August 04, 2006

Sarajevo in Pictures

"I know that you (Alijah Izetbegovic) believe in God, I'm not sure if God exists but I am absolutely certain Satan does."
-Said by a fellow prisoner of former President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic (himself a devout Muslim)
The white in the picture are tombstones of some of many Bosnian Muslims killed in the Serbian Genocide. These are three football fields converted into cemetaries in the heart of Sarajevo.

Market Hall

Downtown Sarajevo surrounded by lush, green hills.

Kaizer Bakery


Skenderije, Sarajevo

A bombed apartment building in Sarajevo. I find a lot of beauty in this picture, for though it seems maimed from destruction, it still stands firmly with traces left of its former beauty.

I have not had time to sit down and write properly about my trip yet and I am going away again tomorrow. These are just a few pictures I wanted to share. I will return with more pictures and stories about the amazing Mosques in Sarajevo, the food, the people, the old city, Mostar and the bridge, Visoko and the Pyramids and much more. Meanwhile, enjoy the song Ederlezi by Goran Bregovic that I uploadedon my stickam.
Take care everyone and Allahimanet (Bosnian Muslim greeting for goodbye)
-Shaykhspeara

16 comments:

BuJ said...

Welcome back!!! and thnx for the pianos link! that was so quick!

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Thank you! And you are most welcome.

nzm said...

Amazing photos - it looks too beautiful to have been through so much torment.

btw - what's with the word verification? lol

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

nzm I got majorly spammed! How ironic... :)

Well the city has been rebuilt more or less...although much is still in ruins it is, I am told by the locals, in a much much better condition than it used to be. Everything is however relative, isn't it...

Baraka said...

Salaam,

Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos...it seems impossible that such tragedy and evil should have occurred with such beauty and seeming tranquility as a backdrop.

Looking forward to more,
Baraka

Samawel said...

*poke*

Anonymous said...

Allahimanet sounds like the turkish: Allaha emanet, like the urdu Huda hafiz?

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

I am glad you appreciated the photos Baraka and I hope you are doing well God willing.

Samawel, ahlen! Sho hada *poke*? You poking me? :)

Anon: Yup it's the same as the turkish and the urdu Khuda Hafiz.

Destitute Rebel said...

seems like a beautiful place. Had heard so much about it. Thanks for sharing

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

You are welcome D Reb :)

Anonymous said...

This is great, Shaykhspeara. Thanks for the photos.

Samawel said...

Si Siniora! I poke all!

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Salams shabana, there will be more soon :)

Samawel, in that case... Poke feek! lol

BuJ said...

morning SS: Did you know that Khuda Hafiz could mean "take Hafiz" in arabic? hehe

anyway on a serious tone, the pictures are lovely but the most powerful was the first one at the top.. the tomb stones just made my hair on my arm rise and i didn't even read ur description. I read it after seeing the pic to make sure they were tombstones. so powerful. it could be used as a cover for a book or something.

save and cherish this picture.

Samawel said...

hahaha :)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Goodmorning Buj, well actually Goodafternoon for me now. Yeah Khud Hafiz would be "Take Hafiz". But not Khuda?

I agree with you, the tombstone picture is just so moving.