Sarajevo

Sarajevo is a capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism peacefully coexisting there for centuries. In 1914 it was the site of the assassination that sparked World War I.

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• "Sorrow dealt on my soul because I am separating with Sarajevo... an angry wound was left upon me this separation with my Sarajevo friends. There it seems to man that he can live for a long time, for in a thousand places in Sarajevo flows water from the well of longevity. In the winter days frost grips the city, but still the serious elderly and youth meet for discussion. But when it comes time for spring and blossom, heaven becomes the sarajevo gardens of roses" -Muhamed Nerkesija Es-Saraji, poet

• "An immense number of trees among the houses, of which many are large and fine, give the entire city the image of an excellent garden and it is no wonder they call it the Damascus of the North" - 17th century English traveler

• "On this earth there are many cities by the name of Saray. Ak Saray, Tebe-Saray between Persia, Dzhurdistan, and Degestan, City Saray on the banks of the river Erdelya, when you pass the field Hayhat, now in the lands of Muscovy, Vize-Saray in Rumeliya, and others. But this Bosnian fortified city of Sarajevo is the most advanced, beautiful, and lively, of them all" - Elvija Chelebiya, traveling writer

• "Tell me, travelling summer breeze, of my homeland, how is it? What is with the city dear to my heart? Is now like heaven Sarajevo full of beauties? How is that wonderful place with a wonderful view that shines upon it! How can I praise it when on the world there are few that are its equal? I would not be lying to say it is a second heavon. Do the springs flow and sound on all sides? Does water emerge from its cold sources?! Is the red wine the shade of dark pink drunk? Has the proud happy bunch taken upon the flowery field? Are they enjoying themselves? How must they be entertaining themselves?" - Ahmed Chelebi, poet

• "And from whatever time of day and from whatever corner you set your sights on Sarajevo, you always and without specific intention think the same thing. That is a city. A city that both nears its end and is dying, yet simultaneously is being born and growing" - Ivo Andrić, Nobel prize winning writer

• "When you go to Sarajevo what you experience... is life" - Mike Leigh, film director