Of Mostar and Muslims seeking the grace of the Virgin Mary

I have had the privilege of visiting Islam’s holiest city Mecca a couple of times, admittedly as a young boy. I have prayed to holy men (and women) at mausoleums, including that of Singapore’s very own holy man Habib Noh. Beyond that, I have made offerings and given due respect to other deities located inside Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese temples all around the world.

In 2015, I added a new 'first' to my life. During my Eastern Europe adventures I climbed a mountain (alright, it was more like a hill!) to seek the Grace of Virgin Mary! Some may consider such a trek strange as I am a 'born and bred' Muslim. I don't agree. Islam encourages exploration, learning and understanding.

The statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the hill at Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

And no, it's not that I have become a Christian. It's simply because a short distance from the historical city of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina is the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje.

Medjugorje was an experience but first a little about Mostar.

The city straddles the Neretva River. As it straddles the river, it also occupies the space where Islam and Christianity meet. The Bosnian city has a mix of Muslims, Catholics and Serb Orthodox among its population of about 100,000. During the civil war which engulfed the former Yugoslav Republic in the early 1990s this ethnic mix proved to be a deadly tinderbox.

Indeed, Mostar was the scene of heavy fighting between Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks during 1992-95. Even Mostar's most famous structure, the Stari Most or Old Bridge, built in 1556 by the Ottoman Turks was not spared the fighting. The bridge was willfully destroyed by Croatian forces in November 1993. The bridge was reconstructed in 2004 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site the following year.

Mostar is also blessed with natural beauty. Mountains, rivers and forested areas along with hospitable people are all nestled in one compact, medieval town. But it was Medjugorje's Virgin Mary who was the star attraction. Those familiar with Islam know the Virgin Mary is a blessed woman for Muslims too.

The Virgin Mary is the only woman mentioned by name in Islam's holy book, the Koran. Indeed, she is one of only eight humans who have a sura (chapter) named after them in the Koran. As if to emphasize Islam's belief of Mary being the most righteous of women, she is mentioned more often in the Koran than in the entire New Testament!

Thus, making the trip to the small town of Medjugorje about to witness the alleged miracle of Our Lady of Medjugorje was high on the agenda. The town is located about 25 kilometers southwest of Mostar.

The story begins in 1981, during a time Yugoslavia still respected Tito's memory, when six local children claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary. Over time, the fame of the allaged apparitions spread amongst the Catholics and the town of about 2,000 started receiving pilgrimages from all over the world, Singapore included. Since 1981, over 30 million Catholics have visited the pilgrimage site – and that despite the negative official position of the Vatican bureaucracy on the Medjugorje apparitions.

Having climbed the hill on a rainy day in order to meet the Virgin Mary and immersed myself among Christian pilgrims, I felt a more complete Muslim. After all, the Islam with which I am familiar encourages tolerance and understanding – ideals lost to the adventure seeking extremist killers raised on a diet of violent video games and social despondency.

Mostar has a history all of its own. If Sarajevo fought Orthodox Christian Serbs for survival, Mostar fought Catholic Croats for its existence. Though, like Sarajevo, Mostar is fighting hard to maintain its pre-civil war mix of a religiously diverse population. For travelers, the medieval town is a blissful combination of nature, food and history.

No visit to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the country's official name - is complete without experiencing Bosnia and Herzegovina individually. If Sarajevo is Bosnia then Mostar is Herzegovina.

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Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries in his career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by train, to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. Imran can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com. Follow Imran on twitter at @grandmoofti and Instragram at imranahmedsg.

Sarajevo: Bosnia’s microcosm of humanity

If Serbia was an eye-opener then Bosnia was no less an amazing experience!

As the crow flies, the distance between Belgrade and Sarajevo is less than 200 kilometres – a couple of hours on a German autobahn or an intercity train! However, train services between Belgrade and Sarajevo were suspended in 2012 making bus travel the best option.

Given the mountainous (and beautiful!) terrain traversed during the road journey, the actual distance traveled on a bus is approximately 300 kilometres. Including a few rest stops, immigration formalities to exit Serbia and enter Bosnia (two independent nations), the entire journey takes almost eight hours. A long but manageable ride.

The Sebilj or Ottoman style wooden fountain located in Bascarsija Square, an old city district

The highway from Belgrade takes one through fairly typical (yet beautiful!) European countryside. It is only closer to the Bosnian frontier that the land becomes mountainous. Sarajevo proper is situated 500 meters above sea level in a valley of the Dinaric Alps.

Although the Bosnian countryside is spectacular especially when seen from such high vantage points, it is the pervasiveness of graveyards, large and small, dotted across Bosnia which one finds striking. The cemeteries are a reminder of the horrors – and massacres – of the Yugoslav civil war of the 1990s. As recently as October 2013, a mass grave believed to contain over 1,000 bodies was found near a village in Northwest Bosnia.

(View a vivid pictorial essay of the Bosnian War by the Atlantic magazine here.)

The bus curves its way up mountains on narrow roads until at some point it begins its descent again. (Travelers prone to motion sickness or suffering from fear of heights may wish to carry ginger and / or sleeping pills!)

There is a sense of excitement about entering Sarajevo after hours of driving in sparsely populated rural areas; entering civilization after wandering about in 'no man's land!'

