0:00:49 > 0:00:51Throughout most of my lifetime,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54an Iron Curtain has divided Eastern Europe from the West
0:00:54 > 0:00:57preventing me from really getting to know it.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I've flown over it, I've peered at bits of it.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02But I've never really travelled through it.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Now the Iron Curtain has lifted, I am going to make up for lost time
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and explore the other half of my continent, Europe.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Here on the Slovenian Alps, I'm turning my back on Western Europe
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and heading east to a world which is changing at a remarkable speed.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, the number of countries in Eastern Europe has doubled.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Ten have already become members of the European Union,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34and even countries like Turkey are keen to join them.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39What lies ahead is, for me, a voyage of discovery,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43an exploration of the people, the places, the mood and the spirit
0:01:43 > 0:01:47that is transforming old lands into a new Europe.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43As we meander through the tranquil countryside of Slovenia,
0:02:43 > 0:02:49it's hard to believe that this was the country whose walk out from a Communist conference in 1990
0:02:49 > 0:02:51began the break-up of Yugoslavia,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54one of the cornerstones of post-war Europe,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57and put six new European countries on the map.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06I'll be travelling through them, to Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11and beyond them to the mysterious land of Albania.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13CHURCH BELLS TOLL
0:03:13 > 0:03:18My first port of call is Slovenia's southern neighbour, Croatia,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23whose beautiful coastline stretches languorously along the Adriatic.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Like many of the countries of New Europe, Croatia has a very old history.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Here in the port of Split, off a square built at the time of Napoleon,
0:03:31 > 0:03:38Goran Golovko teaches children about the city's most famous son, the Roman emperor Diocletian.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Goran's way of bringing history to life is to portray
0:03:45 > 0:03:50the Romans as just one of the many peoples who've occupied Croatia over the years,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52very much like present-day tour groups
0:03:52 > 0:03:54that flock here every summer.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01And they can see girls wearing tanga... Beautiful!
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Of all the ex-Yugoslav countries, Croatia is the one that seems
0:04:07 > 0:04:10most comfortable with international attention.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Qu'est que c'est?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Oui, oui...
0:04:17 > 0:04:21You could say the idea of East and West Europe began here.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27It was Diocletian who took the momentous decision to divide the Roman Empire in two.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32He ruled the East from a mighty palace here in Split, which is still inhabited.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38The palace is still alive, people still live within it.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43And we can see architectural changes from medieval time onwards.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49There hasn't been any attempt by municipal authorities to get rid of all the parasitic buildings
0:04:49 > 0:04:56on this beautiful thing, because many people would think that was a bit of architectural desecration.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Well, not any more. This is also part of traditional culture.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01This is how Split was developed.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06That washing looks very old indeed!
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Yes, it's Roman actually. They didn't advertise it but it's...
0:05:09 > 0:05:11- It's still not dry. - But it's still there.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19So now we are at Peristil, which is the main square of the palace
0:05:19 > 0:05:23where the emperor was appearing to his subjects.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28And we see this great colonnade of Corinthian-style pillars.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32This extraordinary feeling, you've got modern buildings,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- with aluminium windows. - Yes, this is my bank over there.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37That's your bank, indeed.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Where I shake in front of my bank manager.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I don't think I've been anywhere quite like this
0:05:43 > 0:05:47where you get the feeling of a great empire which has just crumbled,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and been absorbed again by somebody else. And been adapted.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54'I spy a piece of more recent Croatian history,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57'the name of the local football club.'
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Famous name for us football lovers.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- Split symbols.- Yeah.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04If you are born into being a Hajduk fan,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07then you are a Hajduk fan for the rest of your life.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11The word "Hajduk" means a bandit, but in the good sense of bandit
0:06:11 > 0:06:16as patriot, fighting for his country against Venetians and Ottoman Turks.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Goran takes me to meet Zdravko, a modern Croatian patriot
0:06:19 > 0:06:23who also happens to run one of the best restaurants in town.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Hello! Yes!
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Are you happy the way it's happening now with the tourists here?
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Of course, absolutely. You see, I always say to everybody, I'm very, very happy.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36Of course I'm very critical.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41But imagine, living, the fall of the Communism,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46the creation of the free Croatia, modern Croatian state, for the first time in modern history.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Winning the war and still I'm here, at the age of 60.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56You know, it's... Croatia is a state... It's a fantastic feeling.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Of course it's very emotional.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01On the other side, I am of course critical, why not?
0:07:01 > 0:07:07At the very beginning, I was very, very mild, because my Croatia was like a baby in cradle.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Now you can kick it in the... You know!
0:07:10 > 0:07:11Now you can take it apart a bit!
0:07:11 > 0:07:15In the '90s, in the war, I wouldn't do that. Now, I'm very critical.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18You sound as though you were a bit unhappy in the Communist times?
0:07:18 > 0:07:25You know, Communism, I didn't like Communism because it was very limiting.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27For work.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31You see, people felt much more secure in ex-Yugoslavia
0:07:31 > 0:07:35because you get a job, and you keep it for life.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39You get what you get, but, you see, they didn't have
0:07:39 > 0:07:43so many possibilities to work. Like this one.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Like I'm working now, you see.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49What sort of things define Croatia now,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52its sort of... Its role in the world?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Yes, you see, when we look at it now,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59- it is the first time in history that we have our modern state.- Yeah.
