Fortune Favours the Brave

AIDA TERZIĆ, the CEO of Pino Nature Hotel in Mount Trebević Fortune Favours the Brave

SHE DREAMED OF BECOMING A DOCTOR, BUT SHE TOOK THE SAME ROAD HER

PARENTS HAD TAKEN YEARS AGO INSTEAD AND BECAME A SUCCESSFUL MANAGER IN THE TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY. SHE WON THE BUSINESS ELITE AWARD THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO HER IN MILAN ON 14 SEPTEMBER. SHE IS ALSO THE CEO OF PINO NATURE

HOTEL WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST AWARDED HOTELS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

Interviewed by: Elma Zećo / Photo: Irfan Redžović

Last year was particularly difficult for the tourism industry, but despite the pandemic Bosnian and Herzegovinian entrepreneurs were able to find new ways to keep their business going. This did not go unnoticed. The Business Elite’s “40 under 40” Advisory Board selected Aida Terzić (39), the CEO of Pino Nature Hotel, as one of the 40 most successful managers in South East Europe under the age of forty. Even though the general public learned about her through music at first, Aida has been involved in the tourism industry from a very young age. Namely, her parents founded Relax Tours, the first privately owned travel agency in Sarajevo, where she also leads marketing efforts. The company then expanded its business and built a hotel in Mount Trebević. Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji list believes that Pino Nature Hotel is one of the most awarded hotels in this part of the world.

A VIP CONGRESS HALL IN NATURE

What was your reaction when you learned you won the Business Elite Award?

- I was informed that I was nominated back in March, but I didn’t have great expectations as there are usually a lot of candidates for the award. However, it was only recently that I learned I was short-listed, and this makes me really happy. You cannot do much on your own. I like to think of my team as a family. Their work and efforts are woven into this award just the way they are woven into each of the renowned recognitions Pino has received since it was opened. I’m impatiently awaiting the award ceremony which is to take place in Milan on 14 September. I want to present Pino Nature Hotel and B&H in the best light possible.

With the pandemic largely subsiding, the tourism sector is beginning to get back on its feet. How does this impact your business?

- Tourism was the first sector to be impacted by the pandemic, but it didn’t start with the closure of airports and catering outlets in March last year. It started as early as January 2020 when we could feel that something horrible was about to unfold, because customers started cancelling their bookings with us. The tourism industry has been on its knees for a year and a half, it has faced the hardest-hit of the COVID-19 outbreak, and it’ll be the last industry to recover. It’s fortunate that the people in our country have realised that, under the circumstances, they could and should start visiting hotels in B&H, particularly mountain and lakeside hotels. Tourism is different this year. In May, we’ve already had customers from across the Balkan region, the Gulf region, and from across Europe, where our diaspora lives, book their stay with us. Tourists started coming to the country earlier than before when the main season was in full bloom from June through August. When it comes to outbound tourism, Bosnians and Herzegovinians are eager to start travelling again, and Egypt seems to have emerged as a top destination offering direct charter flights from Sarajevo.

How did you use the crisis triggered by the pandemic to develop your business further?

- We decided to brave the situation. We’re extremely happy that both Relax Tours and Pino Nature Hotel didn’t lay off anyone despite the fact that we had to temporarily shut down our business due to restrictions on several occasions and at different times. We used the extra time on hand to improve our services and refurbish our premises because time was scarce before the pandemic. We built a new congress hall called VIP Panorama on the hotel’s roof featuring large glass windows and offering panoramic views of the area. Our guests are now in search of an extra seat because the Olympic mountain’s congress hall tre-

“Tourism seems to have grown on me thanks to my parents. My father was the one who’d play the guitar in our household, so we’d sing and talk about tourism together. I don’t think I’d know how to do anything else.”

ating guests to wonderful views of the surrounding landscape is quite unlike any other congress hall, and it’s only 10 minutes away from the city centre. Even though it was a time of uncertainty, we kept investing. As it turned out, we weren’t wrong. We’ve managed to found our way through the crisis and the relationship we have with our employees has grown stronger. This resulted in new services, a great demand, and awards.

