Today, residents in Sarajevo, Bosnia respect the varied religions in their city. I have heard the “Call to prayer” often, not all 5 times per day, but often. We stopped in at a Greek Orthodox Church and a Catholic Church.

We visited the Tunnel of Hope, also called the Sarajevo Tunnel. The half mile tunnel was built in 1993 in 4 months, 4 days! It went under the airport and was used to bring in food and water to people in Sarajevo. The tunnel had systems to provide good air and lighting within the tunnel as supplies moved through by people and/or on a small cart on rails. More than 10,000 people were killed in this 3.5 year Bosnian War. This valley town was fired upon from the hills after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

We had a speaker share his perspective of the conflict between Serbians and Bosnians in the 1990’s. Then there were almost 30% Serbians, but now only 4% in this mostly Muslim city.

We had a home-hosted dinner with our host. Her cousin spoke English and translated for us. We ate a delicious soup with okra, a meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes and baklava for dessert. I learned that Muslims do not drink alcohol in their home.

Finally, a brief explanation of the 3 presidents, but truly if you are interested, read the 1995 Dayton Accord agreed upon in Dayton Ohio, USA. There is the information as to the collective presidencies that resulted in 3 leaders: 1 Bosnian, 1 Croat and 1 Serb based on ethnic representation in the whole state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each of the entities have a president, parliament, ministries… many people are involved in government. I cannot explain much more; please research it on your own, if interested.

We are returning to Croatia tomorrow. A long drive. I’ll be back in a few days.