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Sarajevo

National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez January 10, 2017

Back in September of last year, I traveled (with Mrs. Perez) to Bosnia and Herzegovina and stayed in the charming city of Sarajevo (check out the video HERE). Now, as an art lover, whenever I travel, I’m always looking for the nearest art museum. Whether it’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest, the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City or the Norton Museum of Art right here in South Florida – if I’m visiting a city, I’m looking for an art museum (and I’m bringing my camera with me).

So on our last day in Sarajevo (a rainy one), we found a few hours to visit the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Umjetnička galerija BiH) which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel in Old Town. The gallery opened in 1946 and over the years has collected pieces from the Communist Yugoslavian era, as well as post-civil war contemporary pieces. However, like many of Sarajevo’s museums and galleries, it has struggled with funding since the civil war and relies solely on donations, sponsors and a small entry fee (5 KM, about $2.80).

It’s a modest sized museum and to be honest, I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot from it but on this particular day, there was an excellent exhibit called Ženskom rukom (“By Woman’s Hand”) which featured contributions of women painters and sculptors from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I also found their permanent collection of art to be quite interesting as well. Let’s just say I got my 5 KM worth and a whole lot more. And as for why I’m posting these photographs four months after my trip, I had been waiting for the gallery’s updated website to go live. The struggle to get funding had stalled the process considerably but an updated site has just gone live. Check it out > www.ugbih.ba. Oh, and you can support the gallery HERE.

So if you happen to find yourself in beautiful Sarajevo (and you love art), spend a few hours at this little gem of an art gallery – you won’t be sorry. Now, enjoy the photographs from the collection of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, taken with the gallery’s full permission (thanks to the gallery’s curator Ana Đikoli)

Entrance to the Gallery…

“Young Man” by Iva Despić Simonovic, the first female sculptor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Born in Zagreb in 1890 to a wealthy family, she became a highly requested sculptor in a time (between the two World Wars) where most women were uneducated and relegated to taking care of the home. She died in 1961.

“Muslim Woman” by Iva Despić Simonovic

“Girl” by Serbian painter Milena Šotra (1909-2003)

Mrs. Perez admires “Bosnian Girl” by Mica Todorović, who is considered “the first lady of Bosnian and Herzegovinian painting ”. Todorović (1900–1981) attended art school and academy in Zagreb as the only woman in her class. In 1954 she had her first solo exhibition in Belgrade. This painting was probably my favorite.

“Bato is Playing” by Iva Despić Simonovi

“Reposing Nude” by Rajka Merćep (1904-1961), a Bosnian-Herzegovinian sculptor and ceramist

“Portrait of an Old Man” by Adela Ber Vukić (1888-1966), the first female artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina to be educated at an art school and a pioneer of women’s rights in her country. Ber organized her first solo art exhibit in Sarajevo after the First World War in 1919.

Up the stairs to the permanent exhibits…

We had the place pretty much to ourselves…

“Traces of War” by Edin Numankadić, a sobering reminder of the Siege of Sarajevo during the mid-90s. Numankadić, who was born in 1948, is one of the most important Bosnian visual artists from the beginning of the seventies. He is currently director of the Olympic Museum in Sarajevo and one of the founders of the collection of Ars Aevi (Museum of Contemporary Art in Sarajevo) and its permanent consultant.

“Interior” by Ljubiša Naumović

“Nude in the Studio” by Nedeljko Gvozdenović (1902–1988), a world renowned Serbian painter

“Self-portrait” by eclectic Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922)

“Landscape from Maglaj” by Bosnian graphic artist Salim Obralić

[Banner image at top: “Little Girl” by Mica Todorović]

So, there you have it – a taste of art from Bosnian and Herzegovina. This gallery was a most pleasant surprise and well worth a couple of hours should you ever find yourself in Sarajevo; and you really should find yourself there one day…

January 10, 2017

Blog Photography Places & Spaces

Beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez October 18, 2016

written by Dan Perez

As some of you may know by now, Mrs. Perez and I recently traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to attend the screening of one of my films at the Jahorina Film Festival. This once war-torn country has become one of the most beautiful places (and one of the most economical) to visit in Europe. I have already posted a video I shot walking around the capital city of Sarajevo (as well as a set of photographs) and a short video of the breathtaking Kravice Waterfall. So, today, I’m posting a few photographs taken while visiting several key attractions around this beautiful country (thanks to our tour guide Ahmed Lavić from toursbylocals.com).

