Bosnia and Hervegovina, as is the country's full name, might be close to Croatia, but in so many ways it is a world apart. Basically as soon as our bus departed Dubrovnik and crossed the border into southern Bosnia clouds gathered over head, the temperature dropped and the landscape changed from crystal clear blue beaches to forest covered hills and winding rivers. The transformation was rapid.

I was eagerly anticipating Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, if for no other reason than to get off the busy tourist path which was beginning to frustrate me after a fortnight of small steps through crowds and having to look the other way as another Australian/British chap did something culturally insensitive.

The history of Bosnia is growning with the weight of casualties from 100 years or so of bloodshed and turmoil. Bosnia and Hervegovina was formally annexed in 1908 by the country of Austria-Hungary this incensed the nationalists in Bosnia who supported the created of a South Slavic country which was likely to include Croats, Serbs and Slovens. In response to the annexation of Bosnia, a Bosnian Serb murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne and this act, because of a series of alliances in Europe, was the catalyst for World War I. Post WWI Bosnia joined the South Slavic country (later known as Yugoslavia) and in an attempt to dodge WWII it adopted Nazi friendly policies, however in 1941it was invaded as a part of Yugoslavia and conquered by Germany. There were many many Jewish deaths in Bosnia throughout WWII as there was all over Europe. The majority of Yugoslavia's military operations against the Nazis were in Bosnia and thus it was the Bosnia population that suffered the most death and destruction of all the former Yugoslavian countries. After the fall of the Nazis, Yugoslavia was consumed by Soviet friendly communist leaders and policies.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and as Yugoslavia was dissoling (not until 1992) you might have thought that Bosnia would enjoy the a quiet few years. Unfortunately not the story. Divisions in ethnicity within the coutry itself erupted in violence soon after the splintering of Yugoslavia. It was an incredibly complex war involving many parties, but this is how I understood it. The war was between Bosnians Serbs (supported by the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, now Serbia and Montenegro) and Bosnian Croats (supported by Croatia). It was such a complex war with so many different parties involved that the war could be thought of as both a civil war but also a war of aggression between groups/countries of Serbs and Croats. The long and the short of it all is that the war raged in Bosnia for 3 years (1992 - 1995) and Sarajevo was dessimated. An indication of how safe the city was during war time was the renaming of the main road into Sarajevo from the airport to "Sniper Alley" as Bosnian Serb fighters would hide in the surrounding hills and snipe anyone who exposed themselves (much of the war crimes committed during the Bosnian War were committed by the Bosnian Serb militia).

Today Sarajevo shows many scars of the conflict that was just over a decade ago. Many buildings have bullet holes and impacts of mortar shells in the Soviet-buiding-concrete walls. Another surviving memorium of the atrocities of war are the craters where mortar bombs exploded in the streets and killed civilian Bosnians, some of these mortar craters have been filled with red cement and are now known as Sarajevo Roses. Today, thankfully, there is peace but two republics within Bosnia that are self governed, Republica Srpska (Serbs) and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croats and Muslims).

It is a facinating city with a living history. It has many old ugly Soviet buildings with war scars as well as Austrian villas plus a bustling modern new city. It really is an eclectic mix. An eclectic mix that satisfys. It is not everyones cup of tea that is for sure, not many people would call Sarajevo a beautiful city, but there is a feeling that the people of Sarajevo have a pride in their city's robustness and capacity to cope with tradegy and start over. A testimony to this is Sarajevos centre which is alive with flashing lights and modern city buildings.

Sarajevo also has a lively nightlife and Em and I twice went out for cocktails to some of the city bars. The old Turkish quarter of the city is a popular visit for many tourists when they visit Sarajevo. Here there are mini hobbit houses that serve that strong jet-black turkish coffee amoungst other turkish delicacies. The mosques in the Turkish quarter add to the haunting nature of Sarajevo as the call to prayer spreads across the city five times a day. It is a city that leaves an impression on those who give it the rightful honour of a visit.