サラエボ: ユダヤ遺産ツアー

This was a wonderful experience! Our tour guide, Eda (please excuse me if I did not get the name correct), is a lifelong resident of Sarajevo. She explained many of the complex details of how Jewish life has changed from Ottoman times to the present. She pointed out that Jews have flourished through most of Bosnia's history, finding ways to live and adapt under the Ottomans, the Hapsburgs, the first Yugoslavia, communist Yugoslavia and now the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. But these good times have been punctuated by terrible conflicts and violence several times. We saw the Ashkenazi Synagogue, now the community center, one Sephardic synagogue that has now become a Bosnian cultural center, another Sephardic synagogue that now houses the Jewish Museum, and the Jewish cemetery. Eda related many of her own stories and especially her mother's stories. The tour was well-suited to my wife, who has never been to Sarajevo before, and to me--I first visited in 1984 and always enjoy coming back. I hope that more people will take the time for this great tour!

Armina took us on a fascinating tour of Jewish Sarajevo, visiting all of the main Jewish sights. Armina is a highly informative guide and delightful. We would very much recommend the tour.

Armina Pijalovic, who escorted us, gave a truly exceptional insight into Bosnia and Herzegovina's recent past as well as current conditions. Although not Jewish herself, she has a rich and compassionate understanding of the community's history. We benefited from her excellent contacts with the surviving Jewish organisations in Sarajevo and with the National Museum housing a unique Haggadah. Ms. Pijalovic was most considerate towards an ageing couple and generous with her time and patience. Probably one of the most impressive tour guides we have ever encountered.

This was a great tour and Armina was an excellent guide. She provided many personal insights from her work experiences and friends. We visited several places that were not in any guidebook that I never would have known about much less visited. I highly recommend this tour. If you want to see the Sarajevo Hagaddah, make sure you take the tour on a day it will be displayed. Right now it is Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Meet Bosnia staff will make sure to arrange this if you tell them that you are interested in it.

This tour is really special. We learned a lot about the history, culture and life of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through our tour guide Armina, who guided us through Sarajevo very competently and with a lot of heart, we learned a lot of new things. During the visit to the synagogue, members of the Jewish community had the opportunity to speak directly. This tour is an absolute highlight.

+1

Exceptional experience with our guide, Armina. Gave such an insightful and educational tour, and is just an amazing person to spend some time with. Wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking to understand Sarajevo and its people a little better.

The Sarajevo Jewish Tour was exactly what I wanted. The guide, Arna, was knowledgeable, prepared and personally engaging. She planned a route that included the greatest number of sites. She shared personal stories and made the history real.

The Sarajevo Jewish Tour was well worth the money and time. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and was welcoming to any questions that arose. As a bonus, we were provided with fantastic food and drink recommendations. We highly recommend.

This is a must-do tour. Sarajevo's rich Jewish story is hiding in plain sight; you need a guide to help you see and interpret it. Our guide, Ahmed, was brilliant -- knowledgeable, communicative, and the company was great about getting us connected.

This was a memorable, remarkable tour - the highlight of my visit to Sarajevo. Being a guide myself, I would say this tour has everything a special tour must have: compelling stories, context, academic balance, depth, meaningful sites and a great guide, Ahmed, who is an excellent story-teller, a serious academic reseracher, and who could address all my questions and help me with pratical needs in the city. I hope more travellers could take this tour and enlarge their imagination on the "Jerusalem of Europe" and on the importance of the Jewish chapter in the rich, meaningful, challenging Sarajevo's broader history. Highly recommended!