with the qual­ity antic­i­pated to be high due to the hot­ter and drier sum­mers are focus­ing on qual­ity over quan­tity and are aim­ing to com­pete inter­na­tion­ally in the mar­ket for high-qual­ity olive oil Prolonged drought on the Croatian island of Šolta has led farm­ers there to pre­dict a 25 decrease in olive oil pro­duc­tion for the upcom­ing 2021/22 har­vest Šolta is located on an arch­i­pel­ago off the Adriatic coast of the south­ern region of Dalmatia and is typ­i­cally known for its mild win­ters and hot these sum­mers seem to be get­ting hot­ter and drier “The dry year affected Dalmatian olive grow­ers,” Zlatko Burić, pres­i­dent of Zlatna Šoltanka an asso­ci­a­tion com­pris­ing the island’s 20 pro­duc­ers ​“The num­ber of olive trees that coped well with a long period with­out rain is between one-third to one half.” the qual­ity could be extremely high,” he added ​“The oil could have a slightly more pro­nounced bit­ter­ness and spici­ness which will not stop fans of olive oil from con­tin­u­ing to enjoy it According to Burić, the island pro­duced 2,000 liters of organic extra vir­gin olive oil in 2020/21, slightly down from the 3,500 liters pro­duced in 2019/20 he antic­i­pates that pro­duc­ers will yield about 1,500 liters International Olive Council data show that Croatia pro­duced 4,600 tons of olive oil in the 2020/21 crop year Along with most other Croatian pro­duc­ers who har­vests 150 Šoltanka and 100 Oblica trees said that Zlatna Šoltanka focuses on qual­ity rather than quan­tity In 2016, olive oil pro­duced on Šolta received Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) sta­tus from the European Union which has helped con­sol­i­date pro­duc­ers’ push for qual­ity “We choose only the best fruits for pro­cess­ing into oil because quan­tity is less impor­tant to us than qual­ity,” he said ​“We har­vest early and process mostly green olives imme­di­ately after har­vest because the high fruiti­ness spici­ness and fresh­ness of our oil are more impor­tant to us than high yield.” Burić added that olive grow­ers on the island have long relied on ances­tral knowl­edge of land­scap­ing, tra­di­tional olive vari­eties graft­ing and prun­ing to pro­duce high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil the recent devel­op­ment of mod­ern milling facil­i­ties and stor­age tech­niques com­bined with the deci­sion of the pro­duc­ers to start work­ing together has allowed Zlatna Šoltanka to become a brand that can com­pete inter­na­tion­ally “We are look­ing for a mar­ket that is will­ing to pay a higher price for the high­est qual­ity,” Burić said. ​“Dalmatian olive grow­ers, encour­aged by suc­cesses at inter­na­tional com­pe­ti­tions, espe­cially at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition have set out to con­quer the demand­ing mar­ket together.” More articles on:  , , Portuguese Producers Highlight Quality as the Cornerstone of Promotional Efforts After achieving their second-biggest harvest ever Portuguese producers celebrated impressive results at the World Olive Oil Competition Sustainability Guides Award-Winning Producer in Turkey Garisar successfully navigates climate extremes and economic challenges Danish Family Crafts Award-Winning Olive Oil in Tuscany The family behind Casale 3 Danesi reflect on what it takes for a small farm to produce award-winning olive oil after a challenging harvest Labor Shortage Cripples Spanish Olive Harvest Table olive producers are struggling with a shortage of workers which is compounded by concerns about increasing foreign competition and the possibility of higher tariffs World Olive Oil Competition Southern Division Underway This year's awards carry exceptional weight in light of the widespread harvest shortfalls experienced by numerous countries across the hemisphere One-Third of World Olive Oil Competition Entries Organic for the First Time Organic extra virgin olive oils account for a growing share of submissions in the annual evaluation in New York Celebrated Sicilian Farmer Preserves Traditional Landscapes, Cultivars The producers behind Agrestis have won five World Competition Gold Awards for the endemic Tonda Iblea monovarietal cultivated in Sicily’s southern mountains New Research Sheds Light on Changing Nature of Droughts researchers found that rising global temperatures are making droughts longer and more severe involves Strickland Metals paying $750,000 in cash and issuing around 379.77 million shares Strickland Metals has sealed a binding share sale and purchase agreement with ISIHC Zlatna Reka Resources holds 100% of the Rogozna Project which includes four exploration licences in Serbia’s Trepca mining district involves Strickland Metals paying $750,000 in cash and issuing around 379.77 million shares and 50 million unquoted options to ISIHC It will also lead to a change in Strickland’s leadership with CEO Andrew Bray retiring and Paul L’Herpiniere stepping in as managing director Andrew Bray explained that the move is seen as a strategic complement to Strickland’s existing Yandal Gold Project which has recently restarted drilling operations Strickland Metals is in a strong financial position to advance exploration at both the Yandal and Rogozna Projects with resources including cash and Northern Star Resources shares totalling