What do you do when you’re at a crossroads? Look both ways.
Which is what the Croatians and Bosniaks, the Turks and the Jordanians have done throughout their history.
And they continue to do so.
It was no coincidence then that it was Sarajevo http://www.visitsarajevo.ba where the First World War broke out.
It was there that a Bosniak Muslim separatist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the heir to the Catholic Hapsburg Empire, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Because Sarajevo is where the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire met.
It may be 105 years ago.
But it is little changed from the August day when Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia’s carriage was halted by the bridge across the Miljacka River.
And you can see the very gun schoolboy Princip used and other historical artefacts from the day that changed the world for ever… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/10/21/sarajevo-the-scot-that-was-heard-around-the-world/
The Museum of Crimes against Humanity and Genocide http://yihr.hr/en/the-sarajevo-museum-of-crimes-against-humanity-and-genocide-1992-1995-learning-from-the-past-through-emotional-overwhelm-2/ provides a heart-rending and thorough examination of a difficult subject but is a must-visit in Sarajevo.
And you should look out too for how a Hollywood action man played his most important role too.
In showing his softer side to victims of the conflict.
At the heart of Sarajevo is the beautiful Bey’s Mosque.
It stands comparison with any of the great Islamic temples anywhere… https://sarajevo.travel/en/things-to-do/gazi-husrev-beys-mosque/176.
The Blue Mosque is Istanbul’s https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/wham-bam-thank-you-hamam/ and https://visit.istanbul greatest calling card.
And while it is epic I want to sing the praises like a call to prayers of the Hagia Sophia https://www.hagiasophia.com.
It is revered both by Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians.
The latter who place it as the headquarters of their church (they still call it Constaninople).
Hakan’s tales
Better still if you have a guide like Hakan who will place you in a Medieval daytime soap opera of life in the Great City with the Great and Good.
Which is every bit as enthralling as Game of Thrones.
There’s a story too to be told in Athens around the Acropolis… and that’s just the taxi drivers Georg and Antony… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/21/acropolis-later/and https://www.hagiasophia.com
You can find the Orthodox influence, the Romans and the Nabataeans in Jordan... https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/petra-jordan-jesus-and-the-sands-of-time/ and http://www.visitjordan.com
What Zuhair and G Adventures http://www.gadventures.com don’t know about Petra, the Dead and Red Sea and Wabi Rum isn’t worth knowing about.
The turn of the year is a crossroads for us all but for those who live at the junctures of the world every day is a crossroads.
And the wonderful guides who share their cities and countries with us show us the way.