We’ll start at our first stop, Konjic, a town and municipality located in northern Herzegovina, around 31 miles southwest of Sarajevo. The city is one of the oldest permanent settlements in Bosnia, dating back almost 4000 years. It’s main attraction is the Konjicka Stara Cuprija (Old Bridge), which was built between 1682 and 1683. The arches were destroyed by the retreating German army in March 1945 but was rebuilt in its original state between 2003 and 2009. The bridge is now proclaimed a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We then drove from Konjic to Mostar, a city and municipality in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. I stuck a camera to the hood of the car during the drive to capture the remarkable landscape…

We finally arrived in Mostar, the most important city in the Herzegovina region and its cultural capital. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva River. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

The Old Bridge stood for 427 years until it was destroyed on November 1993 by Croat forces during the Croat–Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened on July 23, 2004. In July 2005, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) inscribed the Old Bridge and its closest vicinity onto the World Heritage List (sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some other form of significance, and they are legally protected by international treaties).

Diving off the bridge is actually legal. There is a diving competition that takes place in Mostar every July. Here, a daring diver waits as his partner collects any donations from tourists eager to see someone take the plunge (I mean, if you’re gonna dive, why dive for free?). The collection took too long and we were on a tight schedule so we missed it (if it ever really happened).

Walking over the bridge into the Old Town…

Walking through Mostar’s charming Old Town, you’d never know that Mostar endured more bombings than any other Bosnian city during the siege of 1993 (when the bridge was destroyed). Plenty of quaint restaurants and cafes and plenty of souvenirs for sale.

A man prays in the Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque in Mostar which was built in 1617.

After Mostar, our next stop was Pocitelj, a village in the Capljina municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There, you’ll find the fort of Pocitelj, a silo-shaped fort overlooking the village from the top of the hill. It was built between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries and used to house watchmen and military as a guard against possible intrusions from the Neretva valley.

Pocitelj is home to the The Hajji Alija mosque, which was was built in 1563 by one “Hajji-Alija, son of Musa”; as recorded on the inscription above the entrance door. The mosque was bombed in 1993 leaving the dome and minaret demolished and the rest of the building badly damaged. It was, however, rebuilt to its original form.

After Pocitelj, our final stop of the day was the beautiful Kravice waterfall (whose official name is really Kravica), a large tufa cascade on the Trebižat River in the heartland of Herzegovina. Its height is about 80 ft and the radius of the lake in the base of the waterfall is 390 ft. It’s about a 15 minute walk down to the waterfalls from the parking area (trolleys are available – I recommend taking one back up the rather steep climb to the parking area). Here are a few photographs but you can check out an even better video HERE

The Jahorina Film Festival was held in Pale, a town and a municipality located about a 20 minute ride southeast of Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo. Shot this photo outside Hotel Damis on a lovely afternoon day…

We started the following day on a ski lift in Bjelašnica, a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 1984 Winter Olympics, Bjelašnica hosted the men’s alpine skiing events, where USA’s brash Bill Johnson won the downhill after boldly predicting victory, overtaking Swiss ski legend Peter Müller who took silver.

Our next stop was Umoljani, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina which, according to preliminary results of the Bosnian census of 2013, is populated by only 43 inhabitants. On the territory of the village of Dolovi, the Umoljani necropolis houses 53 Stecci (medieval tombstones known for their unique decorative symbols and carvings). Although different theories exist on their origins, they are often linked to the heretic Bosnian church. The necropolis is one of 22 sites with Stecci offered by the country for inclusion in World Heritage of UNESCO. The sights here were simply breathtaking…

We then stopped in a small family-run restaurant/B&B called Pansion Umoljani located on the slopes of Bjelašnica. There we ate Burek, a popular meat-filled pastry made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo. It might look a bit charred on top but this may have been the best thing I ate during our time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Delicious.

