1 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,920 Throughout most of my lifetime, 2 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,560 an Iron Curtain has divided Eastern Europe from the West 3 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,360 preventing me from really getting to know it. 4 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,760 I've flown over it, I've peered at bits of it. 5 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,040 But I've never really travelled through it. 6 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,440 Now the Iron Curtain has lifted, I am going to make up for lost time 7 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,440 and explore the other half of my continent, Europe. 8 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:19,720 Here on the Slovenian Alps, I'm turning my back on Western Europe 9 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:24,400 and heading east to a world which is changing at a remarkable speed. 10 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,440 Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, the number of countries in Eastern Europe has doubled. 11 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,440 Ten have already become members of the European Union, 12 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,360 and even countries like Turkey are keen to join them. 13 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:39,880 What lies ahead is, for me, a voyage of discovery, 14 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,440 an exploration of the people, the places, the mood and the spirit 15 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,040 that is transforming old lands into a new Europe. 16 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,920 As we meander through the tranquil countryside of Slovenia, 17 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:49,960 it's hard to believe that this was the country whose walk out from a Communist conference in 1990 18 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,080 began the break-up of Yugoslavia, 19 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,960 one of the cornerstones of post-war Europe, 20 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,760 and put six new European countries on the map. 21 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:07,320 I'll be travelling through them, to Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, 22 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:12,000 and beyond them to the mysterious land of Albania. 23 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,440 CHURCH BELLS TOLL 24 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,720 My first port of call is Slovenia's southern neighbour, Croatia, 25 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,640 whose beautiful coastline stretches languorously along the Adriatic. 26 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:28,440 Like many of the countries of New Europe, Croatia has a very old history. 27 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,440 Here in the port of Split, off a square built at the time of Napoleon, 28 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:39,400 Goran Golovko teaches children about the city's most famous son, the Roman emperor Diocletian. 29 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,880 HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE 30 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,160 Goran's way of bringing history to life is to portray 31 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,000 the Romans as just one of the many peoples who've occupied Croatia over the years, 32 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,440 very much like present-day tour groups 33 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,240 that flock here every summer. 34 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,880 And they can see girls wearing tanga... Beautiful! 35 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,080 Of all the ex-Yugoslav countries, Croatia is the one that seems 36 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,520 most comfortable with international attention. 37 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,120 Qu'est que c'est? 38 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,160 Oui, oui... 39 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:22,520 You could say the idea of East and West Europe began here. 40 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:28,000 It was Diocletian who took the momentous decision to divide the Roman Empire in two. 41 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,960 He ruled the East from a mighty palace here in Split, which is still inhabited. 42 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,360 The palace is still alive, people still live within it. 43 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,840 And we can see architectural changes from medieval time onwards. 44 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:50,120 There hasn't been any attempt by municipal authorities to get rid of all the parasitic buildings 45 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:56,920 on this beautiful thing, because many people would think that was a bit of architectural desecration. 46 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,040 Well, not any more. This is also part of traditional culture. 47 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:01,880 This is how Split was developed. 48 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,160 That washing looks very old indeed! 49 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,320 Yes, it's Roman actually. They didn't advertise it but it's... 50 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:12,400 It's still not dry. But it's still there. 51 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:20,120 So now we are at Peristil, which is the main square of the palace 52 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,800 where the emperor was appearing to his subjects. 53 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:29,320 And we see this great colonnade of Corinthian-style pillars. 54 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,800 This extraordinary feeling, you've got modern buildings, 55 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,880 with aluminium windows. Yes, this is my bank over there. 56 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:37,640 That's your bank, indeed. 57 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,280 Where I shake in front of my bank manager. 58 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,600 I don't think I've been anywhere quite like this 59 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,600 where you get the feeling of a great empire which has just crumbled, 60 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,360 and been absorbed again by somebody else. And been adapted. 61 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,320 'I spy a piece of more recent Croatian history, 62 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,600 'the name of the local football club.' 63 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,320 Famous name for us football lovers. 64 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:02,920 Split symbols. Yeah. 65 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,240 If you are born into being a Hajduk fan, 66 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,920 then you are a Hajduk fan for the rest of your life. 67 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,720 The word "Hajduk" means a bandit, but in the good sense of bandit 68 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,800 as patriot, fighting for his country against Venetians and Ottoman Turks. 69 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,320 Goran takes me to meet Zdravko, a modern Croatian patriot 70 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,960 who also happens to run one of the best restaurants in town. 71 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,400 Hello! Yes! 72 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,720 Are you happy the way it's happening now with the tourists here? 73 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,760 Of course, absolutely. You see, I always say to everybody, I'm very, very happy. 74 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:37,360 Of course I'm very critical. 75 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:42,240 But imagine, living, the fall of the Communism, 76 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:47,520 the creation of the free Croatia, modern Croatian state, for the first time in modern history. 77 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,120 Winning the war and still I'm here, at the age of 60. 78 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:56,800 You know, it's... Croatia is a state... It's a fantastic feeling. 79 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,880 Of course it's very emotional. 80 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,520 On the other side, I am of course critical, why not? 81 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:07,640 At the very beginning, I was very, very mild, because my Croatia was like a baby in cradle. 82 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,680 Now you can kick it in the... You know! 83 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,520 Now you can take it apart a bit! 84 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,360 In the '90s, in the war, I wouldn't do that. Now, I'm very critical. 85 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,640 You sound as though you were a bit unhappy in the Communist times? 86 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:25,640 You know, Communism, I didn't like Communism because it was very limiting. 