The hotel today
Credit: getty
“Everyone suddenly burst out singing;/And I was filled with such delight/As prisoned birds must find in freedom,/Winging wildly across the white/Orchards and dark-green fields; on – on – and out of sight.”
It was strange to think this was the city where I once sought out bad guys (I believed they held the key to the solution in conflicts, whether Protestant paramilitaries in Belfast or Serbs in Bosnia). This was where I’d drink whiskey with Radovan Karadzic before later testifying against him in court.
Old City, Sarajevo
Credit: getty
One night, I took a taxi from one side of the city to the other just for the sheer pleasure of driving with no roadblocks. The many destroyed buildings were stark reminders of the fragile peace. Just being there without a flak jacket felt so uplifting, so much so that on another taxi trip, I decided to visit the exact spot where the mortar attack had taken place. I paced on the spot where I’d been hit and felt incredibly lucky to be alive. That was a big part of the motive for taking the trip: after an experience like that, you don’t take anything for granted.
Despite the high number of Islamic terrorists, Sarajevo is a now a coffee shop society. A lasting peace is not guaranteed, but it feels like a long extended ceasefire.
Had it not been for Covid, I’d have returned this year to be part of an exhibition celebrating the Holiday Inn as one of the world’s great war zone hotels. I’ve written a poem for it and the whole experience will continue to remind me how lucky I am to be alive.
As told to Nick McGrath
War And Peacekeeping (RRP, £20) by Martin Bell, published on Oct 1, is available through Telegraph Books (0844 871 1514; books.telegraph.co.uk) for £16.99.
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Planning a trip to Sarajevo for when travel restrictions ease? Read our comprehensive city guide at telegraph.co.uk/tt-sarajevo
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/bosnia-and-herzegovina/articles/martin-bell-holiday-that-changed-me/
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Publish date : 2020-09-22 07:00:00
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