approximately $54m at the end of the December quarter Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis located near Novi Pazar and south of Belgrade has a Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC)-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 5.44 million ounces of gold equivalent The project is situated within the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt known for its significant gold-base metal systems It offers substantial exploration potential with more than 100,000m of historical drilling indicating opportunities for resource expansion and untested high-quality targets including potential for significant copper-Au porphyry mineralisation a 60,000m diamond drilling campaign is set to commence Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Croatian National Tourist Board established the Golden Pen media award in 2004 in order to show tourism journalist and their editors how much we appreciate the value of professional writing about Croatia the award was given in two categories: the best printed material and the best radio/TV show The most important award of the Golden Pen is the Grand Prix which is now awarded in six categories: for the best radio reportage The award-giving ceremony is a part of a 3-day press trip organized in a different region in Croatia each year and it is an excellent opportunity to show off a new destination in Croatia and to thank journalists bloggers and influencers for presenting Croatian beauties and tourist specialties to readers viewers and listeners in the media where they work we have hosted over 800 best of the best tourism media representatives from all over the world the 21st Award Ceremony of the prestigious "Golden Pen" Award was held in the beautiful setting of the Kozlović Winery.  Istria Tourist Board and Novigrad Tourist Board have prepared a multi-day program of touring destinations sights and attractions for this year’s best foreign journalists The reason why we named the award Golden Pen (in Croatian – Zlatna Penkala) is quite simple According to the Croatian encyclopedic dictionary pen is the colloquial name for the fountain pen ball point pen and mechanical graphite pencil engineer Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (1871-1922) one of the most famous inventors in the 20th century The first mechanical pencil in the world was patented by engineer Penkala on the 24th of January 1906 and the first fountain pen in the world with solid-ink The invention was patented in more than 35 countries in the world and manufacturing of the fountain pen and ball point pen in the Zagreb based factory grew Penkala’s pencils and fountain pens were exported to over 70 countries in the world and in the time period between 1912 and 1926 it was one of the biggest factories of writing equipment in the world Terms of use Privacy policy Cookie policy Olive oil producers from the Croatian island of Šolta joined forces to submit a single entry to NYIOOC 2017 winning a Gold Award and placing its Šoltansko maslinovo ulje on the world stage made from an indige­nous vari­ety grown on the Croatian island of Šolta won a Gold Award at the New York International Olive Oil Competition The award-win­ning oil was a joint entry by an asso­ci­a­tion of olive oil pro­duc­ers on the island who aim to pro­duce a supe­rior qual­ity olive oil and pro­mote a new cat­e­gory called ​‘super pre­mium’ olive oils One of the Gold Award win­ners announced last month at the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) was a robust Šoltanka made from an indige­nous olive vari­ety also known as Levantinka that grows on the Croatian island of Šolta This prize win­ner hap­pened to be a joint entry to the com­pe­ti­tion sub­mit­ted by an asso­ci­a­tion of olive oil pro­duc­ers from this rocky Adriatic island located in the cen­tral Dalmatian arch­i­pel­ago A joint entry by an asso­ci­a­tion of pro­duc­ers was a unique ini­tia­tive the pres­i­dent of Zlatna Šoltanka (Golden Šoltanka) told Olive Oil Times about the ratio­nale behind its cre­ation: thanks to the hard work of Zlatna Šoltanka who pre­pared the appli­ca­tion and sub­mit­ted it to the European Commission PDO sta­tus affirms that the oil was pro­duced processed and pre­pared in a spe­cific geo­graph­i­cal area accord­ing to cer­tain qual­ity require­ments is going a step fur­ther with the asso­ci­a­tion’s focus now on pro­duc­ing a supe­rior qual­ity olive oil that goes above and beyond the ​“extra vir­gin olive oil” appel­la­tion “One of the cur­rent goals of the asso­ci­a­tion is to ensure that more olive grow­ers on the island switch to organic pro­duc­tion and that the pro­duc­tion of olive oil here is of the high­est pos­si­ble qual­ity,” explained Burić “It was on the Olive Oil Times web­site that we learned about the efforts of a group of experts and olive grow­ers who founded the inter­na­tional Association 3E We agree with their view that the cat­e­gory ​‘extra vir­gin’ is often com­pro­mised and largely abused Golden Šoltanka aims to place only ​‘super pre­mium’ olive oils on the mar­ket That is why we will con­nect with other regions in Croatia and with other asso­ci­a­tions and pro­duc­ers world­wide to join our efforts in intro­duc­ing this supe­rior class of olive oil.” it’s not sur­pris­ing that Šoltanka