0:07:59 > 0:08:06For example, in ex-Yugoslavia I could not express my patriotism as freely as I do now.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11It has to be some kind... It fit into Yugoslavia, whatever.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14But now, I am Croatian.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17It's a fantastic feeling that you can say openly
0:08:17 > 0:08:21without any fear, without any consequences. That's the point.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27These days, self-expression breaks out just about anywhere in Split.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32Improvised, energetic and, after a few beers, embarrassingly irresistible.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46'Can't wait to get home and tell the wife about this!'
0:08:58 > 0:09:01CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS
0:09:01 > 0:09:06One of the most seductive attractions of Croatia are her islands.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I take the ferry to Hvar, which comes highly recommended.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13What can we expect to see there?
0:09:13 > 0:09:17- A paradise.- A paradise? Oh, we are not allowed to go to paradise.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20You are, you are.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22In what way? Just the look of the place?
0:09:22 > 0:09:27I mean the sands, the flowers, the flowers on the islands, the colours, you will love it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I'm sure you will love it, everyone does.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Hvar beckons you before you even reach it,
0:09:40 > 0:09:46with a heady scent of lavender, oregano and the broom that seems to cover the island.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Attractive as this might be to the tourists,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54it hasn't done much for the locals who have, over the years, left in droves to find work abroad.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03One man who says he'll never leave is Igor Zivanovic.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Raconteur, bon viveur and all-round character,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Igor has his own bar and restaurant in a back street of Stari Grad.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16This is the premier house, because the family is here 500 years.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20It is steeped in history.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22History.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Do you know about all that slow food that they write about in Italy?
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Sometimes, sometimes.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Sometimes when we are friends in the bar and we are drinking wine,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38we are talking about the wine, about my grandmother, about your grandmother,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43about the time when you were 16 or 17.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48And the stupid tourist, that's really stupid, not the friend, he wants to eat something.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51I say, if you have 20 kroner, you can go to fast food.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- I have no time.- So if you want a quick meal, don't come in here.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57You are the Basil Fawlty of slow food.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00I enjoy it! To cook, to make the joke.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03What can I do for you now?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07You can bring me a glass of white wine from the island of Hvar, please.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- OK.- There on the bar, my glass is on the left, yours is on the right.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13It may take a few hours but I will do my best.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23HE READS LABEL ALOUD
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Igor, is this all right? - And where is your glass?
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Well, I've got a bottle and a glass. You are the most important person at the moment.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32I'm taking it slowly today.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35According to your philosophy, there was no need to hurry.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37There you are.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- One for you, one for me. - Is this the right one? OK.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43This is the wine from the island here.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- Oh, right.- This is a table wine.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50The meal, peppery lamb stew and fresh grilled sardines is delicious,
0:11:50 > 0:11:56and I find myself helplessly drawn into Igor's world, which includes opinions on everything,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58from Marshal Tito to McDonald's.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02If you are going to try your own you should obey and accept the terms.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05If they make here McDonald's, I will hang.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07You'd hang!
0:12:10 > 0:12:12The first McDonald's martyr!
0:12:14 > 0:12:16There's clocks all over.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17They are all at 3.04.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Look, there's some more.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21They're all at 3.04?
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Why?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26This is a story, my dear.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30In that time, it's my ex-president who is dying.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35- Tito died at 3.04?- 3.04.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Maybe not. But so it was on TV.
0:12:38 > 0:12:45They said, now he is dying. And then I put all the clocks on 3.04.
0:12:45 > 0:12:52He was the biggest hedonist in the history of modern civilisation. He was wonderful.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56'After our lunch, Igor takes me out of the town to see the farms
0:12:56 > 0:13:01'deserted by those who couldn't make these stony fields pay.'
0:13:02 > 0:13:06They are from 16th century, 16th-17th century.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07This is from the 17th century.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Yes, this one. Because you can know in the middle, you notice this triangle, how do you say?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- Headstone?- Headstone.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19- Bravo. You know everything about our architecture!- I've cracked it!
0:13:19 > 0:13:21At last, something I know about!
0:13:23 > 0:13:29- Would you be happy to stay here in this paradise for the rest of your life?- What have you said?
0:13:29 > 0:13:31You have said "paradise".
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Then the question is stupid, I am sorry.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Because if this is paradise,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39then you mustn't make the question.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- You have come to the end of your life.- Normally.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Well, somebody called it paradise. - You have said paradise.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46A girl I met on the boat.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50You are for a short time here.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I am sure that you will come back.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57I feel I've just got out in time.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02There was something dangerously tempting about Hvar that made me want to stop the journey right there.
0:14:02 > 0:14:08But the local fishermen make sure my ride across the water to Bosnia is as painless as possible.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Fantastic.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16Little anchovies.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18OK.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Lovely.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27A half pint of white wine, freshly-caught anchovies, and oil made by the captain.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30This is the way to get around the world.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35I'm afraid someone has to do it.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- U zdravlje!- U zdravlje!- U zdravlje!
