Sarajevo- beauty and conflict

One doesn't come close to major historic events all that often but today I found myself standing almost on the exact spot where Gavrilo Princip stood to make his mark on the world. 100 years and 2 months to the day ( June 28th 2014) earlier he raised a pistol and fired 2 shots that would bring the Western World to the brink of chaos.
 Following a failed bombing attempt earlier that morning Archduke Ferdinand and his Wife were shot as their motorcade travelled through Sarajevo. An event that triggered the start of World War I.
 This was just part of a walking tour of the town led by a young local girl who was too young to have seen the later conflict in the '90's but still had a good knowledge of the events. Two hours later enriched with a better knowledge, but not neccessarily a better understanding our group broke for lunch.
 On a side street in the old quarter I was introduced to a local traditional meal Cevapi- local skinless sausages ( lamb and veal or lamb and beef) inserted into a local pita bread with onions.

 Following the meal and a brief sista back at the hotel, our group set out again for a minivan tour of the project known as the Tunnel of Hope. This was hand dug by inhabitants of the city during the seige of Sarajevo, an event that lasted 1425 days during 1992-1995. built directly beneath the main runway of the town airport by local military and common folks, It served as a lifeline to the city for food and essentials from the adjacent 

          free areas of Bosnia. The tunnel  entrance was (is) located in the back yard of a house which bore the marks of bullet holes and mortar attacks. In the back yard a local guide explained his perspective on the seige. A local who witnessed the conflict as a child, he was wounded while playing soccer on a town street.

Approximately 11,000 people, many civilians were killed during the conflict, their bodies intered at several massive cemeteries clearly visible on the slopes leading down to the town from the upper hills.

 Following a walk through the accessible part of the tunnel we returned to the city via a circutious route which offered views of the town and a visit to the remains of the bobsled run from the 1984 Olympics- now much in ruin due to shelling in the conflict.