View from the outdoor dining terrace…

During our stay, we stayed in Sarajevo’s charming Old Town. Here are a couple of additional photographs of this scarred yet resilient city starting with Ferhadija, Sarajevo’s popular walking street, which dates back to the 16th century…

A game of chess being played in Trg Oslobođenje (Liberation Square) in the center of Sarajevo…

The place to be (especially if you have a camera in hand) is Baščaršija, Sarajevo’s old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city. It’s also heaven if you happen to be a pigeon…

Hope you enjoyed the photographs. Needless to say, Mrs. Perez and I had an unforgettable time in this truly beautiful country (and did I mention it was economical?). Put Bosnia and Herzegovina on your bucket list – you won’t be sorry…

October 18, 2016

Blog Photography Places & Spaces

Bloodshed and Beauty: Sarajevo (In Pictures) PART II

by Dan Perez October 4, 2016

written by Dan Perez

Last week, I shared Part I of a set of photographs I snapped during a recent trip to Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you haven’t done so already, go back and check out Part I of the series and get to know a little history of this warm and wonderful city; a city with a bloody past but one that is on the rebound and the rise.

Enjoy Part II…

In 1885, Sarajevo was the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time electric tram network running through the city, following San Francisco. Today, the Sarajevo tram system consists of seven lines, primarily running along a single track route running 14.2 miles long.

The Siege of Sarajevo claimed the lives of almost 14,000 people, including over 5,000 civilians. Over 1500 of them were children. In Sarajevo’s Veliki Park (Great Park), you’ll find the Memorial to Children Killed in the Siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian artist Mensud Kečo. The memorial was unveiled in 2009 and another memorial, made up of small columns, includes the names of 521 children killed during the siege. About 800 more names are expected to be engraved after all relevant information and documents are gathered and their identities verified.

In Sarajevo’s Great Park stands a monument called “Nermine, dođi” (“Nermin, come on”). The sculpture, also by Bosnian artist Mensud Kečo, shows Ramo Osmanović who was ordered by Serbian officers to call out to his son Nermin to come out of hiding in a nearby forest in Srebrenica (at the 9:23 mark in this video, you can actually watch footage of Osmanović calling out to his son). Osmanović thought his son might have a slim chance of being spared if he surrendered. However, the remains of Osmanović and his son Nermin were found in 2008 in a mass grave not far from Srebrenica, a town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina where in July of 1995, more than 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) boys and men were slain by Bosnian Serb forces. Moreover, thousands of women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported and a large number of women were raped. It was the greatest atrocity on European soil since the Second World War.

Scars of the siege adorn another another reminder of Sarajevo’s past – Communist-era apartment buildings…

Collection of gloves found on the streets during the siege of Sarajevo on display at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Sarajevo…

Concrete block called the “New Monument” by Bosnian artist Braco Dimitrijević

For all its charm, the scars of Sarajevo’s past can be seen everywhere…

Gravestones outside the Ferhadija Mosque, which is presumed to have been erected sometime between 1561 and 1562

From the hotel window of our room at the Hotel Old Town, you can see (on the left) the Old Clock Tower which dates back to the 17th century and is believed to be the only clock tower in the world that keeps lunar time making it always seem like it’s broken. The clock marks time based on the movement of the sun and moon so that the locals can time their prayers, thus the clock strikes midnight around sunset. On the right is the Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque which was built in 16th century and is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Men praying at the Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque…

Street beggars are a a common sight in Sarajevo…

In Sarajevo’s Old Town, you’ll find Kazandžiluk, which means Coppersmith Street. Here, we met fourth generation master coppersmith Muhamed Huseinović, who hammer shapes copper coffee pots, plates and other items. We picked up all our souvenirs here…

Spent shells from the siege of Sarajevo now make for souvenirs on Kazandžiluk Street…

Pigeons don’t go hungry in Baščaršija, Sarajevo’s old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city.

