This post features our drive from Sarajevo to Doboj, which is the unofficial capital of the unofficial Republika Srpska – the second nation within a nation. We drove via the Bosnian Pyramid Of The Sun, Visoki Old Town, Visoko, Zenica, Forteresse de Vranduk and Maglaj.
We bid farewell to the gracious and comfortable city of Sarajevo by visiting the top of the AVAZ “twisted skyscraper” at level 35 with terrific views of not only the city but the 5 huge mountains at its doorstep.
Republika Srpska was formed in 1992 at the outset of the Bosnian War with the stated intent to safeguard the interests of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The war saw the expulsion of the vast majority of Croats and Bosniaks from the territory claimed by Republika Srpska and an inflow of Serbs expelled from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following the Dayton Agreement of 1995, Republika Srpska achieved international recognition as an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina but not the UN. Today most of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb population lives in Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is a parliamentary-style government, with the National Assembly holding legislative power within the entity. It’s capital is Doboj.
Our journey to Doboj began with a very unusual stopover - the Bosnian Pyramid Of The Sun. Since 2005, Semir Osmanagić, a Bosnian-American businessman based in Houston, Texas, has claimed that these hills are the largest human-made ancient pyramids on Earth. His claims have been overwhelmingly refuted by scientists but he has proceeded to promote the area as a tourist attraction – so much so that even Novak Djokovic has visited this hoax !!! Direct study of the site by geologists, archaeologists, and other scientists has demonstrated that the hills are natural formations known as flatirons and that there is no evidence that they were shaped by human construction. The European Association of Archaeologists has condemned the so-called 'Bosnian pyramids' as a "cruel hoax". We agree. Every local man and his dog were selling tickets to everything including parking on a gravel road !!!
Visoki Old Town and modern-day Visoko both benefit from the “hoax” and offer a myriad of cafes and leafy covered restaurants.
The Forteresse de Vranduk was a welcome non-hoax. It is in fact a fortified village and one of the oldest and well-preserved settlements of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dating back to the 14th century and times of medieval bans and later kings of Bosnia. Vranduk village was established around a medieval citadel of the same name, and together constitute a protected architectural assembly, and as such it is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, well preserved and maintained in good condition by local and state commissions for national monuments, and managed by a local tourist organization. A small mosque was erected below the citadel after the Ottoman conquest of the Bosnian Kingdom which still is standing today in good condition.
Doboj (Pop 177,223, Elev 143m, Founded 1415) is a modern, apartment filled city surrounded by very green gentle hills and a myriad of small supermarkets and cafes.
Enjoy the journey to Republika Srpska…
FAREWELL TOAST TO SARAJEVO FROM ON TOP OF THE AZAR TOWER:
VISOKO: HOME TO THE BOSNIAN PYRAMIDS
Forteresse de Vranduk:
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