0:14:39 > 0:14:42It's a short-lived celebration.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48Beyond the mountains lies Bosnia-Herzegovina, where things are a lot more complicated.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58What I least expected to find in a country which probably suffered more from the break-up of Yugoslavia
0:14:58 > 0:15:05than any other, was a quiet line of pilgrims from all over the world, wending their way up a mountainside
0:15:05 > 0:15:13to a place where, 26 years ago, a group of local teenagers met and spoke with the Virgin Mary.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53What those children saw has transformed the village of Medjugorje
0:15:53 > 0:15:59into a boom town which has already attracted 25 million visitors.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Despite the fact the Pope has refused to endorse the visions, or apparitions as they call them here,
0:16:04 > 0:16:10Medjugorje is now the third most popular Catholic site in Europe.
0:16:18 > 0:16:25Mirjana Dragicevic, is one of the children who saw the Virgin... and still does.
0:16:25 > 0:16:32She's in her forties now, married to a builder and living to all intents and purposes a quiet suburban life.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35She told me what happened on the mountain when she was 15.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38At first we just ran away.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41- We didn't go close. - Were you frightened?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Yes, because I didn't know what happening to me.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Nobody explained me that this can happen.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Because our religious life in Communism was being in the homes.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56Having had this experience was there a change in you, did you feel different somehow?
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I understand that happening to me something beautiful.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Because to be with Blessed Mary, I think that this is like in Heaven.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09Because give you one example, I am the mother of two daughters and like all normal mother
0:17:09 > 0:17:15I'd give my life for them, but when I am with Blessed Mary even my children don't exist.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19It's only inside of myself the wish that she bring me with her.
0:17:19 > 0:17:26And you can imagine how big pain is when she is leaving and I see that I'm here on the earth.
0:17:26 > 0:17:33And I always need to pray one hour, two hours in my room to be able to understand that this must be.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- This is what God wants. - Do you still see the Blessed Mary?
0:17:36 > 0:17:41Yeah, she tell me every 18th March in all my life
0:17:41 > 0:17:44that I will have this apparition every 18th March.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49But she also said that I will have apparition every second day of each month.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52But she didn't say how long.
0:17:52 > 0:17:59And every second of each month is most like a prayer for those who don't feel love of God yet.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03What we saying unbelievers. But Blessed Mary never say unbelievers.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Does she call you by your Christian name?
0:18:06 > 0:18:09She always saying, my dear children. Always.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Is it a burden to have the weight of these apparitions upon you?
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Is it a burden to be the person who has seen the Blessed Virgin Mary?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20If you seeing one time the face of Blessed Mary you cannot say
0:18:20 > 0:18:25it is difficult for you, because when you are seeing the love,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29the pain, everything on the face of her for all her children.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35And how I can say that for me it's difficult when I think what's she doing for all of us -
0:18:35 > 0:18:38when I saying "us" I'm thinking of all the world -
0:18:38 > 0:18:41how I can say what I'm doing is difficult for me,
0:18:41 > 0:18:46I cannot say, because she is the one really doing everything.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Mirjana and her friends have made Medjugorje into a focal point for Catholics.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00My next stop, Mostar, has because of recent events, became equally important to the Muslims.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06CRIES AND CLAPPING
0:19:10 > 0:19:14In November 1993, in one of the most callous acts of the war,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18this bridge behind me, which has stood for over 400 years
0:19:18 > 0:19:24and has now been immaculately restored, was destroyed by Bosnian Croat guns within seconds.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39It was a single act,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43one of many which, following the disintegration of Yugoslavia,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45brought terrible suffering to a land
0:19:45 > 0:19:48where Muslims and Christians once lived in peace.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54And, so this is the peak. Wow!
0:19:54 > 0:19:56The highest peak in Mostar.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I feel my stomach is down there already.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Oh, my God! Unbelievable.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08The re-building of the bridge has enabled members of the select Mostari Divers Club
0:20:08 > 0:20:15to resume the perilous tradition of hurling themselves 70ft, into just 15ft of water.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19And the idea is you've got to jump well clear of the bridge, really throw yourself out.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- You have to be away, you have to throw yourself out from the bridge.- Yes.
0:20:27 > 0:20:28Bravo!
0:20:28 > 0:20:30CHEERS AND WHISTLES
0:20:33 > 0:20:40The destruction of the bridge became a symbol of the pitiless brutality of the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44My friend Kamel and his family lived through those times.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48What was it like when this bridge was destroyed,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52what was the immediate psychological effect?
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Was everybody distraught?
0:20:55 > 0:20:59For we Mostarians it was like they have lost their child
0:20:59 > 0:21:05because they had been born in Mostar, they'd been raised in Mostar.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10They lived, they breathed, their first love.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15Everything what Mostar represented, represented the bridge.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19They felt like they lost their child or they lost their father or mother.
0:21:19 > 0:21:25That's how people who really loved this city and this bridge felt about it.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31But it was only one act in a bitter struggle.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36As races and religions jostled for power, this city of tolerance and tradition was torn apart.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53APPLAUSE
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Looking out there now, Kamel, everything looks...
0:22:03 > 0:22:08The wooded banks and the little terraces with their tables out.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14Do you find it hard to remember that only a dozen years ago
0:22:14 > 0:22:17there was such bloodshed around here, there was a war on?
