Red Corner: Balkan Vowel Drop

by Neil Woodburn on

Having just returned from the Balkans, I couldn’t help but think of a certain Onion article every time I passed a street sign or, for that matter, anything written at all!

The article I reference is, of course, the legendary satirical, Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia: Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First Recipients.

I laughed like hell when I first ran across this article because it brought back bad memories of trying to pronounce my first vowel-less city in the mid-1990s: Krk, Croatia.

Take a moment to read how Operation Vowel Storm was to drop “75,000 vowels to the war-torn region of Bosnia” so that residents like Grg Hmphrs could lead a normal life as George Humphries.

Word for the Travel Wise (05/31/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Sarajevo is heating up as a tourist destination and for several reasons. For the moment I’ll focus on culture and events. After glancing over the tourism website for the city and country it is quite obvious the visitor will not bore easily considering the amount of activity to soak up and in. May marked a month of theater and those with departures set for June can count on a month full of Rock sounds. If you can afford to stay a while longer or hold off until July there is what looks to be an incredible music plus culture find in Sarajevo’s old Turkish quarter. Held during summer months the festival is titled Bascarsija Nights and offers folk dancing, opera, ballet, rock, poetry and love songs. Best thing about this particular festival is it is free of charge. So what’s the hold up? Doesn’t a summer in Sarajevo sound nice?

Today’s word is a Bosnian word used in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

putovanje – travel

For Bosnia-Herzegovina there are three official languages which include: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. All three are a lot alike where the language is referred to as Bosnian by Bosniaks in Bosnia-Herzegovina and referred to as Serbian and Croatian by Bosnian Serbs and Croats. (See Wikipedia.) There are a few cool places online to help get you started on the road to speaking like a Bosniak. If you’re unfamiliar with spoken Bosnian and pronunciation start with the BBC Languages Quick Fix guide where audio downloads are available for the very basics. Languages of the World has great background information and history on the lang with a few words peppered in on their webpage. Lastly, check out this Bosnian for travelers page where you can score an large amount of words, phrases and the answers to questions you’re bound to have for free and in one quick swoosh.

Experts Find Evidence of Giant Pyramid in Bosnia

by Karen Walrond on

Ever dream of seeing the great pyramids?  You
know, traveling to Central America?  Or Egypt?  Or …

…Bosnia?

From MSNBC.com:  Experts in Bosnia have discovered solid evidence that
what appeared to be an odd-shaped hill in the small village of Visoko in Bosnia, is actually a giant pyramid, a third
larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.  If correct, this will be the first pyramid ever found in Europe.

Semir Osmanagic, a Bosnian archaeologist, said the discovery significantly bolsters his theory that the 2,120-foot
hill is actually a step pyramid.  "We can see the surface is perfectly flat," he said.  "This
is the crucial material proof that we are talking pyramids."  In addition, satellite photographs and thermal
imaging revealed two other, smaller pyramid-shaped hills in the Visoko Valley.

Cool.

Red Corner: Post-War Skiing in Sarajevo

by Neil Woodburn on

War has a way of tarnishing even the most spectacular of travel destinations. Sadly, long after a war is over, the very mention of the country in which it took place often leaves a bitter taste in one’s mouth, so bitter that the very thought of visiting it on vacation hardly enters one’s mind.

The city of Sarajevo is one such place. Site of the Winter Olympic Games in 1984, the city became embroiled in civil war from 1992–1995. Sadly, ski areas such as Jahorina served as staging areas for Bosnian Serbs lobbing artillery into Sarejevo and took on far more sinister roles than should ever be associated with bunny slopes and powder.

Today, such resorts are trying to reclaim their former innocence and glory. A recent article by Mirna Skrbic hints that they are on their way. This current season has seen the highest number of skiers hitting the slopes since before the war. Attracted by fine skiing and great deals (one-day lift tickets for $18), tourists are slowly starting to rediscover the fine conditions made so famous by the Olympic Games. The concept of ethnic skiing-where the Serbs and Croats ski at separate resorts-is also starting to fade, albeit slowly.

It’s an encouraging sign that those who fought against each other in a horrific war, are now starting to ski together. Skrbic offers some interesting political insights regarding this as Bosnia, and consequently its ski resorts, comes to terms with itself and its people.