was awarded gold At least 50 per­cent of this organic extra vir­gin olive oil is made with Šoltanka olives as well as another indige­nous Dalmatian olive vari­ety called Oblica In keep­ing with tra­di­tional tech­niques Šolta’s olive grow­ers hand pick the fruits which are then processed into oil and bot­tled on the island in order to guar­an­tee authen­tic­ity and a uni­form high-qual­ity oil Every olive oil afi­cionado knows that like good wine ter­roir is inte­gral to the mak­ing of a qual­ity oil and local flora add to the oil’s char­ac­ter as well as its cli­mate of hot and dry sum­mers the secret ingre­di­ents to high-qual­ity oil is also a lot of metic­u­lous and painstak­ing work and a good dose of TLC: ​“Šolta’s inhab­i­tants are in love with their olives They have a long tra­di­tion in the cul­ti­va­tion of olive trees and the pro­duc­tion of olive oil Olive trees on Šolta grow on rocky ter­rain with lit­tle fer­tile soil and the use of mech­a­niza­tion is impos­si­ble so every­thing from cul­ti­va­tion to har­vest­ing is done with small man­ual tools.” “Only this way is each tree a ​‘per­son­al­ity,’ ” Burić added ​“The olive grower talks to it and knows exactly when it needs help and what it’s miss­ing The same is true when it comes to the har­vest Each fruit passes through the grow­ers’ hands sev­eral times: when picked from the tree Damaged or rot­ten fruits are imme­di­ately dis­carded Oil derived from such fruits is noth­ing like the oils sold by super­mar­ket chains and can’t be sold under the same name only a small num­ber of con­sumers know the dif­fer­ence between the two and the major­ity con­sumes cheap oil from the super­mar­ket.” Things have been mov­ing fast since their first inter­na­tional award at NYIOOC, with recog­ni­tion com­ing from all quar­ters. ​“Since our olive oil has been rec­og­nized as one of the best olive oils in the world we’ve been get­ting daily phone calls from other olive grow­ers want­ing to join our asso­ci­a­tion,” Burić revealed “Although I was exhausted after a busy day I had the feel­ing that I should watch the live stream­ing of the win­ners of the com­pe­ti­tion in New York I thought I was dream­ing when at mid­night I heard: ​‘Association Golden Šoltanka: Gold Award!’ I screamed with joy I knew this could be some­thing very impor­tant for our island an e‑mail from Germany arrived: a gourmet food importer and world­wide dis­trib­u­tor wants to work with us The next day a fam­ily from Utah ordered 12 bot­tles And we’ve been get­ting phone calls and emails from guests com­ing to Šolta this sum­mer who want to reserve our oil as they right­fully fear that it will sell out before their arrival.” the future of Golden Šoltanka cer­tainly looks golden and Burić is con­vinced that the asso­ci­a­tion’s suc­cess will encour­age com­pe­ti­tion among local pro­duc­ers to improve the qual­ity and quan­tity of their oil This suc­cess­ful exam­ple of coop­er­a­tion can also be an inspi­ra­tion for other small pro­duc­ers to join forces and work together to cre­ate and pro­mote a supe­rior cat­e­gory of olive oil More articles on:  , , Trials and Triumphs of Organic Farming in Andalusia The fifth-generation family behind Luque Ecológico believes organic farming produces flavorful extra virgin olive oil protects the environment and mitigates the impacts of drought Japanese Olive Growers Strike Gold at NYIOOC Competition A Japanese community's olive oil wins top award at NYIOOC and showcases the success of a collaborative effort to revitalize the region's agriculture U.S. Olive Oil Producers Win Big at World Competition American producers demonstrated their ability to match the quality of imported brands winning 92 awards at the 2025 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition First-Time Winners Describe Perks of World Competition Awards regional promotion and motivation to keep improving are some benefits described by first-time NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition winners Basketball Coach Wins Gold, for Olive Oil adds another success with his award-winning olive oil brand "S Oil" and plans for olive tourism Small Croatian Town Already Boasts Four 2025 NYIOOC Winners the municipality of Pakoštane is already home to four of the best extra virgin olive oils in the world U.S. Olive Oil Producers Achieve Record-Breaking Success at World Competition Olive oil producers from five states combined to earn 95 awards exceeding the previous record of 94 set in 2022 Nik Cohn thought John Lennon ‘self-pitying’ Led Zeppelin ‘embarrassing’ and rated Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway’ above Van Morrison’s entire career neither came close to the glamour and speed fix of the rapidly receding “golden age” he wrote about with such dash: Elvis’s “great ducktail plume and lopsided grin” Among the the reasons Cohn’s book has remained such a thrilling, inspirational read are its total confidence and absolute sense of finality. By 1969, Cohn considered John Lennon “self-pitying”, thought the Who were “going through the same old stunts”, and dismissed Pink Floyd as “very solemn and dressed down in T-shirts and denims; Cohn reacted in 1971 with a book on fashion called Today There Are No Gentlemen He has never shown any inclination to write an updated edition