There are cemeteries everywhere in Sarajevo. Some are large, like the Kovaći cemetery on the east side of the city, located just below the hill of the Yellow Bastion. Some are ancient, like the nearly 500-year-old Jewish Cemetery, the largest of its kind in Southeast Europe; it contains graves dating back nearly five hundred years, when Bosnia was one of the few places in Europe where Jews were welcomed. Some are tiny, small squares of grass located in the midst of the city or visible on a hilltop high above. During the war, residents converted “ parks, schoolyards, gardens, alleyways ” into burial grounds for the nearly 12,000 military and civilian fatalities. As a prominent Sarajevo funeral director proclaimed at the end of the war, “Sarajevo is the biggest graveyard in the world”. The solemn gravestones and tombs provide a captivating glimpse into this ancient city’s history, into the life and death of its denizens through the centuries. And the countless graves bearing numbers...
On Friday I visited Goodison Park to watch an Everton match, fulfilling a dream birthed nearly six years ago, when I set off on my journey as a fan of the Blues. It’s been quite a ride. There have been incredible highs – that first year under Roberto Martinez, Jagielka’s screamer against Liverpool, Lukaku’s emasculation of Young Boys. Naismith’s perfect hattrick against Chelsea, Oumar Niasse showing up Ronald Koeman by scoring two late goals as a substitute in a comeback victory, Rooney’s storybook return at the start of last year. But this is Everton we’re talking about, so there also been miserable lows. Epic collapses – from John Terry’s late “equalizer” to the match against Bournemouth, to THAT goal against Liverpool. Drubbings, like the 4-0 away fixture at Anfield, our evisceration by Yarmolenko in Kyiv, 5-0 against Chelsea. Consistent inconsistency, frequently embarrassing performances against bottom-feeders, the grim acceptance of the gap between us and the “b...