0:22:18 > 0:22:23I think that's really nice question and quite a bit hard for me.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Yes, it's beautiful. It's amazing nature, amazing structures,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32amazing houses and people, of course.
0:22:32 > 0:22:39But going back 12 years, going back in 1993 when I was 14 years old, a teenager...
0:22:39 > 0:22:44It looked really, how can I say, unrealistic to me.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49Like that I would be, let's say, sitting today here
0:22:49 > 0:22:52having discussion with you
0:22:52 > 0:22:58because at that time I was more like, "OK, how to survive?
0:22:58 > 0:23:05"Where to escape in case of bombing?", and so on.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11I was, like, afraid, afraid for my future.
0:23:11 > 0:23:18Afraid because we could not see an end to this bloodshed that we had here.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Before I left Mostar, I went with Kamel to one of the Muslim cemeteries,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28where all the graves looked very new.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So many young lives ended in 1993.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35They all end with "1993".
0:23:35 > 0:23:37That was the height of the fighting.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39That was the height of the fight.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41And...
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Yes, it is...
0:23:43 > 0:23:48But I would say one thing that I hope that these heroes haven't died in vain.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52MAN SINGS DEVOTIONAL SONG
0:24:15 > 0:24:21I'm going to be leaving Mostar by train, which is going to take me deep into the heart of Bosnia
0:24:21 > 0:24:25and to the city that's perhaps more synonymous with all the events
0:24:25 > 0:24:28that have happened in this area than any other...Sarajevo.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30This is the Mostar-Sarajevo Express.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37When Bosnia-Herzegovina rose from the ruins of Yugoslavia,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40the various ethnic groups that made up the country -
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats -
0:24:43 > 0:24:47felt vulnerable and began to fight to safeguard their territory.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Nowhere was the fight more prolonged and destructive than in the capital, Sarajevo.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I check in at the Holiday Inn, famous for being the only hotel
0:25:01 > 0:25:04that journalists could stay at during the war.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Frequently shelled, its most sought-after rooms
0:25:07 > 0:25:09were those WITHOUT a view.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16So, Sarajevo from here is just a city in a most spectacularly beautiful location.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18It's almost unbelievable to think
0:25:18 > 0:25:20only a little more than ten years ago,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22they were coming to the end of the longest siege
0:25:22 > 0:25:24in modern European history.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28There'd be no cars, no trams, even if you'd tried to cross that road
0:25:28 > 0:25:31out there you'd be shot by snipers from any of these buildings.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35SHELLS EXPLODE
0:25:37 > 0:25:39GUNFIRE
0:25:40 > 0:25:43HEAVY EXPLOSIONS
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Today, the wounds are healing,
0:25:49 > 0:25:54the trams are running and the city is gradually re-building.
0:25:54 > 0:26:00Sarajevo is a tough, resilient working city whose inhabitants just want to get on with their lives.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05Most of them don't want to talk about the war, though, sooner or later, everybody does.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I take a tram to the outskirts of the city
0:26:17 > 0:26:23to see one of the reasons why what happened only 12 years ago can't be easily forgotten.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31The countryside where Sarajevans used to go for walks and picnics is now a death trap.
0:26:31 > 0:26:38As a mine clearance squad works away I talk to its leader Damir, once a soldier himself.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43This particular part was territory controlled by the Republic of Srpska army.
0:26:43 > 0:26:51The Bosnian government army was further down in the field and further up the mountains.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53So the Bosnian Serbs moved their armies...
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Yeah, this was part of the sort of ring.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01And if you look at Sarajevo you can see the minebelt...
0:27:01 > 0:27:05- Right along the hills.- Yeah, completely surrounding the city,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09enclosing down. And this the old centre.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14And we are now in this area, just under the mountain.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18So during the conflict, at that time
0:27:18 > 0:27:23we did not think about what will happen with Bosnia after.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27But its effect that now we are paying the price, big price...
0:27:27 > 0:27:30for use of land mines.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39When you see all this painstaking work that has to go on
0:27:39 > 0:27:44and the endless amount of time it's going to take, how do you feel?
0:27:44 > 0:27:51Do you feel very bitter about the people who laid these mines and created the situation?
0:27:51 > 0:27:55It's difficult to say because I was part of it.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58And...for many people at that time
0:27:58 > 0:28:02was perfectly normal to use land mines.
0:28:02 > 0:28:10The conflict was so long and so difficult that I understand why
0:28:10 > 0:28:14if we had ten times more land mines those would be used.
0:28:14 > 0:28:21If you are facing a really powerful army on the other side and you expect something to happen,
0:28:21 > 0:28:28you're going to use everything you have in stock just to stop them from entering your trenches.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31And land mines were used for that.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35Land mines were used as a protection for the front lines.
0:28:35 > 0:28:42It is sad that now we are paying the price for that.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48But at that time we did not think about long-term.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52At that time you had to think, I'm going to survive no matter what,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56and I'm going to use everything I've got to protect myself.
0:28:59 > 0:29:00It's such a beautiful place.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03In England this would be a nature reserve.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04They'd say, "Oh, it's wonderful!"
