Baščaršija
The Ottoman bazaar from the 15th century: coppersmiths, the Sebilj fountain, and the best place in the city to drink coffee out of a džezva.
Sarajevo
Practical local information, and a few suggestions for the hours when you are not in the lecture hall.
The city
Five centuries in fifteen minutes of walking
Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city of roughly 400,000 people built along the Miljacka river in a narrow valley surrounded by mountains. Founded in the 1460s as an Ottoman town, extended by the Austro-Hungarian empire after 1878 and host of the 1984 Winter Olympics, it packs an unusual amount of history into a very walkable center.
The line where the Ottoman bazaar meets the Habsburg boulevard is marked on the pavement — stand on it, turn around, and the architecture changes completely. Within a few hundred meters you will find the Gazi Husrev-beg mosque, the Catholic cathedral, the Orthodox church and the old Jewish synagogue.
In late May the days are long, the terraces are full, and the mountains above the city are still green rather than baked.
Practical information
01Currency
convertible mark (BAM), fixed at 1 EUR = 1.95583 BAM. Cards are widely accepted; keep some cash for the old town.02Language
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. English is widely spoken by younger people and in hotels.03Time zone
CET / CEST (UTC+2 in May).04Electricity
230 V, 50 Hz, type C and F plugs (the European standard).05Weather in late May
12–24 °C, with occasional afternoon showers. Bring a light jacket.06Emergency numbers
122 police, 123 fire, 124 ambulance, 112 general.07Tipping
rounding up the bill, or about 10% in restaurants.
What to see
If you have a free afternoon
Everything below is within half an hour of the venue.
Vijećnica
The City Hall, later the National Library, burned in 1992 and was rebuilt in 2014. The interior is worth the ticket.
Trebević cable car
Nine minutes from the old town to 1,160 m, with a view over the whole valley and the abandoned Olympic bobsled track at the top.
Vrelo Bosne
The source of the river Bosna at the foot of Mount Igman, reached through a long avenue of plane trees. The conference excursion on Friday goes here.
National Museum
In the city center: the Sarajevo Haggadah, a botanical garden and the archaeology of the region, all in one Habsburg-era complex.
Tunnel of Hope
The tunnel under the airport runway that kept the city supplied during the siege, now a museum near the airport.
Food
What to eat while you are here
01Ćevapi
grilled minced meat in somun bread with onions; the argument about the best place is older than most of us.02Burek and pita
filo pastry with meat, cheese, spinach or potato, sold by weight.03Begova čorba
the classic chicken and okra soup.04Bosnian coffee
served with a copper džezva, a small cup and a cube of sugar. Not to be rushed.05Sweets
tufahija, baklava, hurmašica; every bakery in the old town has its own version.
Vegetarian and vegan options are available in the city center, and the conference dinner will offer them — just say so on the registration form.
