Observations

Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016--Sarajevo

Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a member of the EU.  That's one reason they do not have expressways.  They have never had the flow of EU funds to help rebuild infrastructure that member countries and potential member countries get.  As long as there seems to be the possibility of ethnic (religious) tension within the country that could flair into war, it probably won't be considered for EU membership.  There was information in the Old Town that it was revitalized by funds from Sarajevo combined with funds from a city in Turkey.  I'm amazed they could do such a good job working on their own.

Sarajevo really is a nice city.  And things tend to be mostly inexpensive here.  For that reason, it is overrun with tourists.  They are everywhere, but especially in the Old Town (which, fortunately, covers many blocks).  I've heard Spanish, Swedish, Italian, and other languages as I have walked around.  This city has more tourism than any other city I have visited since Ljubljana.

One worrying thing I have observed here is that there lots of beggars.  Worst is the fact that there are Islamic women in the age range of 40-55 begging.  They are dressed like normal housewives in conservative Islamic dress (but not in black burkas), and they are just sitting or standing quietly holding signs.  My guess is that they were widowed during the war and that there is no pension system (or a very limited one) for them.  It's likely that they lived with their parents after he war, who have now died or do not have enough pension income to support them.  I've read that soldiers from both sides of the war are complaining that they were promised pensions they are not receiving, but these women are the only indication that there is probably also problem with widows from the war.  It's very sad to observe.

On my outing today, I still found some new sites.  There were two theaters built in the late 1800s--one that is now a military building that may still have performances and the Sarajevo National Theater which is larger and houses the opera and other events and was built to replace the other, two synagogues--the Ashkenazi Synagogue (dark brick) and the Sarajevo Synagogue (cream colored), the old bath house (which, has been restored to be a hotel with a bath house), etc.  I spent part of the day sitting a a park watching people come and go from the Old Town, and another part of the day sitting in front of a shopping mall watching people come and go there.

I have to be up early in the morning.  I want to catch a bus at 6:48, so I am staying inside tonight to clean the apartment, prepare some cheese and salami sandwiches to take on the bus as my breakfast, and to get to bed early.