of Awopbopaloobop and became the biggest literary influence on Cohn’s career Awopbopaloobop transferred the underworld grit diamond-studded teeth and overflowing dresses in Cohn’s imagination to the glamour the ruthlessness and grubbiness of the pop business He would soon base the 1970 novel Arfur: Teenage Pinball Queen in his fictionalised New Orleans now renamed Moriarty (“the foremost city of the nation where there were now beautifully named quarters of Cohn’s own making – Jitney “the wealthy St Jude and the shanty Canrush” Just as he had romanticised New Orleans, Cohn set to perfecting the story of pop, from the beginning. “My purpose was clear,” he wrote in 2004. He wanted “to capture the feel, the pulse” of what he called “Superpop”, with no dry discographies or chart positions. In doing this, he latterly admitted to adding baubles and colouring. Some of the stories, he wrote in Triksta (2005) I’d lay money on one of the embellished stories being his meeting with Gene Pitney in a hotel room where Pitney “was talking business on a long-distance telephone … like a full-blown tycoon … tie twisted Deals – they lit him up like neon.” I love Gene Pitney I own a dozen of his albums and a stack of 45s but I’d still admit that his public presentation could do with a little ornamentation He thought he was doing acts such as Pitney a favour by making them seem more interesting and And it was a little depressing to read in Triksta that Cohn winced at his embellishments In a new preface for the Vintage Classics edition of Awopbopaloobop who claims he relishes being confronted by his raw self at 22 is crazy or lying or both.” The main lesson I learned from reading Awopbopaloobop when I was 22 is that pop is all about myth-building – there’s really no such thing as authenticity or fraudulence a girlfriend’s letter overwhelms him with love and pride and gives him so much inner strength that stands up and shoots dead two North Vietnamese soldiers and wonder why anyone would even bother listening to Tex’s records but then he turns on a sixpence and reels you in with a couple of lines: “He’s funny So his records turn into good clean dirt and you can’t resent them You keep trying to disapprove but your principles slip That’s how you get corrupted.” The writing is so bittersweet and succinct “Pop began to go up in the world,” says Cohn Pop music needs writers like Nik Cohn to kick up trouble to give albums anything other than four-star reviews and that way maybe the musicians will also rise to the challenge The race is on once more to be crowned the continent’s leading marksman with some of the most prolific forwards on the planet set to lead the way While various Golden Boots are up for grabs within the leading divisions across Europe there is only one Golden Shoe that can be acquired in any given season by the continent’s most prolific marksman The race to claim that prestigious prize is up and running once more with some iconic forwards set to lead the charge for an individual accolade that marks them out as being superior to all of their fellow frontmen who has swapped Bayern Munich for Barcelona finished in top spot last season with 35 league goals to his name – closely followed by the likes of Kylian Mbappe Karim Benzema and Ciro Immobile – and GOAL is on hand to keep you across all of the runners and riders in the 2022-23 campaign Check out GOAL’s Soccer on U.S. TV guide *Note: List only includes top scorers from the Premier League The underground rapid transit lines have been under construction for almost two decades due to various project delays The cross pinnacle on the Tower of Jesus Christ will be ready to receive visitors in 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death Now you can get your wine in Talence by paying directly in Bitcoin That’s because the state has to spend money on updating the railway infrastructure rather than subsidizing the cost of the popular pass Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality which will come into force from 1 January 2025 Rethinking renewable energy sources for the urban landscape But operating them is still illegal under the country’s legislation can inform and inspire communities and entrepreneurs that still feel trepidation at the prospect of energy transition it has a unique modular design that allows it to be shortened and lengthened like a train that’s the promise made by the mayor of Paris the district has long been known as the hangout spot for the artsy crowds Hostal de Pinós is located in the geographical centre of the autonomous region the ranking considers several distinct but essential factors these quiet areas will now be available on all main routes in the country The academic institution shows a deeper understanding of the well-being of its students Take a look of the list and prices of 3 of Transylvania's top locations Wealthy local families built many castles and palaces across Romania each one filled with the stories of their founders and legends about the events they hosted After being nationalized during the Communist regime ranging from educational establishments to warehouses. Nowadays some of them are looking for new owners and a fresh start This castle used to be a summer residence for nobleman Géza Teleki and his son Pál Teleki who was a