87 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,040 For work. 88 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,520 You see, people felt much more secure in ex-Yugoslavia 89 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,040 because you get a job, and you keep it for life. 90 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,120 You get what you get, but, you see, they didn't have 91 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,800 so many possibilities to work. Like this one. 92 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,800 Like I'm working now, you see. 93 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,040 What sort of things define Croatia now, 94 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,000 its sort of... Its role in the world? 95 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,120 Yes, you see, when we look at it now, 96 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,320 it is the first time in history that we have our modern state. Yeah. 97 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:07,240 For example, in ex-Yugoslavia I could not express my patriotism as freely as I do now. 98 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:12,000 It has to be some kind... It fit into Yugoslavia, whatever. 99 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,840 But now, I am Croatian. 100 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,880 It's a fantastic feeling that you can say openly 101 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,960 without any fear, without any consequences. That's the point. 102 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,440 These days, self-expression breaks out just about anywhere in Split. 103 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:33,480 Improvised, energetic and, after a few beers, embarrassingly irresistible. 104 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,960 'Can't wait to get home and tell the wife about this!' 105 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,440 CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS 106 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:07,040 One of the most seductive attractions of Croatia are her islands. 107 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,320 I take the ferry to Hvar, which comes highly recommended. 108 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,800 What can we expect to see there? 109 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,240 A paradise. A paradise? Oh, we are not allowed to go to paradise. 110 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,760 You are, you are. 111 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,240 In what way? Just the look of the place? 112 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:28,200 I mean the sands, the flowers, the flowers on the islands, the colours, you will love it. 113 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,960 I'm sure you will love it, everyone does. 114 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,560 Hvar beckons you before you even reach it, 115 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:47,080 with a heady scent of lavender, oregano and the broom that seems to cover the island. 116 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,880 Attractive as this might be to the tourists, 117 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:55,200 it hasn't done much for the locals who have, over the years, left in droves to find work abroad. 118 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,520 One man who says he'll never leave is Igor Zivanovic. 119 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,480 Raconteur, bon viveur and all-round character, 120 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,720 Igor has his own bar and restaurant in a back street of Stari Grad. 121 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,960 This is the premier house, because the family is here 500 years. 122 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,200 It is steeped in history. 123 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,040 History. 124 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,720 Do you know about all that slow food that they write about in Italy? 125 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,240 Sometimes, sometimes. 126 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,440 Sometimes when we are friends in the bar and we are drinking wine, 127 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:39,280 we are talking about the wine, about my grandmother, about your grandmother, 128 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,960 about the time when you were 16 or 17. 129 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:48,760 And the stupid tourist, that's really stupid, not the friend, he wants to eat something. 130 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,280 I say, if you have 20 kroner, you can go to fast food. 131 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,920 I have no time. So if you want a quick meal, don't come in here. 132 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,400 You are the Basil Fawlty of slow food. 133 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,320 I enjoy it! To cook, to make the joke. 134 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,320 What can I do for you now? 135 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:08,440 You can bring me a glass of white wine from the island of Hvar, please. 136 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,800 OK. There on the bar, my glass is on the left, yours is on the right. 137 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,000 It may take a few hours but I will do my best. 138 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,560 HE READS LABEL ALOUD 139 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,680 Igor, is this all right? And where is your glass? 140 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:31,200 Well, I've got a bottle and a glass. You are the most important person at the moment. 141 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:32,720 I'm taking it slowly today. 142 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,840 According to your philosophy, there was no need to hurry. 143 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,000 There you are. 144 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,640 One for you, one for me. Is this the right one? OK. 145 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,000 This is the wine from the island here. 146 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,200 Oh, right. This is a table wine. 147 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:51,240 The meal, peppery lamb stew and fresh grilled sardines is delicious, 148 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:57,520 and I find myself helplessly drawn into Igor's world, which includes opinions on everything, 149 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:59,320 from Marshal Tito to McDonald's. 150 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,480 If you are going to try your own you should obey and accept the terms. 151 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,160 If they make here McDonald's, I will hang. 152 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:07,840 You'd hang! 153 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,280 The first McDonald's martyr! 154 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:16,560 There's clocks all over. 155 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,400 They are all at 3.04. 156 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,560 Look, there's some more. 157 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:22,280 They're all at 3.04? 158 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,080 Why? 159 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,760 This is a story, my dear. 160 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:31,000 In that time, it's my ex-president who is dying. 161 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,920 Tito died at 3.04? 3.04. 162 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,120 Maybe not. But so it was on TV. 163 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:45,680 They said, now he is dying. And then I put all the clocks on 3.04. 164 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:53,320 He was the biggest hedonist in the history of modern civilisation. He was wonderful. 165 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,440 'After our lunch, Igor takes me out of the town to see the farms 166 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,800 'deserted by those who couldn't make these stony fields pay.' 167 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,600 They are from 16th century, 16th-17th century. 168 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:08,200 This is from the 17th century. 169 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:13,240 Yes, this one. Because you can know in the middle, you notice this triangle, how do you say? 170 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:14,880 Headstone? Headstone. 171 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,760 Bravo. You know everything about our architecture! I've cracked it! 172 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,280 At last, something I know about! 173 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:29,560 Would you be happy to stay here in this paradise for the rest of your life? What have you said? 174 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:31,640 You have said "paradise". 175 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,160 Then the question is stupid, I am sorry. 176 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,560 Because if this is paradise, 177 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:39,840 then you mustn't make the question. 