Identifier: travelspolitic00mill (find matches)
Title: Travels and politics in the Near East
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Miller, William, 1864-1945
Subjects: Eastern question (Balkan) Balkan Peninsula
Publisher: New York : Frederick A. Stokes
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ths of St, Luke, point toan early, if legendary, origin, of which we have alreadyhad an example in the tower of St. Luke at Jajce. Itsproximity to the Croatian frontier made it an importantstrategic point for the Turks. Again and again it wit-nessed combats between the two armies, and earlier inthe present century the Dragon of Bosnia, one of themost picturesque heroes of the country, unfurled here thegreen flag of the Prophet against the Sultan and hisofficials. To-day Banjaluka has been greatly Euro-peanised, although it still preserves the wide, stragglingstreet, the mosques, and the bazar of an Eastern town.Space here counts for nothing : the hotel covers an acreor so of ground, and the street seems as if it would neverend. To the artist Banjaluka is chiefly interestingbecause of the beautiful minaret, certainly the finest inthe country, which adorns the Ferhadija Mosque, socalled from the Turkish Governor, Eerhad Pasha, whobuilt it out of the ransom which he had exacted for a 165
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THE BEAUTIFUL MINARET .... WHICH ADORNS THE FERHADIJA MOSQUE
Travels and Politics in the Near East distinguished Austrian captive. At the picturesquesuburb of Gornji Seher, the upper village, the Mussul-man may be seen at his ease, drinking his coffee at theroadside cafes, or going to the baths where once theRomans discovered the hot springs. On the other sideof the town the Trappist monastery affords a verydifferent aspect, and the cheese which the worthy monksproduce is well known in every part of Bosnia. FromBanjaluka to the Croatian frontier by railway—the onlynormal gauge line in the whole country—the distance isonly sixty-nine miles. But, although 1 have once followedthis route, I found it much less interesting than thejourney across the hills and down to the valley of theBosna. The north-west corner of Bosnia is, indeed, richin pasture, and is well watered by the Sana and the Una,so that the people are in many respects better off herethan in other parts of the country. As we

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