Bosnia:
This chunk of the former Yugoslavia is still rebuilding after the devastation of the three and a half year war that ended in 1995. During this mega-slaughter, about 200,000 Bosnians died or went missing (same thing, really, since they've never been found). Women who weren't murdered were put into "rape camps," and some of these women are testifying at war crimes trials in The Hague. About 20,000 women were raped during the war.
Ethnic tensions are still around in Bosnia, and it's still not a place you would go to for a care-free vacation. On top of that, there are about 1 million landmines planted in the Bosnian soil, a good reason not to go on any hiking trips.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is mountainous, with a beautiful coastline along the Adriatic Sea. Tourists used to visit the coast, but the infrastructure was destroyed in the war. Also, much of the old architecture that made the cities so attractive was wrecked and will never be rebuilt. Sarajevo is peaceful now, but many ghosts roam the streets.
This page last updated April 20, 2000.