prime minister of Hungary The castle was built around the end of the XVIII century and modernized in the XIX century the castle served as the headquarters of an agricultural cooperative In 1962 it received historical monument status Géza Teleki Castle is located in the municipality of Satulung The property has a starting price of  275,000 euros The castle used to be the summer residence of Ion Gigurtu a prime minister of Romania during the reign of King Carol II The castle was built between 1936 and 1939 It is in Neo-Romanian style and has 19 rooms The castle was used as a school and as a military unit during the 1980s It also served as a film set for Romanian director Sergiu Nicolaescu’s 1986 World War II drama “The Last Assault” It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the western Romania city of Arad famous as Little Vienna for its architectural patrimony The palace was built between 1880 and 1890 by a family of wealthy merchants from Ghioroc It was built in a neo-Romanesque style with Baroque elements the palace was transformed as the Pioneers’ Palace and in 1990 it was turned into the Children’s Palace The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) sets the stage for stronger cooperation between the EU national and local level to fast track Europe's transition to climate neutrality Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces An interview with the Mayor of a Polish city that seeks to reinvent itself An interview with the newly elected ICLEI President and Mayor of Malmö A conversation with the Mayor of Lisbon about the spirit and dimensions of innovation present in the Portuguese capital Prohodna Cave or as it is better known – The Eyes of God is over 68 million years old And it seems that each of these years has left its mark to turn the impressive rock room into one of the most beloved and famous Bulgarian caves is not the impressive period that separates us from its creation but the two rock openings in the shape of human eyes on its ceiling – the eyes of God In addition to making tourists revere the natural phenomenon they illuminate the 365-meter-long rock tunnel the dark forces have also tried to leave their mark on the wall You can see the image of a demon with a little more imagination in one of the rocks the cave has “participated” in a number of Bulgarian films as an unnamed hero It is believed that in ancient times Prohodna was an important religious site you will almost certainly see climbers on one of the walls of the cave as the cave is also a favourite place to practice rock sports the phenomenon of 68 million years is one of the few caves in which you can raise the adrenaline with bungee jumping As experts say the place is very suitable for beginners who like jumping into the abyss The cave is extremely easily accessible and is located about 120 km from Sofia and 2 km from the village of Karlukovo You can reach it on an eco-trail from the town of Lukovit or stop your car a few hundred meters from its entrance And while you are in the area you can visit one of the most pleasant eco-trails in Bulgaria – Zlatna Panega Its route runs along the river of the same name walk over its waters on a specially built path or relax in one of the designated areas for picnics and recreation where there are houses with sheds and barbecue areas You can also take your pets with you or rent a water bike and enjoy the slow flow of the river itself but you must keep in mind that in this case you will inevitably get wet The trail offers different views and colours in each season Undoubtedly there are a lot of amazing places around the world worth visiting at least once in life Bulgaria is such a place where you will wish to come back again and again In every season and every region of this small country HS Produkt is a company with the most modern technology for the production of small arms and one of the largest manufacturers of pistols in the world which offers its innovations to over 40 countries around the world and currently has more than 1,800 employees HS Produkt CEO Željko Pavlin said the company was completely in Croatian ownership 99% of the products are exported and in 2021 it has been 20-30% more successful than last year At the 25th edition of the Zlatna Kuna award ceremony the HGK presented the award in eight categories while the Gamepires game development studio from Zagreb was awarded as best small company Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) was awarded as best bank and Croatia Osiguranje as best insurance company The Dok-Ing company received the Zlatna Kuna Award in the category of innovations while the Jadran Galenski Laboratorij (JGL) pharmaceutical company received the award for responsible and sustainable business the founder and owner of the Kamgrad construction company He said that Kamgrad was a family company which employed slightly over 750 workers and which had so far carried out 400 large projects in Croatia and abroad The Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) was given special recognition for efficiency in the implementation of the government's job-keeping measures due to the COVID-19 epidemic PM: Goverment stood by private sector and workers "like never before" Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that the government had