178 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,920 You have come to the end of your life. Normally. 179 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,960 Well, somebody called it paradise. You have said paradise. 180 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:47,120 A girl I met on the boat. 181 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:51,240 You are for a short time here. 182 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,280 I am sure that you will come back. 183 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,840 I feel I've just got out in time. 184 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:03,320 There was something dangerously tempting about Hvar that made me want to stop the journey right there. 185 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:09,520 But the local fishermen make sure my ride across the water to Bosnia is as painless as possible. 186 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,160 Fantastic. 187 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:17,240 Little anchovies. 188 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:18,680 OK. 189 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:20,760 Lovely. 190 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:28,200 A half pint of white wine, freshly-caught anchovies, and oil made by the captain. 191 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,240 This is the way to get around the world. 192 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,720 I'm afraid someone has to do it. 193 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,200 U zdravlje! U zdravlje! U zdravlje! 194 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,880 It's a short-lived celebration. 195 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:48,920 Beyond the mountains lies Bosnia-Herzegovina, where things are a lot more complicated. 196 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:58,920 What I least expected to find in a country which probably suffered more from the break-up of Yugoslavia 197 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:06,480 than any other, was a quiet line of pilgrims from all over the world, wending their way up a mountainside 198 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:13,560 to a place where, 26 years ago, a group of local teenagers met and spoke with the Virgin Mary. 199 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,360 What those children saw has transformed the village of Medjugorje 200 00:15:54,360 --> 00:16:00,440 into a boom town which has already attracted 25 million visitors. 201 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:05,520 Despite the fact the Pope has refused to endorse the visions, or apparitions as they call them here, 202 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:11,160 Medjugorje is now the third most popular Catholic site in Europe. 203 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:25,880 Mirjana Dragicevic, is one of the children who saw the Virgin... and still does. 204 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:32,960 She's in her forties now, married to a builder and living to all intents and purposes a quiet suburban life. 205 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,440 She told me what happened on the mountain when she was 15. 206 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,240 At first we just ran away. 207 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,640 We didn't go close. Were you frightened? 208 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,400 Yes, because I didn't know what happening to me. 209 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,160 Nobody explained me that this can happen. 210 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,840 Because our religious life in Communism was being in the homes. 211 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:56,680 Having had this experience was there a change in you, did you feel different somehow? 212 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,240 I understand that happening to me something beautiful. 213 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:05,480 Because to be with Blessed Mary, I think that this is like in Heaven. 214 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:10,400 Because give you one example, I am the mother of two daughters and like all normal mother 215 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:16,200 I'd give my life for them, but when I am with Blessed Mary even my children don't exist. 216 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,680 It's only inside of myself the wish that she bring me with her. 217 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:27,200 And you can imagine how big pain is when she is leaving and I see that I'm here on the earth. 218 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:33,640 And I always need to pray one hour, two hours in my room to be able to understand that this must be. 219 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,400 This is what God wants. Do you still see the Blessed Mary? 220 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:42,040 Yeah, she tell me every 18th March in all my life 221 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,600 that I will have this apparition every 18th March. 222 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:50,000 But she also said that I will have apparition every second day of each month. 223 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,240 But she didn't say how long. 224 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:59,720 And every second of each month is most like a prayer for those who don't feel love of God yet. 225 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,920 What we saying unbelievers. But Blessed Mary never say unbelievers. 226 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,800 Does she call you by your Christian name? 227 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,800 She always saying, my dear children. Always. 228 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,480 Is it a burden to have the weight of these apparitions upon you? 229 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,920 Is it a burden to be the person who has seen the Blessed Virgin Mary? 230 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,200 If you seeing one time the face of Blessed Mary you cannot say 231 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,680 it is difficult for you, because when you are seeing the love, 232 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,960 the pain, everything on the face of her for all her children. 233 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,600 And how I can say that for me it's difficult when I think what's she doing for all of us - 234 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,640 when I saying "us" I'm thinking of all the world - 235 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,120 how I can say what I'm doing is difficult for me, 236 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:47,040 I cannot say, because she is the one really doing everything. 237 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:52,160 Mirjana and her friends have made Medjugorje into a focal point for Catholics. 238 00:18:53,920 --> 00:19:00,600 My next stop, Mostar, has because of recent events, became equally important to the Muslims. 239 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,000 CRIES AND CLAPPING 240 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,640 In November 1993, in one of the most callous acts of the war, 241 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:18,720 this bridge behind me, which has stood for over 400 years 242 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:25,360 and has now been immaculately restored, was destroyed by Bosnian Croat guns within seconds. 243 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,560 It was a single act, 244 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,200 one of many which, following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, 245 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,280 brought terrible suffering to a land 246 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,160 where Muslims and Christians once lived in peace. 247 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,240 And, so this is the peak. Wow! 248 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:56,880 The highest peak in Mostar. 249 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,880 I feel my stomach is down there already. 250 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,600 Oh, my God! Unbelievable. 251 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:09,080 The re-building of the bridge has enabled members of the select Mostari Divers Club 252 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:15,600 to resume the perilous tradition of hurling themselves 70ft, into just 15ft of water. 253 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,240 And the idea is you've got to jump well clear of the bridge, really throw yourself out. 254 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,840 You have to be away, you have to throw yourself out from the bridge. Yes. 255 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,280 Bravo! 256 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,200 CHEERS AND WHISTLES 257 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:41,160 The destruction of the bridge became a symbol of the pitiless brutality of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. 258 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,600 My friend Kamel and his family lived through those times. 259 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,880 What was it like when this bridge was destroyed, 260 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,960 what was the immediate psychological effect? 