The Guardians of History

[Djamila]

The remote Bosnian Franciscan monastery of St Anto is seen above the Bosnian town of Fojnica, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007. As the only sect to have maintained an existence in the Balkans for over 700 years, the Bosnian Franciscans call them the guardians of Balkan history. The monastery, which has survived regional turmoil from the arrival of the Ottoman Empire to the Balkan wars of the 1990s, holds books and relics that explain history of the region.


A chandelier and ceiling decoration is seen at the remote Bosnian Franciscan monastery of St Anto, above the Bosnian town of Fojnica, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007.


Bosnian Franciscan monk Mirko Majdandzic shows a book of the coat of arms of medieval Balkans countries, at the remote monastery of St Anto, above the Bosnian town of Fojnica, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007.


Bosnian Franciscan monk Tomislav Tomicic cleans dust from an ancient book in the library, at the remote monastery of St Anto, above the Bosnian town of Fojnica, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007.