0:29:04 > 0:29:08The farmers' agri-business hasn't cleared all this, we'd value all this.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13It's only here... because of the war really.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23In a local school a Serbian theatre group, helped with money from UNICEF,
0:29:23 > 0:29:30uses puppets and jokes to put across the deadly serious message that a walk in the woods could be fatal.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:29:37 > 0:29:42The group, organised by Diana here, turn the class room into a courtroom
0:29:42 > 0:29:45where land-mines and other weapons are put on trial,
0:29:45 > 0:29:46with the children as the jury.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49CHILDREN SHOUT OUT
0:29:58 > 0:30:03Maybe half a kilometre or kilometre outside of this school you have lots of land mine fields.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Some of them are marked, some are not.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12So that's why we try to keep children aware that they should be careful where they go,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15especially when it comes to going to nature, mountains.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17What sort of...
0:30:17 > 0:30:21What does it do to the community to have these mines all around,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23with the fields and the economy?
0:30:23 > 0:30:25It's very negative impact on the economy.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30This particular part of Bosnia was very famous for the wood-cutting industry.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33People used to go to the forest to cut woods
0:30:33 > 0:30:36or collect medical herbs or mushrooms.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Now they can no longer do it.
0:30:39 > 0:30:40Or they have a choice.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45Either basically to starve because they have no income,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49or to go to the forest and risk being killed or injured by the land mine.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57It's kind of depressing for the future of these children.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00You are right. That's why many families are leaving this town.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04This school was built for 600 pupils. Now it has a bit over than 120 pupils.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08That means some due to the war but mostly due to the economical reasons.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12Families are just leaving this community because they have no jobs.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16It's very sad, it's a beautiful part of Bosnia.
0:31:16 > 0:31:23The good news is that thanks to work like this, the deaths from land mine accidents are less than 20 a year.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26The bad news is that it may be another 70 years
0:31:26 > 0:31:30before it's safe to walk in the Bosnian countryside again.
0:31:32 > 0:31:39Sarajevo's dramatic location, at the focal point of north-south and east-west trade routes,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42has made it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Its years as part of the Ottoman Empire have left behind
0:31:46 > 0:31:50a legacy of fine buildings and religious tolerance.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54I walk through the old Turkish quarter with Ademir Kenovic,
0:31:54 > 0:31:59a film director who kept working here throughout the war, risking his life
0:31:59 > 0:32:01to fly in and out to show the world his films.
0:32:01 > 0:32:07He's teaching me a lot about the city, including what street-wise Sarajevans should drink.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Here we can get our drinks.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Can you repeat it once again?
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- Erm... Bo, bo...- Boza.- Boza.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Boza.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20Boza, it turns out, is a fermented corn drink, a local speciality.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Good.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26So, you first tell me how it tastes.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28- Bo, bo...- Boza.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Boza. I keep wanting to put an "R" in it.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32THEY TOAST
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- Unusual taste, that. - Different.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Lemony, almost a lemon taste but it's thicker than a lemon juice.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51What was this area like during the siege, was it still operating,
0:32:51 > 0:32:53were people still going to the mosque
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- and still buying their Boza? - No, no, no. This was all closed.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Most of these places were devastated.
0:33:00 > 0:33:07It's empty most of the time because you can see the hills from these places.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Wherever you can see the hills from you wouldn't dare to go there.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16So there was sometimes very fast walking through these places
0:33:16 > 0:33:19but it was mainly empty during the war.
0:33:19 > 0:33:20People were hidden.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Did you feel...
0:33:24 > 0:33:29very, very frustrated that this was happening to your city, a civilised city?
0:33:29 > 0:33:35You have no electricity, no water, and it went on for three years.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- Yeah, but... - How did you keep yourself going?
0:33:38 > 0:33:42I understand you being British using the mild words like "frustrated"!
0:33:42 > 0:33:44It was more than outrageous.
0:33:44 > 0:33:51Nobody here could believe what's wrong with all these people letting all these idiots,
0:33:51 > 0:33:56maniacs, and that system to go and destroy the people.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00And destroy all what's good about this place.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Mosques and churches were the first buildings to be repaired
0:34:05 > 0:34:09after the war, reasserting Sarajevo's tolerant tradition
0:34:09 > 0:34:12and helping to breathe new life into the old town.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS
0:34:20 > 0:34:23My last meal in Sarajevo is memorable...
0:34:23 > 0:34:25for good wine, good humour, good company
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and the enchanting sound of a singer called Amira,
0:34:28 > 0:34:34whose voice seems to echo all the pain and pleasure of this remarkable country.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37SHE SINGS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:35:27 > 0:35:31It's only a few hours' drive from Sarajevo to Belgrade.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37Once the capital of all Yugoslavia, Belgrade is now, after defeats in three wars against the Croatians,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42the Bosnians and the Kosovans, the capital of a Serbia
0:35:42 > 0:35:47that's not only reduced but blamed squarely, if not fairly, for all the recent troubles.
0:35:52 > 0:35:58Set impressively on the Danube, Belgrade bears few obvious scars of war.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02I cadge a ride on the river with a charismatic DJ
0:36:02 > 0:36:05and critic of the Milosevic regime who thinks I can sail.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07..As are we at the moment.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10All right.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12OK.