261 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,560 Was everybody distraught? 262 00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:00,280 For we Mostarians it was like they have lost their child 263 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:05,920 because they had been born in Mostar, they'd been raised in Mostar. 264 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:11,440 They lived, they breathed, their first love. 265 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:16,040 Everything what Mostar represented, represented the bridge. 266 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,600 They felt like they lost their child or they lost their father or mother. 267 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:26,240 That's how people who really loved this city and this bridge felt about it. 268 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,760 But it was only one act in a bitter struggle. 269 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:37,440 As races and religions jostled for power, this city of tolerance and tradition was torn apart. 270 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,640 APPLAUSE 271 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,520 Looking out there now, Kamel, everything looks... 272 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,720 The wooded banks and the little terraces with their tables out. 273 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,680 Do you find it hard to remember that only a dozen years ago 274 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,920 there was such bloodshed around here, there was a war on? 275 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:24,240 I think that's really nice question and quite a bit hard for me. 276 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:29,560 Yes, it's beautiful. It's amazing nature, amazing structures, 277 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,680 amazing houses and people, of course. 278 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:40,360 But going back 12 years, going back in 1993 when I was 14 years old, a teenager... 279 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:45,160 It looked really, how can I say, unrealistic to me. 280 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:50,360 Like that I would be, let's say, sitting today here 281 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:53,360 having discussion with you 282 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:58,640 because at that time I was more like, "OK, how to survive? 283 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:05,960 "Where to escape in case of bombing?", and so on. 284 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:12,280 I was, like, afraid, afraid for my future. 285 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:18,760 Afraid because we could not see an end to this bloodshed that we had here. 286 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:25,440 Before I left Mostar, I went with Kamel to one of the Muslim cemeteries, 287 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,720 where all the graves looked very new. 288 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,400 So many young lives ended in 1993. 289 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,640 They all end with "1993". 290 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,080 That was the height of the fighting. 291 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:39,880 That was the height of the fight. 292 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:41,720 And... 293 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:43,840 Yes, it is... 294 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:48,920 But I would say one thing that I hope that these heroes haven't died in vain. 295 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,480 MAN SINGS DEVOTIONAL SONG 296 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:22,120 I'm going to be leaving Mostar by train, which is going to take me deep into the heart of Bosnia 297 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,640 and to the city that's perhaps more synonymous with all the events 298 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,840 that have happened in this area than any other...Sarajevo. 299 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,080 This is the Mostar-Sarajevo Express. 300 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,600 When Bosnia-Herzegovina rose from the ruins of Yugoslavia, 301 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,240 the various ethnic groups that made up the country - 302 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,880 Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats - 303 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,960 felt vulnerable and began to fight to safeguard their territory. 304 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:53,120 Nowhere was the fight more prolonged and destructive than in the capital, Sarajevo. 305 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:02,200 I check in at the Holiday Inn, famous for being the only hotel 306 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,240 that journalists could stay at during the war. 307 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,440 Frequently shelled, its most sought-after rooms 308 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,280 were those WITHOUT a view. 309 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:17,000 So, Sarajevo from here is just a city in a most spectacularly beautiful location. 310 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,800 It's almost unbelievable to think 311 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,880 only a little more than ten years ago, 312 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,200 they were coming to the end of the longest siege 313 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,920 in modern European history. 314 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,680 There'd be no cars, no trams, even if you'd tried to cross that road 315 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,240 out there you'd be shot by snipers from any of these buildings. 316 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,560 SHELLS EXPLODE 317 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,360 GUNFIRE 318 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,600 HEAVY EXPLOSIONS 319 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,480 Today, the wounds are healing, 320 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,800 the trams are running and the city is gradually re-building. 321 00:25:54,800 --> 00:26:00,760 Sarajevo is a tough, resilient working city whose inhabitants just want to get on with their lives. 322 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:06,160 Most of them don't want to talk about the war, though, sooner or later, everybody does. 323 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,320 I take a tram to the outskirts of the city 324 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:24,040 to see one of the reasons why what happened only 12 years ago can't be easily forgotten. 325 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:32,200 The countryside where Sarajevans used to go for walks and picnics is now a death trap. 326 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:39,280 As a mine clearance squad works away I talk to its leader Damir, once a soldier himself. 327 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:44,360 This particular part was territory controlled by the Republic of Srpska army. 328 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:51,840 The Bosnian government army was further down in the field and further up the mountains. 329 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,320 So the Bosnian Serbs moved their armies... 330 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,840 Yeah, this was part of the sort of ring. 331 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,120 And if you look at Sarajevo you can see the minebelt... 332 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,680 Right along the hills. Yeah, completely surrounding the city, 333 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:10,320 enclosing down. And this the old centre. 334 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,000 And we are now in this area, just under the mountain. 335 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,280 So during the conflict, at that time 336 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,520 we did not think about what will happen with Bosnia after. 337 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:28,080 But its effect that now we are paying the price, big price... 338 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,880 for use of land mines. 339 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:39,640 When you see all this painstaking work that has to go on 340 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:44,640 and the endless amount of time it's going to take, how do you feel? 341 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:51,800 Do you feel very bitter about the people who laid these mines and created the situation? 342 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,720 It's difficult to say because I was part of it. 343 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,280 And...for many people at that time 344 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:03,320 was perfectly normal to use land mines. 345 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:11,160 The conflict was so long and so difficult that I understand why 346 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,560 if we had ten times more land mines those would be used. 347 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:21,880 If you are facing a really powerful army on the other side and you expect something to happen, 348 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:28,920 you're going to use everything you have in stock just to stop them from entering your trenches. 