Winter In Sarajevo

Photo: Rafael Estefania

Article by: Vesna Maric, March 2007

Slovene architects, Iranian film makers, French gypsy bands and Serbian brass orchestras add to the eclectic line-up.

The successful Sarajevo Film Festival still hogs the spotlight, but the Sarajevo Winter festival is working up its own reputation as the festival for cultural events - presenting a prime opportunity for international artists, musicians and performers to show what they're made of. This year's drizzly days are brightened by artists from Bosnia-Hercegovina, France and Portugal. Slovene architects, Iranian film makers, French gypsy bands and Serbian brass orchestras add to the eclectic line-up.

When you've had your fill of the shows, get out and explore Sarajevo's sights.

Head For The Heart: The Bascarsija Bazaar

Photo: Rafael Estefania

Shopkeepers lounge and smoke among the souvenirs at the relaxed Ottoman bazaar. In the small, all-male cafes there's more smoking than talking, while smoke and chatter billows from bars with a younger, louder crowd. Dummies in lingerie-shop windows flirt with passers-by, while more modest mannequins display Muslim dresses and headscarves. Sarajevo is all about making room for every taste and conviction: its four essential sights - the Gazi-Husrevbey Mosque (tel: 033 532 144; Veliki Mudzeliti 21), Catholic and Orthodox Cathedrals (Trg Fra Grge Martica; Trg Oslobodjenja) and the Old Temple Synagogue (Skenderija), all within or very close to the bazaar, are a reminder of what was once among the most ethnically mixed cities in the region.

Dummies in lingerie-shop windows flirt with passers-by, while more modest mannequins display Muslim dresses and headscarves.

If you want to get some shopping done, head for Bascarsija's most talked-about shop, Mak (Saraci 15). Their hand-made shoes, with their curly tips and shimmering sequins, have featured in Agnes b's past collections. Pick up a pair of slippers; they start at KM50.00 (US$33). Alternatively, buy a copper coffee set for around KM100.00 (US$67) and learn the art of coffee-bean reading. Peek inside Morica Han, an old inn, where carpets are for sale and nargileh (water pipes) are smoked in the summer.

A Memory of War

The most vivid reminder of Sarajevo's violent past is the Tunnel Museum (tel: 033 628 591; Tuneli 1; open 9am-5pm winter, to 7pm summer), near the city airport. Once the only way out of the besieged city, the 800-m tunnel is now a memorial to the hardship survived by Sarajevo's citizens. Twenty-five metres remain on display, with a (reconstructed) video showing the unfortunates who were forced to take the trip through the claustrophobic tunnel.

Food For The Soul

Zeljo's cevapi (small minced-lamb kebabs) - served in heavenly pitta-style bread, with the optional punch of an onion - go straight to the pleasure centres. In the heart of the bazaar, Zeljo (Bravadziluk bb) serves delicious portions in a low, wooden Ottoman house. Just look for the long lines snaking out the door and people battling to get a seat on the outside benches in summer.

If you'd like something more elaborate but just as traditional, head over to Inat Kuca (tel: 033 447 867; Veliki Alifakovac 1), a gorgeous, tilted, green wooden house by the river. Its name means Spite House. Apparently, it once stood on the opposite river bank, but the owner moved it to its current location to flout the authorities, who had decided to build something else in its place. There's certainly no spite in the food.

A café with an array of coffee choices, tortilla wraps, and elegant cushion-laden benches, Escobar (Trg Fra Grge Martica 4) is perfect for a late breakfast and latte.

Night Life

Photo: Rafael Estefania

Can a bar toilet qualify as a tourist sight? Zlatna Ribica (tel: 033 215 369; Kaptol 5; open 9am-late) has one of the greatest toilets this side of the Adriatic. There's a little retro TV over the loo flashing German MTV; tons of aged perfume and l'eau d' toilette bottles jostling for space at the mirror, and a 'Greetings from Israel' towel holder. The bar is similarly cluttered with pieces of bric-a-brac and antique furniture. There's Sarajevo beer on offer, and nuts and dried figs come free with your drink.

Jazz clubs are big in Sarajevo, and Clou Jazz Club (Mula Mustafe Baseskije 5; open 11pm-late) is the city's most popular: tiny and smoky, just as jazz bars should be. Local blues, jazz and rock musicians give their all at the City Pub (Despiceva bb) which also hosts many of the bands playing at the Sarajevo Winter Festival.

If you're more interested in a spot of nostalgic head-banging, try the aptly named Sloga (Mehmeda Spahe 20; open 6pm-late), a club that whiffs of pre-war Sarajevo and plays punk, rock and old Yugo tunes.