The Bosnian Pyramids

Chinchillas, chihuahuas and a farmer

Last year, Jasmina, my Bosnian girlfriend took me to visit her beautiful home country.

After sightseeing for a few days we settled in for a few Sarajevsko’s and rakia. Watching TV with her cousin, I was a little confused when I saw a news report featuring an Indiana Jones type character gesturing towards a vaguely pointy hill which was then superimposed with the outline of an Egyptian style pyramid.

Jasmina laughed and said; “Didn’t you know we had pyramids in Bosnia? The first European pyramid ever to be discovered?”.

That stopped me. I wanted to go.

The next day, we arrived at Visoko. I was buzzing. We drove through some of the most lush and truly stunning countryside I have ever seen.

As we turned off into the village, a farmer, dressed in vest and shorts, complete with snotty, mischievous son, waved to us towards a piece of grass. We looked at each other, shrugged, and turned off. “Dobro dosli!”, he said grinning ear to ear.

After paying our 5 convertible marks for parking, the farmer began to tell us of the wonders we were about to see. Turns out he was the ‘official’ tour guide, fully versed in the mysteries of the Bosnian Pyramids.

Being an Englishman with non-existent Bosnian, I merely looked on and nodded in the places I thought appropriate. At one point Jasmina stifled a giggle and shot a look to her cousin. He didn’t flinch.

The farmer pointed towards a hill behind us. Thanking him, we began to walk.

After a few moments, Jasmina started giggling. She turned to us and said; “Do you realise what he just said?”. Translating the farmer word for word, she told us; “Once when everything is excavated from the mountain, the plan is that the pyramids are going to be just like in Mexico. Like Chinchilla, Chihuahua, whatever.”

God bless the farmers.

And so we walked on.