349 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,800 And land mines were used for that. 350 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,280 Land mines were used as a protection for the front lines. 351 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:42,960 It is sad that now we are paying the price for that. 352 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,240 But at that time we did not think about long-term. 353 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,280 At that time you had to think, I'm going to survive no matter what, 354 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,880 and I'm going to use everything I've got to protect myself. 355 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:01,480 It's such a beautiful place. 356 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,680 In England this would be a nature reserve. 357 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:05,560 They'd say, "Oh, it's wonderful!" 358 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,360 The farmers' agri-business hasn't cleared all this, we'd value all this. 359 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:14,440 It's only here... because of the war really. 360 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,920 In a local school a Serbian theatre group, helped with money from UNICEF, 361 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:30,520 uses puppets and jokes to put across the deadly serious message that a walk in the woods could be fatal. 362 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,720 HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE 363 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:42,760 The group, organised by Diana here, turn the class room into a courtroom 364 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,720 where land-mines and other weapons are put on trial, 365 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,320 with the children as the jury. 366 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,200 CHILDREN SHOUT OUT 367 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:04,040 Maybe half a kilometre or kilometre outside of this school you have lots of land mine fields. 368 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,880 Some of them are marked, some are not. 369 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:12,880 So that's why we try to keep children aware that they should be careful where they go, 370 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,840 especially when it comes to going to nature, mountains. 371 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:17,640 What sort of... 372 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,680 What does it do to the community to have these mines all around, 373 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:23,720 with the fields and the economy? 374 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,320 It's very negative impact on the economy. 375 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:31,240 This particular part of Bosnia was very famous for the wood-cutting industry. 376 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,640 People used to go to the forest to cut woods 377 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,160 or collect medical herbs or mushrooms. 378 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,560 Now they can no longer do it. 379 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,240 Or they have a choice. 380 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:45,800 Either basically to starve because they have no income, 381 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,920 or to go to the forest and risk being killed or injured by the land mine. 382 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,640 It's kind of depressing for the future of these children. 383 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,840 You are right. That's why many families are leaving this town. 384 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,400 This school was built for 600 pupils. Now it has a bit over than 120 pupils. 385 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,320 That means some due to the war but mostly due to the economical reasons. 386 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:13,080 Families are just leaving this community because they have no jobs. 387 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,600 It's very sad, it's a beautiful part of Bosnia. 388 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:24,080 The good news is that thanks to work like this, the deaths from land mine accidents are less than 20 a year. 389 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,320 The bad news is that it may be another 70 years 390 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,600 before it's safe to walk in the Bosnian countryside again. 391 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:40,080 Sarajevo's dramatic location, at the focal point of north-south and east-west trade routes, 392 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,120 has made it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. 393 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:47,440 Its years as part of the Ottoman Empire have left behind 394 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,880 a legacy of fine buildings and religious tolerance. 395 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:55,120 I walk through the old Turkish quarter with Ademir Kenovic, 396 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:59,680 a film director who kept working here throughout the war, risking his life 397 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,360 to fly in and out to show the world his films. 398 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:07,960 He's teaching me a lot about the city, including what street-wise Sarajevans should drink. 399 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,160 Here we can get our drinks. 400 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:11,800 Can you repeat it once again? 401 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,040 Erm... Bo, bo... Boza. Boza. 402 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:16,960 Boza. 403 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,960 Boza, it turns out, is a fermented corn drink, a local speciality. 404 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,960 Good. 405 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,920 So, you first tell me how it tastes. 406 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:28,840 Bo, bo... Boza. 407 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,080 Boza. I keep wanting to put an "R" in it. 408 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,080 THEY TOAST 409 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,640 Unusual taste, that. Different. 410 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:48,040 Lemony, almost a lemon taste but it's thicker than a lemon juice. 411 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:52,440 What was this area like during the siege, was it still operating, 412 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,320 were people still going to the mosque 413 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,200 and still buying their Boza? No, no, no. This was all closed. 414 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,760 Most of these places were devastated. 415 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:07,640 It's empty most of the time because you can see the hills from these places. 416 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,880 Wherever you can see the hills from you wouldn't dare to go there. 417 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,760 So there was sometimes very fast walking through these places 418 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,800 but it was mainly empty during the war. 419 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,240 People were hidden. 420 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,360 Did you feel... 421 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:30,000 very, very frustrated that this was happening to your city, a civilised city? 422 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:35,680 You have no electricity, no water, and it went on for three years. 423 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,760 Yeah, but... How did you keep yourself going? 424 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:43,080 I understand you being British using the mild words like "frustrated"! 425 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,440 It was more than outrageous. 426 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:52,360 Nobody here could believe what's wrong with all these people letting all these idiots, 427 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,920 maniacs, and that system to go and destroy the people. 428 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,040 And destroy all what's good about this place. 429 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:06,520 Mosques and churches were the first buildings to be repaired 430 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,160 after the war, reasserting Sarajevo's tolerant tradition 431 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,080 and helping to breathe new life into the old town. 432 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,720 ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS 433 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,840 My last meal in Sarajevo is memorable... 