Beautiful yet brutal. That’s Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is a country where Bosnian Muslims live next to Orthodox Serbs, and orthodox Serbs live next to Catholic Croatians. Everyone gets on smashingly, except for when they don’t get on smashingly. Every now and then everything kicks off, usually along ethnic or religious lines. Or both. Bosnia takes diversity to an unprecedented level. When things are good, there’s a tolerance here that shames the rest of the world, but when things are bad, the divides are taken to harrowing extremes. It’s a land of contradictions. Bullet holes from the too recent war still scar derelict buildings in ruins next to a fancy golden McDonalds, and if you stray from the path on a hike through the rugged countryside then you might well step on a landmine. But enough words, here are the pictures. Here are the things I saw in Bosnia.

One of far too many Bosnian Muslim cemeteries in Sarajevo.

 

A Minaret in Sarajevo.

 

MEN PLAYING GIANT CHESS, SARAJEVO.

A STRAY DOG ON MOUNT TREBEVIC, SARAJEVO.

OH SHIT, LAND MINES, SARAJEVO.

THE ABANDONED WINTER OLYMPICS BOBSLEIGH TRACK, MOUNT TREBEVIC.

BATTLE DAMAGED HOUSE, MOUNT TREBEVIC.

THE BOBSLEIGH TRACK.

SUNSET OVER SARAJEVO.

A MAN PREPARING TO DIVE FROM THE OLD BRIDGE IN MOSTAR.

MORE MINES, SHIT, MOSTAR.

HOTELS, MOSTAR.

A DERVISH HOUSE, BLAGAJ, MOSTAR.

POCITELJ, HERZEGOVINA.

POCITELJ, HERZEGOVINA

POCITELJ, HERZEGOVINA

SUNSET OVER MOSTAR.

All Photos Property of Richard Collett

For more stories from Bosnia and Herzegovina then take a walk along Sarajevo’s abandoned bobsleigh track, or trace the scars of war in Mostar.