managed whose total costs reached almost HRK 40 billion waves of layoffs and bankruptcies and to stand by the private sector and workers "like never before" Nearly 700,000 jobs were preserved during the crisis and employers were supported with more than HRK 17 billion He recalled that the government expected economic growth of nine percent in 2021 adding that numerous entrepreneurs and the private sector which had increased the number of employees in this year compared to 2019 or 51,000 more compared to the same period of last year "I believe that you will try to create jobs and we will ensure the necessary preconditions," the prime minister said recalling that Croatia had €30 billion at its disposal from different European sources such as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan HGK president says businesses are state's number one friend HGK President Luka Burilović said the awarded businesses and businessmen were heroes "You stayed here and made it in Croatia and your products and services compete in foreign markets jobs and security for many families," Burilović said He said that modern businesses and businessmen were needed the most today "You have the strength to change this society and to respond to the challenges ahead of us through innovation You are the state's number one friend," Burilović said I knew little about Bosnia and Herzegovina besides the war which ended some 20 years before we booked our trip I remembered watching news footage of women clutching shopping bags while scurrying across boulevards and ducking behind cars to dodge sniper bullets was sealed in my mind as a place where a grocery run could cost you your life War scenes continued to haunt me on our arrival After receiving our Airbnb keys from our friendly host I wondered about his role during the conflict I’d heard that ordinary men had been conscripted to defend the country’s capital a fact confirmed by our walking tour guide later that afternoon His own father had left his law practice to fight the Serbs after they surrounded the city There were no resources to build barracks or to feed these men so soldiering effectively became a commuter job I thought snipers and explosions only belonged in films of living in two worlds: having breakfast with your family each morning before heading to a warzone; seeing your father returning home each night with not his briefcase Familiar places like the local market became bomb targets and pedestrian boulevards became infamous for sniper attacks was tutored by a rotation of neighbours in the basement of his building “But I don’t only want to talk about war,” he said “There’s so much more to this city.” His declaration was a relief from harrowing history granting us permission to experience the narrative of ordinary Sarajevo stewed apple stuffed with chopped almonds and sweet cream we visited the wishing wall where students prayed for good exam results Our first evening in Sarajevo saw us bar-hopping from a quaint tucked-away English pub to a smoke-filled nightclub throbbing with beats and strobe lights the narrative of war was difficult to avoid as we tramped on Sarajevo Roses—shrapnel wounds in the sidewalk filled with red to memorialise fallen civilians with its grand Moorish columns and high stained-glass ceilings is a monument to the infinite power of knowledge an engraved plaque remembered the 1992 siege that left the building completely gutted the secret tunnel was built during the siege to smuggle food and munitions into Sarajevo and to help people escape Civilians helped to build the entrance to the tunnel in the backyard of a house A middle-aged man who greeted us in the verandah told us he helped to build the tunnel for a pack of cigarettes a day Two of his children had died during the siege and his wife never recovered from her grief and he gave me a consoling pat on the shoulder as if the losses were mine A screen door separated the gift shop from his living room We could hear laughter and see the moving silhouettes of people Any city worth visiting is filled with overlapping stories of past and present we found cobblestoned alleyways winding through ancient Ottoman bazaars but we also found modern shopping malls and a pulsing nightlife Bullet holes still scarred the concrete facades but forgiving green hills and drifting wisps of winter fog softened the landscape It’s the most compelling case to be made for travelling—the idea that you can witness a multiplicity of narratives about history and humanity I realised that I had gone to Bosnia searching for a sense of closure that news outlets never really provided once the siege ended and international attention drifted to other conflicts was a reminder of the complexity of the relationship between now and then GQ India | VOGUE India | Architectural Digest Click Here for Statements from European Film Organisations The Film New Europe (FNE) Association is the networking platform for film professionals in the CEE/SEE/Baltics region The webportal and FNE newswire was chosen as the MAIN TOOL to achieve the network’s objectives of the sharing of know how visibility of regional cultural diversity and finally the VOICE of the region FNE’s objectives include VISIBILITY for the region and AUDIENCES for films by providing a special focus on the region.