RURAL TOURISM

B&H offers a wide range of tourist attractions and activities. What do you think we should focus on?

- On the World Tourism Day you could read between the lines that this year rural destinations would be the most sought-after areas to travel to. Tourists are looking to explore riverside and lakeside areas and the mountains, and to spend as much time in nature as they can. We can see that at our hotel too: people can sit on the terrace, but they prefer to sit on our outdoor bean bags on the grass. We should focus on what a growing number of tourist around the world is turning to, and that’s adventure tourism, nature tourism, and rural tourism.

You play a large and demanding role in the family business. How long did it take you to come to grips with and work your way up in the business?

- After graduating from university, I worked and pursued two postgraduate study programmes at the same time. The time I spent in the music industry—singing in a group called Erato together with my friend Dalal—helped me prepare for the business world I was entering. As young girls at the age of 16 or 17, we would close in on deals with large corporations to perform for an audience and with record labels to record our albums. We earned money and made acquaintances with a lot of people, and this experience shaped me as an individual and, among other things, shaped me into the person I am today in the tourism and hotel industry. Tourism seems to have grown on me thanks to my parents. My father was the one who’d play the guitar in our household, so we’d sing and talk about tourism together. I don’t think I’d know how to do anything else.

In addition to being a successful businesswoman, you’re also a mother and a wife. What’s your secret to work-life balance?

- As a joke I sometimes say that I have three kids, because I have two sons, an 11-year old and a 9-year old, and a husband. I learned early on that if you are organised, you can do just about anything. Music taught me this as well, as did my parents, my mum in particular. She’d come home after work and start making lunch for us while still wearing a suit. I’m a workaholic. I plan errands to run and the things I have to do the night before, and I cook lunch for my

kids every day—most of the time when they’re asleep or as soon as I get back from work. I hope I’m a good mum, a good wife, and a good businesswoman. Once the kids grow up, you cannot bring back the time that is gone. That’s why it’s important to be there for you kids.

What do you encourage your kids to do?

- My husband used to play for the B&H national basketball team. He’s more into sports than me so he’s the one who encourages our kids to play basketball. I, on the other hand, fashion myself as an artistic persons so I’m glad that, in addition to attending school, my kids are able to play both music and sports. They both play the guitar—Rajan plays the electric guitar, while Rijad plays the acoustic one. As a mother, I told them that they need to know how to speak English, have good computer skills, play a sport, and play an instrument. I hope it’s not too much to ask.

LOOKING AHEAD

What are the best songs for you to chill out to?

- At the moment, Adele’s songs. I can feel each song, each word she sings. When it comes to musicians from this part of the world, the legendary Oliver (Dragojević) is a singer after my own heart. I love singers who have a soul and songs that deeply touch your heart.

Which destination have you chosen for your summer holiday?

- Egypt. Relax Tours has regularly offered this travel destination for the past 15 years. We did take a 4- or 5-year break, but we’re happy to have direct charter flights to Egypt again. Hurghada is the queen of summer travel and provides the best value for money. You can book tenday holiday package deals with airfare and hotel for BAM 900 or 1,000. That’s what I’d definitely recommend you to choose this summer, and that’s what I’ve chosen for my summer holiday too.

What are the challenges that lie ahead of you?

- When I was a girl, medicine was a great love of mine. After graduating from the Second Grammar School, my earnest desire was to pursue medical studies. However, my parents didn’t think it was a good idea because they believed that medical professionals aren’t valued enough or paid enough in B&H, and they also thought that it would be difficult for me to balance practicing medicine due to the nature of the profession with being a mother. I sigh whenever I put on a white coat or a white trench coat, but at this point I think they were right. Who’d take over and run the family business? I don’t see myself beyond the tourism sector, but I’d like to give diplomacy a go, in a faraway country such as Australia, which is my second home. I lived there for five years. I was granted Australian citizenship, and I hold an Australian passport. I love working with people and promoting my country.

