We travel for many reasons: to relax, to reconnect, to explore, and to learn. At its core, going somewhere makes us feel something, and through this feeling we can connect more deeply to the place and its people. This is the power of being in a place that leaves a lasting impact. 

Today there is increasing violence, contempt, and conflict around the world. To put an end to this escalation, we first must remember when it happened in the past. A survivor called us to act when he warned that the only thing worse than the concentration camps “is if the world forgets that there was even such a place.” The most impactful way to never forget such a place is to go there. 

BalkanEyes explores how travel creates connections between people and places and deepens understanding of the causes and destruction of conflict and atrocities. BalkanEyes is a travel guide to the western Balkans focused on the 1990s conflict in the former Yugoslavia, but also hopes to inspire you to take a different approach to travel anywhere in the world.