Bosnia

Land

Highlighted in yellow, Bosnia is surrounded by

Croatia and Serbia

Away from the damaged areas of war, the

landscape is made up of beautiful trees and

mountains

Land

Almost half the

size of Iowa but

has almost 50%

more people!

National Resources

Some of the

countries big

natural

resources

include: coal,

iron ore,

bauxite, copper,

lead and

hydropower

Climate

Planning a trip to Bosnia???Summer: Make sure you pack light weight clothing and your rain jacket, the average temperature is in the 70’s.Winter: Bring your heavy warm clothing because it won’t be getting much warmer than 45 degrees!

History

•Bosnia has signs of human settlements dating all the way back to the stone ages.

•The earliest known people were called Illyrians.

•These Illyrians were soon drove out of their land by the Celts

History

•Ottoman Empire expands and takes over Bosnia. Now under Ottoman rule, many Christians were forced to be Muslim.

•When Serbia fought against the Ottoman Empire, they took over Bosnia. Serbia then became Yugoslavia.

•In 1991, Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia!Ottoman Empire Crest

People and History

• “The number of  Muslims who were expelled from their homes in Serb-occupied areas of Bosnia is usually placed at between 700,00 and one million.”

• The people of Bosnia then declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.

• Led to war as the Serbs living in Bosnia did not agree and thought they would be pushed out.

• There was a terrible, violent war for three years.

• Croatians and Bosnians fought back against the Serbs in 1995 and took back a lot of their land.

Population

• Bosnians possess diverse backgrounds

• Prior to the civil strife the people of Bosnia were able to maintain their multicultural backgrounds, without being in peril.

Language• JEDNA SI JEDINA

Autor: Dino Dervishalidovic

• Zemljo tisucljetnaNa vjernost ti se kunemOd mora do SaveOd Drine do Une

• Jedna si jedinaMoja domovinaJedna si jedinaBosna i Hercegovina

• Bog nek' te sacuvaZa pokoljenja novaZemljo mojih snovaMojih pradjedova

• Jedna si jedinaMoja domovinaJedna si jedinaBosna i Hercegovina

• YOU ARE UNIQUEAuthor: Dino Dervishalidovic   

• I pledge my loyalty to youMy thousand year old landFrom Sava to the seaFrom Drina to Una

• You are uniqueThe only homeland I haveYou are uniqueBosnia and Herzegovina

• May God save youFor the generations to comeYou are the land of my dreamsThe land of my forefathers

• You are uniqueThe only homeland I haveYou are uniqueBosnia and Herzegovina

Religion

• Volunteers acting in a live nativity scene in downtown Sarajevo, marking seasons greetings for upcoming Christmas. The city still keeps the tradition of celebrating holidays of all four religions present in Bosnia - Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Islam and Judaism despite the 1992-95 war fought between Bosnian Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Bosnian Muslims.

• Bosnian Muslim people pray during a mass funeral for Bosnian Muslims. Thousands of Bosnian Muslims attended a funeral of 93 men, women and children killed by Serb forces at the beginning of the country's 1992-95 war, from eastern Bosnian town of Bratunac. All of the bodies were found and exhumed from a mass grave site Bljeceva last year and identified by DNA method.

Two main religions: Christian and Muslim

General Attitudes

• Bosnian girl smiles as she and others collect coal, dumped by industry, to sell on a local market.

• The biggest political crisis since the end of the Bosnian war 12 years ago has sent the cost of basic food items rocketing, and government statistics show most people are struggling just to make ends meet.

• Much of the Bosnian people are unemployed and those lucky enough to have a job also struggle to survive, receiving their salaries sometimes with several months' delay.

Personal Appearance

Many Bosnian’s dress according to their religious customs

(in this picture, Muslim women wearing hijabs)

Personal Appearance

~Bridge over troubled water ... The reconstructed Old Bridge at Mostar is one of the many attractions along Bosnia's Neretva River.