434 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,360 for good wine, good humour, good company 435 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,320 and the enchanting sound of a singer called Amira, 436 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:34,480 whose voice seems to echo all the pain and pleasure of this remarkable country. 437 00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:38,320 SHE SINGS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE 438 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:32,200 It's only a few hours' drive from Sarajevo to Belgrade. 439 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:38,520 Once the capital of all Yugoslavia, Belgrade is now, after defeats in three wars against the Croatians, 440 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:42,880 the Bosnians and the Kosovans, the capital of a Serbia 441 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:47,920 that's not only reduced but blamed squarely, if not fairly, for all the recent troubles. 442 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:59,040 Set impressively on the Danube, Belgrade bears few obvious scars of war. 443 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:02,760 I cadge a ride on the river with a charismatic DJ 444 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,280 and critic of the Milosevic regime who thinks I can sail. 445 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,200 ..As are we at the moment. 446 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,280 All right. 447 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:12,600 OK. 448 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:16,240 The old arthritis! 449 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:22,040 'A man of many names, his current handle is, modestly, Rambo Amadeus.' 450 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,880 What was the war like for you, did you have to fight? 451 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:29,440 No, no, I was like...you know... 452 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,280 For me, it was like... 453 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,440 everybody tolerate me to be like 454 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,040 his brother, you know. 455 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,480 So you didn't raise a gun in anger? 456 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,240 No, quite opposite. 457 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:51,080 We had in Belgrade here a huge... 458 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,720 peace organisation who struggled against... To stop the war. 459 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:01,240 It was quite a bad time in Serbia for a long time 460 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:04,360 because you were involved in a war which you couldn't win. 461 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,720 It was a bad time for all of the former Yugoslavia. 462 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:18,200 If you throw your TV through the window you didn't notice anything. 463 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:24,000 But actually nobody throw TV through window. 464 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,120 Too precious. What was your feeling about Milosevic? 465 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:36,880 When he was alive and he was in power, I had some thoughts about him. 466 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,800 Now he is dead 467 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,680 and I don't want to tell anything. 468 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:46,840 But you can ask around what I... 469 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,600 was thinking about him. 470 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,720 Somehow I think it is polite. 471 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,160 Serbs know how to party and Belgrade is renowned for its music, 472 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:07,640 available at all kinds of clubs, at all hours of the night. 473 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:20,880 In one of the clubs I meet Tijana, a DJ and singer, and her friend Jelena, a TV presenter. 474 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:33,840 We end up back on the Danube, this time navigating the tricky waters of Serbia's recent past. 475 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:37,120 There was never a real war in Serbia 476 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,920 so you don't get the same feeling 477 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:45,640 as if you go to Bosnia or parts of Croatia that were at war. 478 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:47,480 We've seen that. So that's why... 479 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:51,320 Belgrade was always...always had this metropolitan glitter. 480 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:54,960 It was the capital city of Yugoslavia, too. 481 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,800 I think the tradition of this city is, in a way, kept. 482 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:04,560 There is also ironic side of this nation so everybody is making jokes about their history. 483 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:09,400 So you have absurd things like celebrating the battle that we lost. 484 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,480 Are things improving now? 485 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:17,160 I don't think that things are going to change for better with the new generations. 486 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:21,200 I think new generations are really... 487 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:24,960 Because they grew up in the way they did 488 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,680 and it's going to be really confusing and crazy. 489 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,680 I really don't know, I have no idea what is going to happen. 490 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,040 So the prejudices are still there, you think? 491 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:42,080 I think there is not a big hatred towards other nations in Balkans. 492 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:46,320 Not even among the younger generations. 493 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:53,040 Although they grew up in a very aggressive environment, they did not actually know what was happening. 494 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,800 They were not aware. They just knew that there was a problem. 495 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:04,680 But there is something that... this Serbian mentality that is always coming on the surface. 496 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:10,600 This fleeting impression tells me the Serbs are well aware of the contradictions of their history. 497 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,600 They're also rather proud of them. 498 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:19,080 In the hope of finding transport on through the Balkans 499 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:23,000 I've come south to the busy port of Dubrovnik, jewel of the Adriatic. 500 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,440 Even this treasure was not spared the violence of the war. 501 00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:31,680 For half a year, Bosnian-Serb artillery shelled the city from up on these cliffs. 502 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:41,360 Thanks to its beauty and its harbours, Dubrovnik is once again flaunting its attractions, 503 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:47,560 though there are many locals who worry that their city is becoming too popular, 504 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:54,200 and that the cruise-liner crowds are tarnishing the very beauty they've come to see. 505 00:40:55,920 --> 00:41:00,920 Someone who still loves the atmosphere of the old town is Edin Karamazov, 506 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:06,640 a Bosnian who plays the lute so sweetly that Sting has made an album with him. 507 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:10,440 But he's kept the busking job, just in case. 508 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,520 Edin that is, not Sting. 509 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:44,200 As a storm, blowing up from nowhere, clears the stone-flagged streets of the city, 510 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:49,920 Edin, with true Balkan hospitality, offers me shelter in the apartment he's been lent by a friend. 511 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:11,520 Do you go back to Bosnia? 512 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:13,840 Oh, yeah. Of course. 513 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:17,280 I just started loving Bosnia. 514 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,080 It's a nice country. 515 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:20,760 It's your homeland. 516 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:22,560 Do you feel at home there? 517 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,800 Oh, yes, let's say. 518 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:29,480 Although I don't feel at home... nowhere. 519 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:30,880 At the moment. 520 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:34,560 Home is everywhere. 