Drinking the ubiquitous espresso by Kravice Waterfalls at...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:28:00 -0400

Drinking the ubiquitous espresso by Kravice Waterfalls at 8AM…priceless.

Meanwhile in Bosnia…

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:42:21 -0400

Meanwhile in Bosnia…

We stopped here for a coffee break. This…this is soul...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:01:15 -0400

We stopped here for a coffee break. This…this is soul food.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Bosnia…

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:52:00 -0400

Meanwhile, somewhere in Bosnia…

Ecofutura is a new eco-village that is a brief drive out of...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:08:18 -0400

Ecofutura is a new eco-village that is a brief drive out of Sarajevo, towards Hresa, and is run by the same folk that are behind Vegehana, a super yummy restaurant in Sarajevo. I’ve had my fair share of falafel, but I must admit without any bias that the cooks at Ecofutura make some mean good falafel that can easily rival those from the Middle East…or Dearborn. Ecofutura community is still in process of being completed, but it looks extremely promising and I’m excited to see it grow and succeed. As per their website, their mission:

We are the team strongly connected by the idea of life in healthy, natural surroundings. Our wish for balanced living is practically expressed through construction of an attractive eco-tourist village in the midst of intact natural beauties, as well as the eco/bio farming and promotion of renewable energy sources.

Our vision is to, as a sustainable eco-tourist village, show by our example that living in harmony with nature is possible, using all advantages of modern technology. Besides this, we vision ourselves as a center of spreading the culture of a healthy lifestyle which offers education in this field to all generations and which, by its unique services, significantly contributes to the development of the entire region.

Lovely. Brilliant. Onwards!

I still daydream about owning one of these houses in Pocitelj...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:34:00 -0400

I still daydream about owning one of these houses in Pocitelj and spending endless time there just drawing. One day. One day…

The little town of Počitelj literally and figuratively took my...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:21:00 -0400

The little town of Počitelj literally and figuratively took my breath away. I left inspired.

This place has been around for a while, since at least the 1400s and has served as a place of strategic importance to the Hungarian Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site and has one of the oldest art colonies in southeastern Europe. The tiny city has colorful historical details throughout, such as the tree that grows in the mosque’s garden that was brought in from Lebanon and planted in the 15th Century.

Blagaj is a small town south of Mostar, situated at the spring...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:54:00 -0400

Blagaj is a small town south of Mostar, situated at the spring of the Buna river—which itself is one of the finest examples of underground karstic springs, and largest such spring in Europe. At the river’s spring, built into the cliffs is a Blagaj Tekke—a Sufi monastery—which was built sometime in the 1600s. It is currently under renovation and repair and closed to public, however one can hire a guide and venture into the cave by the Tekke, to check out Buna’s source and see the Tekke up-close. The cliff that towers over the spring and the Tekke has a breathtakingly powerful and dwarfing presence, and my standard lens does not do justice in capturing its magnificence.

Mostar is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:23:53 -0400

Mostar is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the main center of the Herzegovina region. It is known worldwide by its UNESCO World Heritage Old Bridge, which was reconstructed in 2004 after its demise during the Bosnian War in the 90s. The meticulous reconstruction took about five years.

Originally, the bridge was built in 1558 by the Ottoman architect Cejvan Kethoda and was hailed as the greatest architectural achievement in the Ottoman controlled Balkans. It spans about 30 meters (~98ft.) and is a perfect semicircle. Quite possibly one of the most photogenic man-made areas in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with possible exception of the town of Pocitelj—photos of which I will post soon. I obviously took many more images than the ten I am sharing here—if you can do so, do pay this city a visit. It is inspiring in more ways than one.

Jablanica is a small town in central Bosnia and Herzegovina most...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:11:00 -0400

Jablanica is a small town in central Bosnia and Herzegovina most famous for an epic World War II battle codenamed Fall Weiss in which the Axis-led forces aimed to destroy the Yugoslav Partisans’ central command, as well as the main hospital. Heavily outnumbered and pocketed in-between the Nazis and the Chetniks, under the leadership of Marshal Josip Broz Tito, the Partisan forces blew up the only bridge across the Neretva river, thus confusing the enemy long enough to rebuild the bridge, eliminate the Chetnik troops and save the wounded.

In 1969, this battle was immortalized in the most expensive movie production for the region (~$12M), which was subsequently nominated for the best foreign movie at the Academy Awards. For the purposes of authentic filming and claiming that the spot will turn into a tourist destination (which it did), the director was allowed to blow up an actual bridge over the river Neretva, twice. However, due to heavy smoke caused by the explosions, the footage was never used. The bridge seen in the images above is that very same bridge that was destroyed for the purposes of filming, and is now integrated in the monument to the epic battle of 1943.

