final post on Bosnian trip

On my third day in Bosnia I couldn't be bothered to do any more tourist stuff. So I just stayed around the old city area of Sarajevo and read "Bosnia a short history" by Noel Malcolm. Bosnia is stuck between Crotia and Serbia, both of which in the past have been keen to absorb Crotia into themselves. Some of the states in this area of Europe almost seem to exist as an accident. The book did convince me that Bosnia was a seperate state and the arms embargo against them in the 90s was wrong.

I was thinking why didn't I know about the siege of Sarajevo during the 90s. I used to get the news from the radio, but I didn't read the newspapers then. Even worse I can remember someone in the US, telling me about getting boots from dead soldiers. Also two years ago, I heard a postdoc ask if he coukd stay another year in Glasgow if war broke out in the Balkons again. So if I was paying more attention, I should have noticed. These days I spent way too long reading online Newspapers, so hopefully I will follow future events like the siege of Sarajevo in more detila, rather than reading about 15 years later.

When I was waiting at the airport for my flight, I saw my first women in a Burka. Given that Bosnia has a large proportion of Muslims this was surprising, since I used to see many womwn in Burkas when I lived in Liverpool. This is a small example of how the Muslims and Christians integrate well. (OK this is based on a very small time and spatial location).

When I look over the post, I can't help thinking it is not detailed enough. It doesn't help that I am writing the post 3 months after the end of my holiday. I hope that my brevity has not insulted anyone who lives in Bosnia, or countries close by.