The Fortress (1970) | By Meša Selimovic
The Fortress is a trip to Sarajevo as it was during the time of the Ottoman Empire.
Even though the novel is quite depressing, it is a wonderful read, providing a glimpse into the life in the old town of the Bosnian capital as it was a century and a half ago. From the pigeon pavilion to the old clock tower, the few square kilometres around the bazaar have transformed very little in the last two centuries.The main character of The Fortress, Ahmet Šabo, is a confused young man, who has lived through the war in Russia. Upon his return to Sarajevo, he is submerged in a society that is not concerned with any of the existentialist problems forced upon him by the death he witnessed on the fighting fields. The petty, superficial and often cruel life in Bosnia depresses Ahmet Šabo even more and takes him around labyrinths of human vices, making him a character that is quite close to those of Kafka.
The novel is absorbing and wonderfully told. What remains unclear, however, is the extent to which one of former Yugoslavia’s most acclaimed writers, Meša Selimović, is honest about historical truth, or influenced by the ideological attitudes of Tito’s early Yugoslavia. Either way, The Fortress is an intriguing read for anyone who wants to imagine what life was like in eighteenth-century Sarajevo.
Epicure
Turkey
Balkan Culinary Wars III: Other People’s Meatballs
Ćevapčići from Leskovac, köfte from İzmir or Bulgarian kebapche? Greek keftedes too, please!
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Curiosity Chest
Balkans
In Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, Traces of War Crimes and Criminals Attract Tourists
7 October 2008 | Several countries in the Western Balkans, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, are banking on their recent conflict-torn past and offering foreign visitors the chance to retrace the steps of war criminals and see the traces left by the wars that shook the region in the 1990s.
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
Annoyances in the Balkans
Balkans
Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans
Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!, appeals a poster (pictured above) that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Full Story
Insiders' Advice
If the relentless homophobia is already that bad, what's the attitude in general towards HIV/AIDS, given the rather worrying HIV-prevalence in Eastern Europe and Russia?
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Is it easy to drive in the Balkans? Depends. If you are looking for adrenalin, this is a cheap way to get it. Expats say the best tactics is not to get annoyed.
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How to pick the right time to go? Winter is beautiful in the high mountains, the problem is, it can be so cold! Then again, who cares how cold it is - the locals have a cheap cure: heavy red wine. Sometimes warmed up.
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You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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The Big Book of Travelling
United States
The Rise of Burlesque in New York: Tassels and the City
Burlesque – the more audacious relative of commedia dell'arte, is in revival. A reality in “upside down style”, this creative, witty and softer version of striptease is back on stage, following an absence of nearly 80 years. In New York, Anjeza Bojku scoped out several burlesqee venues for BalkanTravellers.com. Full Story
Thailand
A Short Guide to the Peculiarities of Thai Food
Travel News
11 July 2008 | The visa regime between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina should be liberalised, government officials from the two states agreed during their recent meeting.
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