The local farmer, nearby: “Heeeeeeyyyyyy!!! Did you get...

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:54:03 -0400

The local farmer, nearby:

“Heeeeeeyyyyyy!!! Did you get enough photographs of them? I used to have two…and boy, were they a handful. I left them in their pen and the next morning, I get in there and they’re not in there. I look around…wonder…’Where in the…?’…and the two of them were on top of the cabinet! Top of the cabinet! It’s easily two meters high. And there they were. Then they eat all of my crops…they’re sheytans (devils), I swear they are. After that, no more. I don’t bother. I love their milk. But I don’t bother keeping them.”

Devils for sure. Cutest little devils. Ever.

We stopped by the small town of Kiseljak on our way out of...

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:28:33 -0400

We stopped by the small town of Kiseljak on our way out of Sarajevo for the sole purpose of filling our water bottles with the natural mineral water that springs in the city.

Unfortunately, there’s not much available online about...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:58:22 -0400

Unfortunately, there’s not much available online about Tijuana Tango—but it was jolly good ol’ soulful times. From a tidbit that I could find via events pages:

“Tijuana Tango”?! Tijuana or Tango? Tequila or Rumba? What is this about? It’s quite simple. The musical project “Tijuana Tango” brings together different musicians, from different countries, with different musical backgrounds. A wide variety of musical styles and songs come together, from sevdah or flamenco, passing by tarantelle or rumba, up to cumbia or fado. Old songs and new songs. “Tijuana Tango” is a musical invitation for people to think about borders and differences. Or so called borders and differences…

Jelena Milušić, Bosnia Herzegovina/Germany (vocals)

Nathan Daems, Belgium (saxophone, clarinet)

Filip Vandebril, Belgium (double bass)

Sebastian Wiesner, Germany (percussion), and

Thomas Morzewski, France (piano, trumpet).

Rambo Amadeus is a gift from another universe. Stellar show.

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:04:26 -0400

Rambo Amadeus is a gift from another universe. Stellar show.

Brangelina descends upon Sarajevo and brings peace and stability...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:21:43 -0400

Brangelina descends upon Sarajevo and brings peace and stability to the Balkans. :) Kidding aside, this was huge publicity for the city and the region, causing a massive mayhem at the SFF’s red carpet, as evident in the photographs above. An epic moment in pop-culture history of the city and a definite guilty pleasure indulgent moment for me. I managed to snag a super blurry image of Mr. Pitt and with that made my inner 14-year-old’s dream come true. If you’re wondering as to why the uber-couple was in Sarajevo, read this.

Jovan Divjak, a Bosnian general during the ‘92-‘95...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:55:35 -0400

Jovan Divjak, a Bosnian general during the ‘92-‘95 Bosnian war, came back home after spending nearly five months detained in Austria on Serbia’s arrest warrant. Austrian courts denied Serbia’s request for extradition stating “lack of evidence and the inability to guarantee a fair trial” in Serbia. It was a big day in Sarajevo. For more information about this latest Balkan drama, feel free to read this and this.

Pips, Chips & Videoclips is a band from Zagreb, Croatia who...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:30:43 -0400

Pips, Chips & Videoclips is a band from Zagreb, Croatia who I must admit I haven’t followed as closely as some other bands from the region. I caught the tail-end of their concert at Sloga in Sarajevo, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their performance. Check it out for yourself in the clip above.

Audio InFunktion at Kriterion in Sarajevo. Probably one of the...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:42:00 -0400

Audio InFunktion at Kriterion in Sarajevo. Probably one of the best sets I’ve heard in a while—my wee video doesn’t do it justice. If I could or knew how, I’d book him all over the States, he’s top notch. Here’s a little bio snippet Google spat out, to give a bit of a background:

Diverse, meditative, rhythmic elements merge in the work of Sarajevo’s Nesho (aka Audio Infunktion). The producer, DJ and instrumentalist’s roster of musical heroes betrays a well-balanced palette - everyone from African icons Mulatu Astatke and Fela Kuti to jazznicks Marlena Shaw, Miles Davis, and Quincy Jones to modern-day groove merchants Red Astaire, Alice Russell and Madlib. During the war in Bosnia, Nesho says somewhat understatedly that things were “pretty sticky”. Confined to his home, he reacted to the surrounding madness by picking up a guitar and starting to play. “I learned to play because of war,” he observes. “Ironic, isn’t it?” Actually, less ironic than inspirational. Percussive and soulful, Nesho’s notes remain vibrant with the rhythm of life.