Literally, where East meets West (churches, catholic, Christianity, God)

[Djamila]

Sarajevo has always been a border town, despite beng located at the very heart of Bosnia. It is the border between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and the border between Christianity and Islam.

Nowhere is this more obvious that at, perhaps, the most famous street corner in Europe. It's called in Saraci, and it is where East meets West. At Saraci, however, they do not gradually blend together as they do elsewhere in Sarajevo.

At Saraci, with a single step, the Islamic architecture of Bascarsija district meets the Central European architecture of Centar district. It is as solid as a brick wall.

Facing the West, this is what one sees standing on the Saraci street corner - the architecture of Europe that continues from Sarajevo, to Ljubljana, to Vienna, to Paris and beyond.



When one turns around, without taking a single step in any direction - just turning around standing in one place - this is what one will see. The Islamic architecture of the Balkans and the Middle East, which extends from Sarajevo, to Ohrid, to Bursa, to Istanbul and beyond.



This is the street corner we Bosnians call the center of the world.

[Djamila]

A different perspective, just to better illustrate how unique this street corner is:



And if you turn around, this is what you'll see...



And if you continue on...

[Djamila]

And two more photos to farther explain the change that takes place, and how BEAUTIFUL a symbol Saraci is!

If you continue heading West from Saraci, all Sarajevo looks more or less like this:


And if you continue heading East from Saraci, it all looks like this:


"People often wonder how the Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Jews manage to get along so amicably in Sarajevo. When they ask me this question, I tell them simply: Sarajevo, high in these mountains, is like a small room with no windows. How can West and East go to war in Sarajevo? Stand on Saraci, and you shall see: Any bomb against the West would damage the East as well, and the same is true in reverse."
- Father Stjepan Ivanic, Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Medugorje, Sarajevo.

"Saraci is perhaps the most profound and surreal place I have ever visited. While anyone from any other corner of this world stands frozen with amazement, Bosnians pass between West and East with a single step, a step few of them even consciously notice."
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, when she was First Lady of the United States.

Go Saraci!

[Tigress]

Awesome, Djamila! Thanks for sharing!

[JoeCole]

Gotta admit....that is pretty sweet....if i ever get the money...i will see iof i camn ever visit that place.

[Willamena]

My god, that is beautiful.

I will try to visit Sarajevo someday.

[Djamila]

A video of crossing Saraci:

BHF

[Random]

Djamila, you do for Bosnia what God did for religion. You're a sweetheart. Are you married?

[Quiddity]

I have officially found a new vacation spot.

[Djamila]

You'd like it, Victor. All of the finest Mosques, Churches, and the largest Synagogue are in the immediate area.



If you look at the map, you will see in big, bold letters the name of this district: BASCARSIJA. Right above that, covered by one of the Mosque symbols, is the Saraci Street corner. The corner is the intersection right above the B in that term.

The other symbols mean:

Star of David: Synagogue
Thick Cross: Orthodox Church
Thin Cross: Roman Catholic Church