Throng

gavin stamp’s orient express (3/5)
19.15–20.00

Architectural historian Gavin Stamp continues his journey across Europe along the route of the old Orient Express. It is a trek of 2,000 miles across ten countries, from London to Istanbul. This week, Gavin heads to Bosnia and Serbia.

In this third episode, Gavin visits Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, and explores how this damaged city still bears the battle scars from the Serbian-led siege of the 1990s. Arriving at the central station, he is struck by how empty it is: “It’s eerily quiet –like a station in some small rural town, not in a capital city,” he remarks. Sarajevo represents a slight detour from the Orient Express route, Gavin explains. “But I think no trip to the Balkans is complete without a visit to this ancient, extraordinary and, of course, in recent years, much troubled city,” he says.

Gavin is immediately struck by how war-torn the city looks, bearing witness to its three-year siege during the war. His first stop is the ruined Bosnian National Library, an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles, which was targeted by Serbian shells because it represented Bosnian cultural independence. Gavin hears the eyewitness testimony of the woman in charge of putting it all back together, and is clearly moved by the devastation wrought: “If anyone should doubt the power of architecture to symbolise ideas and cultural values, they should come to Sarajevo and contemplate the fate of this building,” he says. Elsewhere in the city, Gavin visits the market to see how local craftsmen are trying to tempt the tourists with vases made out of artillery shells; and takes a walk down the Bosnians’ secret tunnel, which was the only way in or out of the city during the siege.

From Sarajevo, Gavin takes a bus to Belgrade –a prospect that fills him with dread. He is forced to break his journey with a stay at a guest house run by a Serbian family. The rural environment meets with his disdain: “I know being English I’m meant to like this sort of thing,” he says, “but I can’t bear it!” Gavin much prefers to view the countryside from a train window –nonetheless, he is press-ganged into a bit of fishing on a beautiful lake.

Once in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, Gavin is surprised to find a vibrant and exciting city full of good buildings. He visits a remarkable Roman Catholic church designed by one of his favourite architects. The church “may look like a giant biscuit barrel with a lighthouse stuck on the side”, he says, but it is a “wonderful, wonderful building”.

Resuming his whistle-stop tour, Gavin drops in on an Orthodox ceremony; has a walk around the old citadel; and makes some impolite comments about the Serbs’ favourite statue. However, Gavin admits that he rather likes Belgrade, and is sorry that he cannot stay longer: “It’s a much more interesting city than I expected,” he concludes. But the East is beckoning, and Gavin boards another train to continue his journey.