Greetings

Bosnian 101: Try these out next time your

out and about…

1. Hello

2. How are you?

3. What is your name?

4. My name is _______

5. Thank you

6. Yes

7. No

1. Zdravo

2. Kako Ste?

3. Kako se zovete?

4. Zovem se ________

5. Hvala

6. Da

7. Ne

Greetings

The “Do’s and Don’ts” of Bosnian Greetings

•Use first names with close friends and family members.•Introduce your guest from oldest to youngest.•Always start introducing women first, then men.

•Men should not shake hands with women unless the women extends her hand first.•Do not use first names with people you first meet.

Introduce from oldest to

youngest

Visiting

Never bring chrysanthemums as a gift to someone’s house!

They are usually related to death because they are used at funerals and on gravestones.

But don’t worry…it is very common to bring alcohol like whiskey!

Eating

Common Ingredients in Bosnian Food

•Tomatoes

•Onions

•Garlic

•Cabbage

•Spinach

•Potatoes

•Zucchini

•Mushrooms

•Milk

•Pavlaka (cream)

Popular Dishes

•Cevapcici

•Burek

•Dolma

•Sarma

•Goulash

•Kljukusa

•Grasak

What’s on the Menu

Cevopi

Grilled beef served in flatbread with chopped onions

Sarma

Minced meat (beef or pork) mixed with rice and onions, rolled in cabbage leaves.

Main Dishes Desserts

Baklava

Rich, sweet pastry made of layers of dough, sweetened with syrup or honey

Family

Too Many People?

Bosnian culture promotes living with extended family members. One house usually will consist of Grandparents, parents and children.

The children are taught the values of taking care of their elders because they to one day will be the elders.

Marriage

Propose to

girlfriend

Wedding Day!!!

Wedding engagements usually last about a week and they get married on the weekend after he asks “the big question.”

The weddings are not very lavish like they are here, they tend to get married at the justice of the piece and anywhere else is just for

show.

Recreation

Probably one of Bosnia’s most famous land marks, the “Old Bridge” in Mostar. This bridge was what divided the Muslim and Croat communities until it was destroyed during the Balkan War. It is now reconstructed and a very popular tourist attraction.

Recreation

You can visit Sutjeska National Park, Bosnia’s oldest national park, where you can hike and camp in one of the two last primeval forests in Europe. This park is home to the highest point of the country.

Also at Sutjeska, you can see this 80 foot tall waterfall called Skakaavac waterfall, that is surrounded by lush forest.

Holidays

• January 1 – New Year’s Day• January 6 – Orthodox

Christmas• January 14 – Orthodox New

Year• January 27 – St. Sava’s Day• March 1 – Independence Day• April 10-13 – Easter• May 1 – Labor Day• August 15- Valika Gospa• November 1 – All Saints Day• November 25 – National

Statehood Day• December 25 - Christmas

Art

Bosnia has mostly been known for their decorative art, such as this unique looking bridge.

Commerce

•American Chamber of Commerce in Bosnia and Herzegovina also known as AmCham BiH•Helps the U.S. stay involved with Bosnia•Its goal is to build bridges among businesses nationally and abroad.•Its goal is to also to help them succeed more than they could on their own.

Government

The Bosnian government has been reformed by the Dayton Agreement which was signed in 1995. The goal of the Dayton Agreement is to create a multiethnic and democratic government through proportional representation. To do this, the country was split into three regions and three presidents were elected.

Transportation

•Transportation is crippled in all regions of Bosnia.

•There are a lot of railways, highways, bridges, etc. that have been damaged from the war.

•There are parts of the Sava River that are blocked due to fallen down bridges, silt and debris.

•None of the inland ports are operational right now.

Communication

One internet server for the WHOLE country!

Education

There are 350,000 students in primary schools and only 162,000 of them graduate high school.

162,000 350,000 = 46% Graduation Rate!

Health

Because of the war, most of the country’s doctor’s have left. A lot of the hospitals were destroyed during the war and ones that weren’t were left functioning at minimal levels.

Closing Note

Even though the war is over, Bosnia is still in turmoil. People are still dying because of the war. There is still

an umbrella of war that looms over the country.

War

References

(These are references that were not used in the papers.)

Infoplease. All the knowledge you need. Retrieved July 1,2009, from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/pa/A0107349.html

Google. Google Images. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from http://images.google.com