0:36:14 > 0:36:15The old arthritis!
0:36:15 > 0:36:21'A man of many names, his current handle is, modestly, Rambo Amadeus.'
0:36:21 > 0:36:24What was the war like for you, did you have to fight?
0:36:24 > 0:36:28No, no, I was like...you know...
0:36:28 > 0:36:31For me, it was like...
0:36:31 > 0:36:34everybody tolerate me to be like
0:36:34 > 0:36:36his brother, you know.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42So you didn't raise a gun in anger?
0:36:42 > 0:36:46No, quite opposite.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50We had in Belgrade here a huge...
0:36:50 > 0:36:55peace organisation who struggled against... To stop the war.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00It was quite a bad time in Serbia for a long time
0:37:00 > 0:37:03because you were involved in a war which you couldn't win.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07It was a bad time for all of the former Yugoslavia.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17If you throw your TV through the window you didn't notice anything.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23But actually nobody throw TV through window.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Too precious. What was your feeling about Milosevic?
0:37:30 > 0:37:36When he was alive and he was in power, I had some thoughts about him.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Now he is dead
0:37:38 > 0:37:41and I don't want to tell anything.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46But you can ask around what I...
0:37:46 > 0:37:49was thinking about him.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Somehow I think it is polite.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Serbs know how to party and Belgrade is renowned for its music,
0:38:02 > 0:38:07available at all kinds of clubs, at all hours of the night.
0:38:12 > 0:38:20In one of the clubs I meet Tijana, a DJ and singer, and her friend Jelena, a TV presenter.
0:38:26 > 0:38:33We end up back on the Danube, this time navigating the tricky waters of Serbia's recent past.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36There was never a real war in Serbia
0:38:36 > 0:38:40so you don't get the same feeling
0:38:40 > 0:38:45as if you go to Bosnia or parts of Croatia that were at war.
0:38:45 > 0:38:46- We've seen that.- So that's why...
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Belgrade was always...always had this metropolitan glitter.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54It was the capital city of Yugoslavia, too.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58I think the tradition of this city is, in a way, kept.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04There is also ironic side of this nation so everybody is making jokes about their history.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08So you have absurd things like celebrating the battle that we lost.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Are things improving now?
0:39:10 > 0:39:16I don't think that things are going to change for better with the new generations.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20I think new generations are really...
0:39:20 > 0:39:24Because they grew up in the way they did
0:39:24 > 0:39:29and it's going to be really confusing and crazy.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33I really don't know, I have no idea what is going to happen.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36So the prejudices are still there, you think?
0:39:36 > 0:39:41I think there is not a big hatred towards other nations in Balkans.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Not even among the younger generations.
0:39:45 > 0:39:52Although they grew up in a very aggressive environment, they did not actually know what was happening.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56They were not aware. They just knew that there was a problem.
0:39:56 > 0:40:04But there is something that... this Serbian mentality that is always coming on the surface.
0:40:04 > 0:40:10This fleeting impression tells me the Serbs are well aware of the contradictions of their history.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13They're also rather proud of them.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18In the hope of finding transport on through the Balkans
0:40:18 > 0:40:22I've come south to the busy port of Dubrovnik, jewel of the Adriatic.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Even this treasure was not spared the violence of the war.
0:40:25 > 0:40:31For half a year, Bosnian-Serb artillery shelled the city from up on these cliffs.
0:40:33 > 0:40:40Thanks to its beauty and its harbours, Dubrovnik is once again flaunting its attractions,
0:40:40 > 0:40:46though there are many locals who worry that their city is becoming too popular,
0:40:46 > 0:40:53and that the cruise-liner crowds are tarnishing the very beauty they've come to see.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00Someone who still loves the atmosphere of the old town is Edin Karamazov,
0:41:00 > 0:41:06a Bosnian who plays the lute so sweetly that Sting has made an album with him.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09But he's kept the busking job, just in case.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Edin that is, not Sting.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43As a storm, blowing up from nowhere, clears the stone-flagged streets of the city,
0:41:43 > 0:41:49Edin, with true Balkan hospitality, offers me shelter in the apartment he's been lent by a friend.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Do you go back to Bosnia?
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Oh, yeah. Of course.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16I just started loving Bosnia.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18It's a nice country.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20It's your homeland.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Do you feel at home there?
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Oh, yes, let's say.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Although I don't feel at home... nowhere.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30At the moment.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33Home is everywhere.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37- You are indeed a wandering minstrel! - It seems so.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42When I look back,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46I travelled most of my life and I played everywhere
0:42:46 > 0:42:51and I think it's...it is my way in the end.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Although I never wanted to be a minstrel.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58I think it is so.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08On this suitably soulful note, my time here and in Croatia
0:43:08 > 0:43:11and, indeed, in the former Yugoslavia has come to an end.
0:43:21 > 0:43:26With some difficulty, we've found a boat that will take us down the coast to Albania.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Her captain is a part-time opera singer who's just played Judas
0:43:30 > 0:43:34in the Zagreb production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
0:43:34 > 0:43:40He doesn't really want to go to Albania, but he listens politely as I burble on.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44I rather like the idea of the mystery of Albania. I like the fact of it being secret.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Everywhere is opening up but it...