Hope you enjoyed the photoghraphs. Now, put Sarajevo on your bucket list of cities to visit before you die. You won’t be sorry…

You can also check out a video I shot and edited from images I collected from Sarajevo…

October 4, 2016

Blog Photography Places & Spaces

Bloodshed and Beauty: Sarajevo (In Pictures) PART I

by Dan Perez September 28, 2016

written by Dan Perez

My wife and I recently traveled to Bosnia and Sarajevo to attend a screening of one of my films at the Jahorina Film Festival. During my week stay in this beautiful country, we stayed in the heart of Sarajevo at Hotel Old Town and spent the better parts of two afternoons walking the streets of Sarajevo, the country’s capital city as well as its largest.

Due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural variety, Sarajevo is sometimes called the “Jerusalem of Europe”. It was, until late in the 20th century, the only major European city to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighborhood. The city, which dates back to the 15th century, has also attracted international (and infamous) attention.

It was in Sarajevo where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, occurred on 28 June 1914; setting off World War I. Sarajevo was the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics to be held in a Communist state (remember Torvill and Dean?). And it was in Sarajevo where the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare took place.

In April of 1992, after the Muslims and Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina had declared independence from Yugoslavia, the city of Sarajevo fell under attack from Bosnian Serb military groups with the backing of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, who were against Bosnian independence. The Bosnian Serbs encircled the city and placed Sarajevo’s 500,000 citizens under siege. Sarajevo was bombarded by artillery and snipers picked off residents as they walked in the streets. The Siege of Sarajevo lasted from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 (1,425 days) during the Bosnian War and claimed the lives of almost 14,000 people, including over 5,000 civilians.

Today, Sarajevo is a city on the rebound and on the rise. The travel guide series, Lonely Planet, has named Sarajevo as the 43rd best city in the world, and listed Sarajevo as one of the top ten cities to visit in 2010. In 2015 the Huffington Post named Sarajevo in its list of “10 of the World’s Most Beautiful Cities“. Moreover, in 2015 Bosnia and Herzegovina surpassed 1 million tourist arrivals, an increase of 21.5%.

Sarajevo was indeed a beautiful city to visit. The history, the culture, the great food (get ready for plenty of beef, veal and steak!) and even greater coffee, all without the high costs of those other major European cities. Walking the streets of Old Town with my wife into the evening is something I’ll never forget. The city has come a long way – but you don’t need to look too hard to see its many scars still healing.

As I am wont to do, I brought along my Lumix GH4 and snapped several photographs as we walked around Sarajevo. Special thanks to our tour guide Ahmed Lavić of ToursbyLocals.com for helping us get around to all the interesting sites around town (and serving as my unwitting production assistant).

Here’s Part I of a two-part set of photographs from my time in Sarajevo. Check out Part II of this series HERE. Enjoy…

Ferhadija – the popular walking street which dates back to the 16th century…

Walking down Ferhadija, we came across the Eternal flame (Vječna vatra), a memorial to the military and civilian victims of the Second World War in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The memorial was dedicated on 6 April 1946, the first anniversary of the liberation of Sarajevo from the four-year-long occupation by Nazi Germany and the fascist Independent State of Croatia.

We caught what appeared to be a small marathon as we walked along Marshal Tito Street…

The Cathedral of Jesus’ Sacred Heart was built in 1889 in the Neo-Gothic style by Josip Vancaš, a Hungarian architect. There is also a statue in front in honor of Pope John Paul II, who visited Sarajevo in 1997, soon after the war had ended.

The Latin Bridge (Latinska ćuprija) is an Ottoman bridge that dates back to 1541 and spans over the Miljacka river.

