We walked down to the National History Museum to see the permanent exhibition “Surrounded Sarajevo” showing pictures and paraphernalia from the period of the siege. While it was a simple display it had a strong effect.
We would have gone to the National Museum next door as it has some good pieces, but it is closed and has been since October 2012 due to lack of funds to pay little things like staff salaries and electricity.
Nearby is an piece of black humour sculpture from the Bosnian people to the international community – a can of tinned beef. During the siege these were given to the people as humanitarian aid. But as an art curator said “The Ikar canned beef is remembered by the people of Sarajevo with disgust. Cats and dogs did not want to eat it and people had to,”
We wandered back to the old town alongside the river. After a good bowl of soup at the Brewery we visited another large cemetery, Alifakovac, with good city views and some of the oldest burials in the city.
Today was national day and it seemed as though 75% of the shops were open, ready to make a buck (or a KM in the local lingo). But being a holiday the number of people strolling had increased ten-fold. Combine that with sunshine and outdoor cafes it gave us a good feeling as to what Sarajevo in summer might be like.
The National library was shelled in 1992 and millions of books were destroyed as the building was engulfed in fire. Donor funds finally mean the building can be restored and it is well under way and is expected to be completed in 2014.