0:43:46 > 0:43:50still seems to be the reclusive country in Europe.
0:43:50 > 0:43:55It was one of the closest European country.
0:43:55 > 0:44:01So in our minds, it is still some kind of black hole, really.
0:44:01 > 0:44:02I would say maybe...
0:44:04 > 0:44:07..50 people from Croatia even go there.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09It is very complications.
0:44:09 > 0:44:15Some businessmen, they start maybe some little business or something like that.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20The captain does everything he can to avoid reaching Albania too quickly,
0:44:20 > 0:44:25raising only his smallest sail and singing a lot.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28LOUD RENDITION OF "O Sole Mio"
0:44:33 > 0:44:38I'm not complaining, but we've another 17 countries to get through.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05- What's for supper?- Is that...? I heard some echo.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08Very good. Very good.
0:45:08 > 0:45:14Cooking supper gives him another reason to slow the boat down, but the mussel risotto is superb.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18You can put this in the sea, back.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21OK. I suppose that's... I don't want to lose any risotto.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28I accept now that the captain's not going to hurry,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32and after washing my smalls, I settle in and surrender to the night.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34I must say, there's...
0:45:34 > 0:45:38something to be said for this way of getting round Europe.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Bobbing along the Adriatic,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44along one of the most ancient trade routes of the world,
0:45:44 > 0:45:48with this lovely symphony of creaks and groans.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52You just don't get hotel rooms like this.
0:45:52 > 0:45:53Lovely, really.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00And tomorrow, Albania. Ahh.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Albania.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07LOUD SINGING ECHOES
0:46:19 > 0:46:26Amazingly enough, we do eventually reach Durres, Albania's main port and second city.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31We're now heading into the heart of the Balkans
0:46:31 > 0:46:37and the first port of call is Albania, surely the most quirkily inscrutable country in Europe.
0:46:37 > 0:46:43I know they had a king called Zog and, for 45 years, a hardline communist dictatorship
0:46:43 > 0:46:47where even having a map could land you in prison.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51But now they are open for business. We can see the reality for ourselves.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57With Italy, her main trading partner, only 70 miles away,
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Albania's isn't exactly cut off, it just feels that way.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13On the beach at Durres, there's surreal evidence
0:47:13 > 0:47:20of the paranoid rule of Enver Hoxha, the dictator who embraced first Stalin, then Chairman Mao.
0:47:23 > 0:47:28One of the first things you notice when you come ashore in Albania are bunkers everywhere.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33Apparently, there are about 400,000 of them scattered across the country,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37a symbol of the paranoia during the Hoxha years.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41But now some of them have been recycled rather nicely
0:47:41 > 0:47:45and certainly make British beach huts look rather pathetic!
0:47:45 > 0:47:49You could have a nice holiday and repel an invasion from here.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54And what can you say about Dunsleepin' and all those little Balmorals?
0:47:54 > 0:47:57This is a proper decent beach hut!
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Right?
0:48:09 > 0:48:14I take the train from Durres inland to the capital, Tirana.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17It's about an hour's ride away.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24Under Communism, investment in Albania stagnated
0:48:24 > 0:48:30and afterwards things got even worse when a huge pyramid selling scheme collapsed taking savings with it.
0:48:30 > 0:48:36The villages we passed through show a bruised economy making a fragile recovery.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43In the capital, evidence of hardship is less immediately apparent.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46The Albanian's car of choice appears to be a Mercedes.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51Almost everybody has one, though no-one seems quite sure where they've all come from.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01I get a part-time job with some young Albanian couriers.
0:49:01 > 0:49:07They've been given the task of delivering some of the city's bills and business letters
0:49:07 > 0:49:11as the postal service and the traffic is so bad.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22My fellow worker, Ilya, seems to know just what to do,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25including wearing a helmet and getting a proper bike.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32The natives are not friendly.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34CAR HORN BLARES
0:49:36 > 0:49:40- Ilya, do you want some water? - Thank you.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43- You'll need it after that. - I'm tired.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46It's dangerous sometimes, isn't it, out there?
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Yeah. With a bike it is.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Were you born here?
0:49:52 > 0:49:57- Yeah, I was born in Tirana. - Was it a good place to grow up?
0:49:57 > 0:49:59It was before a good place.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02- It was before? - Before it was a good place.- When?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- Before 15 years.- Really?- Yeah.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Do you prefer it when the communist...?
0:50:09 > 0:50:14Yeah. It was better. No cars, nothing, no troubles.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18No troubles! A bit of nostalgia for the old days.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Albania's national hero, Skanderbeg, fought the Turks.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25But today's hero is fighting for his city.
0:50:25 > 0:50:31Hello, Mayor. It's nice of you to meet me, Michael Palin.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36And what a fantastic office.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41I've just noticed! It's not really an office, it's an art gallery!
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Have a seat.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Edi Rama is an artist who became mayor of Tirana.
0:50:46 > 0:50:54His notebooks, doodled on during council meetings, give him inspiration for improving the city.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59All these colours you have here,
0:50:59 > 0:51:05were they part of how you approached changing the city? The look of the city, by painting buildings?
0:51:05 > 0:51:09Colours are a part of our life.
