00:00Bosnia and Herzegovina is a nation in the western part of Europe's Balkan Peninsula.
00:06Herzegovina is located in the south and southwest of the nation,
00:11while the larger region of Bosnia is located in the north and center.
00:16Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is roughly triangular in shape,
00:20shares borders with Croatia on its north, west and south,
00:25Serbia on its east, Montenegro on its southeast,
00:29and the Adriatic Sea on its southwest along a small portion of the nation.
00:35The area, which had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century,
00:40passed into Austria-Hungary's hands in 1878
00:44and went on to play a significant part in the start of World War I.
00:48It became a part of the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918,
00:55but it lacked a formal status of its own.
00:59It joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
01:03as a constituent republic following World War II.
01:07The region was quickly consumed by war as Bosnia and Herzegovina's ethnic nationalists.
01:14Between 1992 and 1995, horrific ethnic cleansing campaigns in much of Bosnia and Herzegovina
01:22resulted in the violent displacement of over 2 million people and the death of thousands of people.
01:29The Dayton Accords, which were the result of international intervention in the Bosnian conflict,
01:35were signed in late 1995.
01:39The cultural life of Bosnia and Herzegovina is influenced by a variety of European and Turkish influences.
01:48Traditional and modern culture, as well as rural and urban culture, differ greatly from one another.
01:56Only three countries in Europe have a majority of Muslims, including this former Ottoman province,
02:03whose history is reflected in the maze-like bazaars and jewel-bright mosques of Sarajevo and Mostar.
02:12There are many cafes and restaurants in Sarajevo, and here,
02:16people are sitting outside on Kovai Street close to the city center.
02:21Go beyond Sarajevo to experience more architectural and cultural highlights.
02:27Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to many lovely towns with cobblestone streets and a wealth of historical relics.
02:36Bosnian cuisine is balanced between Western and Eastern influences.
02:42The food is closely related to former Yugoslav, Middle Eastern and other Balkan cuisines.
02:49Bosnian cuisine uses many spices, but usually in moderate quantities.
02:55Most dishes are light, as they are cooked in lots of water, the sauces are fully natural,
03:01consisting of little more than the natural juices of the vegetables in the dish.
03:06Some local specialties are, savapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilav, pilaf, gulas, goulash,
03:15ivar and a whole range of Eastern sweets.
03:20In the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of the Una River, is Bihać, known as the Emerald of Bosnia.
03:30In addition to numerous nature parks and fortresses, Bihać is proud to be home to a 24-meter-high waterfall,
03:37Strebaki Buk, which is known as Una River, Latin for only one, which is regarded as the most beautiful river in all of Bosnia.
03:48The Kravice Falls create a 30-meter-high by 120-meter-wide natural water amphitheater just outside the city of Ljubuki.
03:58When they create a rolling vapor fog in the spring, they are at their fiercest and most picturesque.
04:04Summertime brings a calmer atmosphere, and the shallow pool is great for swimming thanks to its cool, blue-green waters and abundance of basking rocks.
04:15The basin is covered by a number of tiny wooden walkways, and further downriver, there are many opportunities to rent kayaks.
04:26The fifth-largest city in the nation, Mostar is a unique mashup of cultures.
04:32The Old Bridge, Stari Most, designed by Ottoman architect Mimar Hadruddin and listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is the most striking of all.
04:43It is best seen from the Koscii Memed Pasha Mosque's minaret because its engineering is as astounding as its history.
04:51Take an adrenaline-fueled zipline from Fordica Hill, which is just outside the city, for a more interesting vantage point.
05:00One of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most popular tourist destinations is the Old Bridge in Mostar.
05:09The 16th-century Ottoman building, which was painstakingly restored after suffering damage in 1993, has come to represent the nation's tenacity.
05:19Mountain biking is the best way to explore the magnificent landscape of mountains and native Bosnian pine forests in Blydenj Nature Park, which is just north of Mostar.
05:32The centerpiece of this complex of traditional stone-roofed buildings, which serves as Blagaj's signature attraction, is a very pretty half-timbered dervish-ish house with shaky rug-covered floors, carved doorways, odd niches, and a bathroom with star-shaped colored glass set into the ceiling.
05:51The idyllic location of the Teka above the cave mouth where the surrealistically blue-green waters of the Buna River flow forth reflects the dervish's devotion to a mystical branch of Islam that includes the peaceful contemplation of nature.
06:08The Srebrenica Genocide, the failure of the International Community Memorial Center is located in and around the abandoned battery factory that served as the Patori UN base.
06:22The large cemetery across the street, however, is the main attraction of the complex.
06:29It is lined with sentinel rows of pointed white gravestones in the Islamic style, each of which honors a victim who was reburied.
06:38This rather utilitarian double-towered church from 1969 and the park-like grounds behind it are Mugorge's main attractions.
06:48The primary daily service is a rosary at 6 o'clock, followed by mass at 7 o'clock, which in the summer is held in the enormous outdoor arc behind the church.
06:59From here, a path lined with mosaics depicting the luminous mysteries of the rosary leads to a garden with the captivating 5M tall bronze statue of Jesus crucified but without a cross, the resurrected Savior, 1998, by Adjo Adji.
07:18Republika Srpska is located on the Balkan Peninsula, with its northern extents reaching into the Pannonian Basin.
07:26The entity is split into two main parts by the Berchko district, a hilly western part and a more varied eastern part, with high mountains in the south and flat, fertile farmland in the north.
07:39Trebinj is a city with wine, real and fresh foods, a rich past, and fascinating culture.
07:47Start the journey from the busy central square hidden between centuries-old trees.
07:53Investigate local markets and take in the lifestyles that are being lived there.
07:59Take a stroll through the city's ancient district and take in the monumental landmarks you see there as well as the legends that surround them.
08:07Take stunning pictures everywhere you go, then finish your journey at the old railway.
08:15If you live in the UAE and want to travel to this Balkan gem, then there are plenty of direct flights.
08:21Two airports Abu Dhabi and Dubai serve direct flights to Sarajevo.
08:27Nationals of the United Arab Emirates are exempted from the visa requirements when entering, exiting or traveling through Bosnia and Herzegovina for up to 90 days.
08:39Most of the UAE residents will need a tourist visa to enter Bosnia, except those passport holders who gets a visa on arrival.
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