In total 188 villages were evacuated in Ukraine and Belarus after the nuclear accident in April 1986. But in 1987 about 1000 self-settlers, mostly older people, returned to the exclusion zone on their own. First these ‘Chernobyl Squatters” were illegal, but soon the government accepted it. Now about 100 of them are left.
Abandoned Villages
Downtown Pripyat, a city of 49,000 in 1986
Cornfields in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Kiev Pechersk Lavra – Kiev Monastery of the Caves 11th century
The whole world was shocked when Mostar’s famous bridge was blown up in November 1993. Stari Most, the Old Bridge was built by the Ottomans in the 16th century and is considered one of the finest pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. War is not only about harming the “enemy” physically, but also its cultural and social fabric. The destruction of the Buddha statues in Bayan in Afghanistan is another horrid example.
Bridge of Mostar, originally built in the 16th century, blown up in 1993, reopened in 2004
Travnik was the capital of the Ottoman Empire for 150 years. This is one of the reasons why this scenic small town has so much to offer. The 16th century castle is the best place to get a view of Travnik, the quaint houses, the 19 minarets, all embedded in gentle hills. Not many cities can pride themselves of having a river starting its journey into the world from the very heart of town. It is also the home of Bosnia’s most famous writer, Ivo Andric. All in all, Travnik is a place where I felt at home, where I ate the best Ćevapčići and where I finally overdosed on this diet.
Travnik- capital during the Ottoman Empire
The receptionist of my hotel asked whether I had heard of Idlidza, it was where locals would go on a sunny weekend like this. No, I had not. I looked it up: a spa town outside of Sarajevo and the place where the Bosna River merges from a rock, simply take tram Nr 3. Seemed easy enough.
Idlidza Vrelo Bosne
My visit of Srebrenica in March 2017 was an emotional rollercoaster ride. Nothing prepares you for facing over 8000 tombstones, one for each Muslim boy and man killed during a few days in July 2015. Srebrenica, this small Bosnian town, has since then become a synonym for genocide, for the single largest massacre to take place on the European continent since World War II. The same day brought incredible kindness from locals and a humorous run-in with an Austrian countryman.
Srebrenica – cemetery in Potocari for the victims of the genocide in 1995
