Sarajevo explained to my mum

Dear mum,

Don't worry, I'm fine. Sarajevo it's a great city, for many different reasons. First of all, there is no war anymore here. Yes, you're right, there was a war in Bosnia, a horrible and cruel one, and this city suffered the longest siege on modern history. From 1992 to 1996, the Sarajevans resisted the daily shelling and shooting from the hills that surrounds the city, occupied by Serbian soldiers and paramilitars. But things are different now.

I think you still don't know where I am, so let's talk about geopolitics. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Hercegovina, which was part of Former Yugoslavia. The country is placed in the South East of Europe, in the Balkan peninsula. Yes, you're right again, this is just in front of Italy.

Now let me tell you something more about this beautiful city. I've read that Sarajevo is like a bird in a nest, as it is on a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. Since I've just experienced the end of the fall and the winter, I only can say that the weather here is cold. But people here insists: hey man, wait for the summer, you will know then what is really hot! Until this moment arrives, I will enjoy the snow and fog, so usual in this cold season.

What to tell you about the food? I find it very tasty and also heavy: all is made with meat and there are many different kinds of pies. Don't worry, they also eat a lot of vegetables, with meat of course. Fish is not cheap here, since it seems not to be the favourite Bosnian meal. And the desserts, they are so sweet, like arab style ones.

Sarajevo was also named "the other Jerusalem" due to the mix of different religions that lived historically together in the city. Here you can find Muslims, Orthodoxes, Catholics and Jews, and if you walk around the city you will find mosques, orthodox and catholic churches and sinagogues. After the war things changed. Now the population is not so mixed than before, and Muslims are estimated to be around 80% of the Sarajevans.

People here speak Bosnian, as Croatians speak Croatian, Serbians speak Serbian and Montenegrans speak Montenegran. Amazingly, they all can understand each other pretty well. But not me. Not yet.

The way of life here is quite similar than Spanish one, if we forget about the snow. People is usually friendly and take things easy. They spend hours and hours in a café talking and making jokes about everything. I think this is one of the reasons to explain why I feel so adapted to this city.

Once more: THERE IS NO WAR HERE. This is not Kosovo, either. This is Bosnia. Here you can find everything you find in another city in the world: shops and shopping centers, parks, cafés, pubs, restaurants, cars, taxis, buses, hospitals, stadiums... Don't worry, I'm great here.

OST Radiohead - Thinking about you