Across the street from the Latin Bridge, a man stands on the corner where 18 year old school boy Gavrilo Princip shot and assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie as they drove by in their motorcade. They both died seated upright in the car before they could receive medical attention. The assassination of Ferdinand by a Serbian Bosnian underground organization that went by the name “Black Hand”, was supposed to help break Bosnia away from Austria-Hungary and ultimately facilitate a Serbian takeover of the province. Ferdinand was the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A month later, World War I began. Today, on that very corner stands the Museum of the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

“Multicultural Man Builds the World”, a sculpture by Italian artist Francesco Perilli, was unveiled in 1997 and sits in Trg Oslobođenje, or Liberation Square, in the center of Sarajevo. To the right of the sculpture is the Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos or the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, which was erected at the request of the Orthodox parish of Sarajevo between 1863 and 1868.

The scars of the city, in the form of facades riddled by artillery fire, are still visible as you walk the streets of Sarajevo…

Sarajevo’s City Hall (also known as Vijecnica), a stately neo-Moorish edifice which opened in 1896 and was converted to the National Library in 1949, has been restored to its old glory after being destroyed by Serb shelling during the siege of the city in 1992.

Across from City Hall and on the other side of the Miljacka river, the urban landscape is breathtaking…

At first glance, Sarajevo’s bustling Markale market might appear like any other farmer’s market. However, on February 5, 1994, during the siege of Sarajevo, 68 people were killed and another 144 wounded when a shell hit the crowded market. In a 2016 article on balkaninsight.com, one survivor, Esad Pozderac, whose sister was killed in the blast, recalls, “When I looked around, everyone else was dead. Blood was pouring from above, there were people without arms and legs.” A memorial at the back of the market (photo above) lists the names of those whose lives were lost in the attack on an encased red wall.

I came across a video on youtube that was filmed right after the blast; it’s graphic and heartbreaking but it’s a look at what must have been everyday life in Sarajevo during the siege. You can watch it HERE but it isn’t for the squeamish. Stanislav Galic, the commander of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Sarajevsko-Romanijski Corps, was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2006 for wartime crimes in Sarajevo, including the shelling of the Markale market.

On August 28, 1995, another attack on the market killed 43 and wounded 75 – the names of those killed in the attack are listed in a memorial plaque across the street from the market.

Over 470,000 grenades fell on Sarajevo during the siege, or 330 per day. A Sarajevo Rose is a concrete scar caused by a mortar shell’s explosion that was later filled with red resin.

Hope you enjoyed Part I of the set, watch for Part II later this week…

You can also check out a video I shot and edited from images I collected from Sarajevo…

September 28, 2016

Blog Featured (Soledad)Places & Spaces Short Films

Sarajevo Old Town: Breathtaking Images (Video)

by Dan Perez September 22, 2016

written by Dan Perez

I traveled with Mrs. Perez to Bosnia and Herzegovina this past week to attend the screening of my short documentary film GRAFSTRACT: The Bronx Street Art Renaissance at the Jahorina Film Festival. During my time there, I spent the better parts of two afternoons walking the streets of Sarajevo, the country’s capital city. We stood in a hotel right in Sarajevo’s Old Town (Bosnian pronunciation: Stari Grad), the oldest and most historically significant part of Sarajevo.

Now, when I travel, I’m usually reluctant to shoot video (feels like “work”) and much rather prefer to snap photographs (my second love) but not shooting video in Old Town was close to impossible and it never felt like work, it was a joy. Oh. and don’t worry, I also shot plenty of photographs – watch for them in upcoming posts.

Images include the Latin Bridge, Sacred Heart Cathedral, chess players in Liberation Square, the “Multicultural Man Builds the World” sculpture by Italian artist Francesco Perilli, Congregational Church of the Holy Mother, Eternal Flame Memorial, National & University Library, Sarajevo Clock Tower, Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque, Kazandžiluk street (Coppersmith’s street), and Baščaršija, Sarajevo’s old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age) has a bloody history and the siege of Sarajevo from 1992-1996 (the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare) took the lives of 13,952 people, including 5,434 civilians. You need only look around the city to see it’s battle scars but the city is warm and wonderful, the people are friendly and if you have an appetite for beef, veal or steak and great coffee (without the high costs of other parts of Europe), you’ll love Sarajevo. Put this city on your bucket list – you won’t be sorry.

Enjoy the video…

September 22, 2016