0:51:09 > 0:51:16It's really a pity that cities are not really reflecting this.
0:51:16 > 0:51:21And I think Tirana has a big potential to develop on colours.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25I would like the city to become
0:51:25 > 0:51:30like an open-air contemporary art living space.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33It's like people living in an art space.
0:51:33 > 0:51:39So if every building would be painted, every corner would be painted, it would be amazing.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43It could be a really extremely attractive city.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47So the idea for the painted buildings comes really from you?
0:51:47 > 0:51:52No, the idea of painting buildings came in the beginning.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57When I came in, and we had no money, and people had big expectations
0:51:57 > 0:52:01after ten years of greyness and lack of hope.
0:52:01 > 0:52:07Tirana was like a transit station where everybody wanted to leave for somewhere.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Dirty, and no communication.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12So we had to give a sign, and how?
0:52:12 > 0:52:16We thought, colours are the best way.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21You grew up here presumably during the Hoxha years and all that.
0:52:21 > 0:52:26It must have been depressing for someone with an artistic colour sense.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30A little bit depressed, yes. It was like a concentration camp.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Private life was totally controlled.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Cafes didn't exist.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37We didn't have cafes.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39What sort of education were you getting?
0:52:41 > 0:52:44It was a Stalinist country.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47We were isolated from both West and East.
0:52:49 > 0:52:55So it really was, there was no other country in the same situation as Albania?
0:52:55 > 0:52:57- Kind of unusual.- No comparison.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58When it all finished,
0:52:58 > 0:53:05was there a great feeling, did you feel a great spirit of excitement and opportunity and liberation?
0:53:05 > 0:53:12Sure. It was... like the end of a nightmare.
0:53:26 > 0:53:33To escape Tirana's turbulent traffic, I take a taxi out of town to see what life's like beyond the city limits.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37This involves negotiating the infamous Blackbird roundabout,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40named after a brothel that used to stand on the site.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Maybe still does for all I know!
0:53:43 > 0:53:47The mayor is doing his best to beautify Tirana but there are times
0:53:47 > 0:53:51when a city needs something more than art, like roads that work.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56Until you get the infrastructure right, I think Tirana is never going to thrive.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59As a friend of mine once said about a British city which tried
0:53:59 > 0:54:03to paint its way out of trouble, you can't polish a turd!
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Albania, like most of the Balkan peninsula, is mountainous.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19And here in the town of Kruja, the 15th century hero Skanderbeg
0:54:19 > 0:54:24used natural defences to fight off three Turkish sieges.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26In a country without a lot to celebrate,
0:54:26 > 0:54:31this has made Kruja a national shrine and leading tourist attraction.
0:54:32 > 0:54:37But Illir Mati, my guide, has something rather different to show me.
0:54:37 > 0:54:43He invites me to accompany a young man who is taking a sheep to be sacrificed at the local monastery
0:54:43 > 0:54:46in the hope that it will make a dream come true.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Tell me about this dream.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Yeah. In the basis of this procession...
0:54:55 > 0:54:58This pilgrimage.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Yes, pilgrimage, the basis is the dream.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04The dream?
0:55:04 > 0:55:07People have dreams
0:55:07 > 0:55:12about the person who are working in Europe.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Oh, I see.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17So their family who are working in Europe, they pray for them.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20They pray for them in this mountain.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25- What do they pray? - They pray have documents, and work.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30Documents and work. That's a simple goal for your prayer.
0:55:31 > 0:55:37There don't seem to be too many people on this particular pilgrim trail this afternoon.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40However, I dare say our reward will be greater...
0:55:42 > 0:55:49The monastery belongs to the Bektashi religion, one of the offshoots of the mystical Sufi order of Islam.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53Its position, on the very top of the mountain,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57is good for devotional contemplation but hell on the thigh muscles.
0:55:59 > 0:56:00Hello.
0:56:04 > 0:56:05Very pleased to meet you.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07It's difficult to get here.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09- Michael there.- Yes. Where do we go?
0:56:09 > 0:56:11- Here.- I'm here?
0:56:11 > 0:56:14- Important guest.- Ah. Right.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16I am honoured.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Ooh, it's so nice to sit down.
0:56:19 > 0:56:24'The holy man, known as the Baba, doesn't initially look thrilled to see us.
0:56:24 > 0:56:29'But after a tumblerful of the local raki, he seems to perk up a bit.'
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Baba, very good to meet you.
0:56:32 > 0:56:38In the mountain, the villagers like to have raki.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Gezuar. Gezuar.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57'Regrettably, the main business of our visit cannot be put off any longer
0:56:57 > 0:57:02'and the pilgrim hands his sheep over for the sacrifice.'
0:57:05 > 0:57:09News of the successful sacrifice has cheered up the family no end
0:57:09 > 0:57:13and I'm invited back for a party
0:57:13 > 0:57:19at which my pilgrim friend plays celebratory music with his father and brothers.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44Albania does seem different from the other countries of the Balkans.
0:57:44 > 0:57:50It may be looking increasingly to the West, but at heart it feels Oriental.
0:57:50 > 0:57:56And I have to remind myself that not only am I still in Europe, but I've a lot further east to go yet.