The Latin Bridge across the Miljacka River. The bridge was the site of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in 1914, an event which precipitated World War One 

From first glance, one realizes Sarajevo is an old and unique city. Europe but still not quite Europe: more Europe than Istanbul but as Ottoman as any Turkish city, especially in architectural terms.

Moreover, Sarajevo is a city of hills with narrow streets and lanes. A great city for keeping fit as walking – even a short distance of a few hundred meters to the nearest tram station – requires negotiating steep inclines. There is also a medieval, 'stone houses and cobbled streets' atmosphere within Sarajevo, nowhere more so than in the Baščaršija Square located in the old town.

Sarajevo is a must see city for any traveler: a city of functioning synagogues, cathedrals and mosques; a city which recently hosted Pope Francis. Sarajevo is also a city which was only recently (at least for historians!) plunged into despair, despondency and an orgy of bloodletting along religious and ethnic lines.  

A dog drinks water at the Sebilj water fountain

In so many ways, Sarajevo personifies the best and worst of human nature: a city of tolerance, peace and harmony and yet also a city of war and unspeakable atrocities.

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Imran is a business and management consultant. Through his work at Deodar Advisors and the Deodar Diagnostic, Imran improves profits of businesses operating in Singapore and the region. He can be reached at imran@deodaradvisors.com. 

Tito's Belgrade: Europe and Balkan simultaneously

After arriving at Belgrade railway station early in the morning, we took a taxi to our apartment. Based on my research, the apartment was supposed to be located in a central part of Belgrade, not far from the city castle and other local attractions.

As the taxi wound its way through Belgrade's streets, my heart slowly began to sink: we seemed to be heading farther and farther into nothingness. It seemed like my research left a lot to be desired – we were going to be stranded in an apartment in a strange and intimidating East European city in a deserted part of town!

Central Belgrade at night with a view of the Sava River

Thankfully, that was not the case once we explored the area around the apartment. We were indeed staying in a decent location, with the Danube River freely flowing behind the building and Belgrade city a short walk from the front.

Since this was the first 'new' (not previously visited by me) city on our itinerary, we had not yet overdosed on any of the 'standard' attractions offered by most European cities: castles, cathedrals and shopping! So, after getting out bearings it was time to go out an explore Belgrade!

Belgrade is an ancient city. Archeological evidence suggests humans occupied lands around Belgrade 20,000 or more years ago. Singidunum, Belgrade's name while it was part of the Roman Empire, was granted city status by Roman officials way back in the Second Century AD. Later the city became known as 'White City' or Bel Grad.

The Stambul (Istanbul) Gate of the Belgrade Fortress

Belgrade's geography – the city is sited at the meeting point of the Danube and Sava Rivers – partly explains the city's long history and strategic importance. Belgrade has been occupied by 40 different armies and substantially rebuilt 38 times! Recent history has Belgrade as a part of the Ottoman and Austrian empires until it became the capital of a Serbian kingdom in 1918. Following the end of World War Two in 1945, Belgrade became the capital of Tito's socialist Yugoslavia. Finally, in 2006 Belgrade became the capital of independent Serbia.

Belgrade's military importance is reflected in the Belgrade Fortress.

A part of the Kalemegdan Park which near the Fortress

The fortress sits on a site overlooking the confluence of the 1,900 km Danube River with the 990 km Sava River. The heights surrounding the fortress provide a great view of the rivers and Belgrade's Stari Grad (New City) district. The fortress is surrounded by a beautiful park, the Kalemegdan. The park was used by soldiers waiting for the enemy prior to battle. The name reflects the deep Ottoman Turkish influence on the city. Kale means fortress while megdan means field or square in Turkish.

On a nice day, a relaxing morning at the fortress and the park is a wonderful way to get a feel for the city. There are street stalls souvenirs and a military museum in the area too.

The Church of Saint Sava

Other sights in Belgrade include the Church of St. Sava. One of the largest orthodox churches in the world, the church is built on the site where Saint Sava's remains were burned in 1595 by Ottoman authorities during a Serbian uprising against Ottoman rule. Though not old, construction was completed less than a decade ago, it is a grand monument and reflects the importance of the Orthodox church in the lives of ordinary Serbs.

Marshall Tito (extreme right) with Yugoslav resistance fighters during World War Two

Off interest to those who grew up in the midst of the Cold War, is Marshal Tito's grave. Called the House of Flowers, the mausoleum is adjacent to the Museum of Yugoslav History.

Josep Broz Tito (1892 – 1980) founded modern Yugoslavia and held its various republics, including Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia, united during his lifetime. Not long after Tito's death Yugoslavia descended into a complex orgy of bloodletting pitting distinct ethnic and religious groups against each other. The former Yugoslav republic is now divided into several small states, i.e. Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Montenegro.

Tito's grave located inside the House of Flowers

Belgrade is a friendly city, recovering from the stigma of being home to some of the world's worst war criminals. Despite Belgrade's current homogenous ethnic and cultural mix, the city displays unmistakable glimpses of its diverse past. Belgrade was an unexpectedly pleasant experience – and cheap to boot. Based on my experiences, Belgrade is a strong contender for my future travel dollars!

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Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, specially by train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest in photography. Imran can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.