Oh you, stranger!

O you, stranger, who is a bit bored today...get up from your comfortable armchair...go to your rich library and pull out a world map from the corner of that dusty shelf...Find Europe, that far-known continent...it's not difficult, right?...Well, then look down there on the right. What do you see? A lot of things...So many states and small states, a real colorfulness...Among other things, one name catches your eye, it says: Bosnia and Herzegovina. "It takes up so little space, but it has such a big name," you think to yourself. Well, it intrigues you. You turn on your exclusive laptop from the latest generation and slowly sipping a rarely expensive coffee from a huge porcelain cup, you begin your journey through the story of this small piece of land in the hilly Balkans.

The first thing you see, wanting to be informed, is of course...war. You see terrible images of bloody streets, collapsed buildings, terrible torture, torture, fire, screams, screams, fleeing people... you see a devastated, destroyed country from which bloodsuckers have sucked the last drop of blood... you see misery, sorrow and hell. It startles you, shakes you, you don't feel the best and you decide that you don't want to know anything anymore, that it's enough. Sooner or later you decide to turn off your laptop and go out into your luxurious garden to breathe some fresh air and forget about everything you've seen in the past few minutes.

You get up from the chair...hey, but wait!...Come back...come back, sit...you're just at the beginning of the journey. Don't judge a book by its cover. Because Bosnia did experience war, that disgusting product of human thought, but Bosnia also survived it... Survived! You saw the demolition of the Old Bridge in Mostar... Scary, isn't it? But look at him today. It shines, more beautiful than ever, while the known and the unknown walk along it... they take their step along the cobblestones of the old bazaar, and in front of them the green beauty of the Neretva dances with its waves on the red-hot Herzegovinian stone. Behind him smiles Neum, embraced by the shores of the beautiful Adriatic Sea, on which the rays of the bright southern sun shine. If you continue north, you will be greeted by Lake Plivsko and a pearl-clear waterfall in the royal city of Jajce, the only one in the world located in the center of the city...

Continue your journey, pass through Zenica, drink water from the Konjska fountain, visit the medieval Vranduk... .Take a walk to Krajina, where the emerald Una, our most beautiful and purest river, will spread your arms, and the golden fields of Semberia will shine in its embrace. If you want to breathe clean air, head east, visit our Perućica rainforest, the largest and most unique in Europe, or climb our Olympic beauties (because yes, we hosted the Olympics) Igman, Trebević, Bjelašnica and Jahorina. It's much cleaner than the one in your garden, for sure. And it is from those mountains that you can hug Sarajevo.

And Sarajevo... It is a special story. It's enough to pass through its old mahals, visit Baščaršija, walk to the farmers' market and feed the pigeons, while all around you hammers are clattering in coppersmith shops, and your nostrils are filled with the smell of fresh coffee served all around in cups with special sweet called “rahatlokum”. It's not as expensive as yours and it's not from a porcelain cup, but it has soul, you know. It has a soul because here people pull people by the sleeve to sit down, enjoy and drink it while chatting (that type of conversation can be called “muhabet”), no matter how many obligations and work they have.

Confused by all these words? What is”muhabet”, you ask? I can't explain that to you, just like I can't explain to you what a fildžan is, or a rahatlokum, or a bazaar, or a sebilj... They speak for themselves... You see, you didn't get any answers. , and anyway, it's warm around your heart... Do you know why? I will tell you.

We are not a rich and developed country, we do not live at a high level, but what we have, no matter how much, we will always share with others. We are not the best in sports, art, or science, but for us, our athletes, artists and scientists are the best in the world. Unemployment is high, sometimes we barely survive, but we celebrate even the smallest successes like rich people, we welcome them in style, even if we starve for days afterward, because we don't have luxury hotels, but we have warm homes, full of sofras and hearts open to every guest. We laugh sincerely, we rejoice when we are happy, we get annoyed when we are angry. We have been through so much, we survive from paycheck to paycheck but we are cheerful and always ready for a joke. We are not cold, we are not sterile because we do not know how to live like that.

Bosnia is not just that war, no stranger! Bosnia is what many have claimed, but she proudly said "no" and remained special and her own. Bosnia is what has risen above all the misfortunes and troubles that befell it. Bosnia is that “burek” (pie with meat) under the sach that you will eat and lick your fingers along the way. Bosnia is that old lady called “nana” who, even though she doesn't know you, won't let you out of her house and courtyard until you try her homemade “baklava” and drink “sherbet”. Bosnia is its rich history. Bosnia is its natural jewels. Bosnia is its good people...

Now, go back to the map and look at its borders again... you see, they are not in the shape of a heart for a reason... Do you understand why? Because this country has exactly that... it has a heart, it has a soul... And that is Bosnia, stranger, not the one from the beginning! Welcome!