521 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:38,200 You are indeed a wandering minstrel! It seems so. 522 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,520 When I look back, 523 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:46,960 I travelled most of my life and I played everywhere 524 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:51,800 and I think it's...it is my way in the end. 525 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:56,120 Although I never wanted to be a minstrel. 526 00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:58,720 I think it is so. 527 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:09,120 On this suitably soulful note, my time here and in Croatia 528 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,280 and, indeed, in the former Yugoslavia has come to an end. 529 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:27,040 With some difficulty, we've found a boat that will take us down the coast to Albania. 530 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:31,120 Her captain is a part-time opera singer who's just played Judas 531 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:35,240 in the Zagreb production of Jesus Christ Superstar. 532 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:40,640 He doesn't really want to go to Albania, but he listens politely as I burble on. 533 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:44,560 I rather like the idea of the mystery of Albania. I like the fact of it being secret. 534 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:46,680 Everywhere is opening up but it... 535 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:50,720 still seems to be the reclusive country in Europe. 536 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:55,920 It was one of the closest European country. 537 00:43:55,920 --> 00:44:01,680 So in our minds, it is still some kind of black hole, really. 538 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:03,160 I would say maybe... 539 00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,800 ..50 people from Croatia even go there. 540 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,080 It is very complications. 541 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:15,720 Some businessmen, they start maybe some little business or something like that. 542 00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:21,000 The captain does everything he can to avoid reaching Albania too quickly, 543 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:26,280 raising only his smallest sail and singing a lot. 544 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:29,320 LOUD RENDITION OF "O Sole Mio" 545 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:38,480 I'm not complaining, but we've another 17 countries to get through. 546 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:06,280 What's for supper? Is that...? I heard some echo. 547 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,600 Very good. Very good. 548 00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:15,120 Cooking supper gives him another reason to slow the boat down, but the mussel risotto is superb. 549 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:19,080 You can put this in the sea, back. 550 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:22,080 OK. I suppose that's... I don't want to lose any risotto. 551 00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:28,800 I accept now that the captain's not going to hurry, 552 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:33,200 and after washing my smalls, I settle in and surrender to the night. 553 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:35,040 I must say, there's... 554 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:39,000 something to be said for this way of getting round Europe. 555 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,120 Bobbing along the Adriatic, 556 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:45,280 along one of the most ancient trade routes of the world, 557 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:49,400 with this lovely symphony of creaks and groans. 558 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:52,960 You just don't get hotel rooms like this. 559 00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:54,240 Lovely, really. 560 00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:00,920 And tomorrow, Albania. Ahh. 561 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:06,040 Albania. 562 00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:08,360 LOUD SINGING ECHOES 563 00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:26,920 Amazingly enough, we do eventually reach Durres, Albania's main port and second city. 564 00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:31,600 We're now heading into the heart of the Balkans 565 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:38,280 and the first port of call is Albania, surely the most quirkily inscrutable country in Europe. 566 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:43,880 I know they had a king called Zog and, for 45 years, a hardline communist dictatorship 567 00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:47,760 where even having a map could land you in prison. 568 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:51,720 But now they are open for business. We can see the reality for ourselves. 569 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:57,600 With Italy, her main trading partner, only 70 miles away, 570 00:46:57,600 --> 00:47:01,680 Albania's isn't exactly cut off, it just feels that way. 571 00:47:11,560 --> 00:47:14,320 On the beach at Durres, there's surreal evidence 572 00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:20,600 of the paranoid rule of Enver Hoxha, the dictator who embraced first Stalin, then Chairman Mao. 573 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:29,320 One of the first things you notice when you come ashore in Albania are bunkers everywhere. 574 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:34,000 Apparently, there are about 400,000 of them scattered across the country, 575 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:38,040 a symbol of the paranoia during the Hoxha years. 576 00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:42,080 But now some of them have been recycled rather nicely 577 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:46,400 and certainly make British beach huts look rather pathetic! 578 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:49,640 You could have a nice holiday and repel an invasion from here. 579 00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:54,600 And what can you say about Dunsleepin' and all those little Balmorals? 580 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:57,920 This is a proper decent beach hut! 581 00:47:57,920 --> 00:48:00,160 Right? 582 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:15,120 I take the train from Durres inland to the capital, Tirana. 583 00:48:15,120 --> 00:48:17,640 It's about an hour's ride away. 584 00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:25,000 Under Communism, investment in Albania stagnated 585 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:31,520 and afterwards things got even worse when a huge pyramid selling scheme collapsed taking savings with it. 586 00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:36,520 The villages we passed through show a bruised economy making a fragile recovery. 587 00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:43,880 In the capital, evidence of hardship is less immediately apparent. 588 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,720 The Albanian's car of choice appears to be a Mercedes. 589 00:48:46,720 --> 00:48:52,160 Almost everybody has one, though no-one seems quite sure where they've all come from. 590 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:02,240 I get a part-time job with some young Albanian couriers. 591 00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:07,800 They've been given the task of delivering some of the city's bills and business letters 592 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:11,640 as the postal service and the traffic is so bad. 593 00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:23,040 My fellow worker, Ilya, seems to know just what to do, 594 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:25,760 including wearing a helmet and getting a proper bike. 595 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:32,640 The natives are not friendly. 596 00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:35,440 CAR HORN BLARES 597 00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:40,960 Ilya, do you want some water? Thank you. 598 00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:44,280 You'll need it after that. I'm tired. 599 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:46,760 It's dangerous sometimes, isn't it, out there? 600 00:49:46,760 --> 00:49:51,080 Yeah. With a bike it is. 601 00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:52,720 Were you born here? 602 00:49:52,720 --> 00:49:57,560 Yeah, I was born in Tirana. Was it a good place to grow up? 603 00:49:57,560 --> 00:49:59,640 It was before a good place. 604 00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:02,880 It was before? Before it was a good place. When? 605 00:50:02,880 --> 00:50:05,920 Before 15 years. Really? Yeah. 606 00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:09,760 Do you prefer it when the communist...? 607 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:14,840 Yeah. It was better. No cars, nothing, no troubles. 608 00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:19,200 No troubles! A bit of nostalgia for the old days. 609 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:23,400 Albania's national hero, Skanderbeg, fought the Turks. 610 00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:26,440 But today's hero is fighting for his city. 611 00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:32,160 Hello, Mayor. It's nice of you to meet me, Michael Palin. 