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More than a decade after the end of the siege of Sarajevo, tourists are once again flocking to the Bosnian capital to see the city's scars. The longest siege in the history of modern warfare, lasting for four year from 1992 to 1996, killed 10,000 people and left an indelible mark on the city.

Sites such as Sniper's Alley and the Dobrinja tunnel that led to freedom beyond the airport are now almost as recognised symbols of national identity as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. As a result, tourists are flocking to Sarajevo in ever increasing numbers to see the evidence of Europe's last major war. Several operators are even running organised tours taking in some of the more evocative sites of Sarajevo.

Hiring a car from Sarajev is no problem as Car Hire 3000 offer car hire at Sarajevo Airport, as well as car hire in Sarajevo town cantre. We can also offer car hire in Mostar and other locations for car hire in Bosnia. Sniper's Alley, now known as Zmaja od Bosne (Dragon of Bosnia) Avenue, is one site featured on some of the tours, although its present facade lined with blossoming trees, and buzzing with trams, city buses and private cars are a far cry from its brutal reputation ten years ago.

Tour operators also take visitors to the Stadium of Kosovo, although it is the Kosovo auxiliary football field that draws the eye. Covered in thousands of Muslim headstones, the field became a cemetery because of the lack of safe space to bury the dead. Visitors also get the chance to see the downtown Markale market, where behind the fruit and vegetable vendors, a big glass-covered red wall bears the names of 67 Sarajevans killed in a mortar attack in February 1994.

The inscription carved into the white stone monument in front of the wall says that Sarajevans will never forget and it is indeed a message that most residents can never do. Modern Sarajevo has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years as the end of the civil war, combined with growing economic prosperity has seen the local area flourish. But while pedestrians throng the city's boulevards and cafes, Sarajevo retains a muted melancholy that is unlikely to disappear for generations to come.

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