612 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:36,800 And what a fantastic office. 613 00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:42,080 I've just noticed! It's not really an office, it's an art gallery! 614 00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:44,120 Have a seat. 615 00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:47,600 Edi Rama is an artist who became mayor of Tirana. 616 00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:54,640 His notebooks, doodled on during council meetings, give him inspiration for improving the city. 617 00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:59,640 All these colours you have here, 618 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:06,240 were they part of how you approached changing the city? The look of the city, by painting buildings? 619 00:51:06,240 --> 00:51:09,920 Colours are a part of our life. 620 00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:17,320 It's really a pity that cities are not really reflecting this. 621 00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:22,320 And I think Tirana has a big potential to develop on colours. 622 00:51:22,320 --> 00:51:25,840 I would like the city to become 623 00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:31,400 like an open-air contemporary art living space. 624 00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:34,520 It's like people living in an art space. 625 00:51:34,520 --> 00:51:40,160 So if every building would be painted, every corner would be painted, it would be amazing. 626 00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:44,000 It could be a really extremely attractive city. 627 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:48,080 So the idea for the painted buildings comes really from you? 628 00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:52,960 No, the idea of painting buildings came in the beginning. 629 00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:58,240 When I came in, and we had no money, and people had big expectations 630 00:51:58,240 --> 00:52:01,840 after ten years of greyness and lack of hope. 631 00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:08,520 Tirana was like a transit station where everybody wanted to leave for somewhere. 632 00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:11,280 Dirty, and no communication. 633 00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:13,480 So we had to give a sign, and how? 634 00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:16,520 We thought, colours are the best way. 635 00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:21,840 You grew up here presumably during the Hoxha years and all that. 636 00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:27,040 It must have been depressing for someone with an artistic colour sense. 637 00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:31,040 A little bit depressed, yes. It was like a concentration camp. 638 00:52:31,040 --> 00:52:34,400 Private life was totally controlled. 639 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:36,440 Cafes didn't exist. 640 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:38,040 We didn't have cafes. 641 00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:40,280 What sort of education were you getting? 642 00:52:41,720 --> 00:52:45,160 It was a Stalinist country. 643 00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:48,600 We were isolated from both West and East. 644 00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:55,840 So it really was, there was no other country in the same situation as Albania? 645 00:52:55,840 --> 00:52:57,680 Kind of unusual. No comparison. 646 00:52:57,680 --> 00:52:59,280 When it all finished, 647 00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:06,120 was there a great feeling, did you feel a great spirit of excitement and opportunity and liberation? 648 00:53:06,120 --> 00:53:12,640 Sure. It was... like the end of a nightmare. 649 00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:34,560 To escape Tirana's turbulent traffic, I take a taxi out of town to see what life's like beyond the city limits. 650 00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:38,280 This involves negotiating the infamous Blackbird roundabout, 651 00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:41,360 named after a brothel that used to stand on the site. 652 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:43,680 Maybe still does for all I know! 653 00:53:43,680 --> 00:53:47,960 The mayor is doing his best to beautify Tirana but there are times 654 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:51,840 when a city needs something more than art, like roads that work. 655 00:53:51,840 --> 00:53:56,880 Until you get the infrastructure right, I think Tirana is never going to thrive. 656 00:53:56,880 --> 00:54:00,120 As a friend of mine once said about a British city which tried 657 00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:04,080 to paint its way out of trouble, you can't polish a turd! 658 00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:14,960 Albania, like most of the Balkan peninsula, is mountainous. 659 00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:20,240 And here in the town of Kruja, the 15th century hero Skanderbeg 660 00:54:20,240 --> 00:54:25,120 used natural defences to fight off three Turkish sieges. 661 00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:27,360 In a country without a lot to celebrate, 662 00:54:27,360 --> 00:54:31,800 this has made Kruja a national shrine and leading tourist attraction. 663 00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:38,120 But Illir Mati, my guide, has something rather different to show me. 664 00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:43,800 He invites me to accompany a young man who is taking a sheep to be sacrificed at the local monastery 665 00:54:43,800 --> 00:54:46,840 in the hope that it will make a dream come true. 666 00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:52,120 Tell me about this dream. 667 00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:56,360 Yeah. In the basis of this procession... 668 00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:58,640 This pilgrimage. 669 00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:02,680 Yes, pilgrimage, the basis is the dream. 670 00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,400 The dream? 671 00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:08,160 People have dreams 672 00:55:08,160 --> 00:55:12,840 about the person who are working in Europe. 673 00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:14,640 Oh, I see. 674 00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:18,000 So their family who are working in Europe, they pray for them. 675 00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:20,800 They pray for them in this mountain. 676 00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:25,640 What do they pray? They pray have documents, and work. 677 00:55:27,240 --> 00:55:30,760 Documents and work. That's a simple goal for your prayer. 678 00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:38,040 There don't seem to be too many people on this particular pilgrim trail this afternoon. 679 00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:41,280 However, I dare say our reward will be greater... 680 00:55:43,320 --> 00:55:50,480 The monastery belongs to the Bektashi religion, one of the offshoots of the mystical Sufi order of Islam. 681 00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:53,760 Its position, on the very top of the mountain, 682 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:57,520 is good for devotional contemplation but hell on the thigh muscles. 683 00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:01,080 Hello. 684 00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:06,440 Very pleased to meet you. 685 00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:08,480 It's difficult to get here. 686 00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:10,480 Michael there. Yes. Where do we go? 687 00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:12,120 Here. I'm here? 688 00:56:12,120 --> 00:56:15,200 Important guest. Ah. Right. 689 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:17,040 I am honoured. 690 00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:20,280 Ooh, it's so nice to sit down. 691 00:56:20,280 --> 00:56:25,560 'The holy man, known as the Baba, doesn't initially look thrilled to see us. 692 00:56:25,560 --> 00:56:29,600 'But after a tumblerful of the local raki, he seems to perk up a bit.' 693 00:56:29,600 --> 00:56:33,280 Baba, very good to meet you. 694 00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:39,360 In the mountain, the villagers like to have raki. 695 00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:41,520 Gezuar. Gezuar. 696 00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:58,160 'Regrettably, the main business of our visit cannot be put off any longer 697 00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:02,720 'and the pilgrim hands his sheep over for the sacrifice.' 698 00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:10,240 News of the successful sacrifice has cheered up the family no end 699 00:57:10,240 --> 00:57:13,680 and I'm invited back for a party 700 00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:19,640 at which my pilgrim friend plays celebratory music with his father and brothers. 701 00:57:41,560 --> 00:57:45,400 Albania does seem different from the other countries of the Balkans. 702 00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:50,920 It may be looking increasingly to the West, but at heart it feels Oriental. 703 00:57:50,920 --> 00:57:56,760 And I have to remind myself that not only am I still in Europe, but I've a lot further east to go yet.