ĆIRIL IVEKOVIĆ Arhitekta carskih dvora

NA SLUŽBI U SARAJEVU

POMAŽUĆI U IZRADI DETALJNIH NACRTA ZA IZGRADNJU CARSKIH DVORA U

BEČU, U ATELIJERU SLAVNOG KARLA VON HASENAUERA, HRVATSKI ARHITEKTA

ĆIRIL METOD IVEKOVIĆ ZASLUŽIO JE PREPORUKE JEDNOG OD NAJZNAČAJNIJIH BEČKIH ARHITEKATA KASNOG HISTORICIZMA DA POSTANE SAMOSTALNI ARHITEKTA U ZEMALJSKOJ VLADI U SARAJEVU.

GRADNJA CARSKIH DVORA

Još prije studija, pod nadzorom glasovitog Hermanna Bolléa vodio je 1884. klesarske radove na restauraciji zagrebačke Katedrale i gradnji crkve sv. Ćirila i Metoda na Gornjem gradu. Iduće godine predavao je klesarstvo na Obrtnoj školi u Zagrebu, a u jesen 1886. uputio se pješke, bez sredstava i podrške, na Akademiju likovnih umjetnosti u Beču. Tokom studija sarađivao je u atelijeru poznatih pozorišnih arhitekata Hermanna Helmera i Ferdinanda Fellnera, a nakon njih pomagao je u izradi detaljnih nacrta dvorišnog pročelja dvorca Hofburga i dijelova Dvorskog historijsko-umjetničkog muzeja u Beču. Nakon toga odlazi u Sarajevo.

SLUŽBA U SARAJEVU

U Sarajevu Iveković je ostao šest godina, od 1890. do 1896. godine, gdje je odmah nakon zaposlenja uradio projekt Carinarnice, koja je srušena između dva svjetska rata. Na obalama Miljacke ostvario je svoj najuspješniji projekt, antologijski primjer historicizma, završiviši izgradnju sarajevske Vijećnice čiji je projekt započeo Alexander Wittek. Radio je na obnovi Ali-pašine džamije 1894. godine za koju većina stručnjaka smatra da je najljepši primjer klasične osmanske gradnje u Bosni i Hercegovini. Ono što je malo poznato je da je Iveković 1893. godine postao tvorac prvog parka po uzoru na evropske koji je nastao na osnovu projekta. Izveden je bez ikakvih prethodnih ograničenja na do tada neuređenom terenu uz banjski i hotelski kompleks na Ilidži koji je također tada bio u izgradnji. Park je imao sasvim preciznu baroknu osnovu, sa pažljivo oblikovanim cvjetnim rondelima i drvenim pavi-

ljonom kao kafanom, na vještačkom brijegu. U njemu su se nalazila vještačka jezerca sa kanalima i drvenim mostićima, a unutar dijela sa zelenilom bio je zoološki vrt. Degradacija parka započela je poslije Prvog svjetskog rata, tako da današnji park na Ilidži skoro da nema ništa sa Ivekovićevim rješenjem.

PROJEKTI U BRČKOM I TRAVNIKU

Ćiril Iveković završio je još jedan Wittekov projekt – zgradu Gradske vijećnice u Brčkom koja je 1892. godine izgrađena prema Wittekovom idejnom, a Ivekovićevim izvođačkim projektom. Oba projekta imaju tlocrt u formi istostraničnog trokuta sa centralnom aulom i ugaonim kulama, a razlikuju se u izboru dekorativno-plastičnih elemenata i rješenja ugaonih kula. Danas je ona zaštićen nacionalni spomenik BiH. U istom duhu uradio je i projekt za izgradnju nove zgrade Elći Ibrahim-pašine medrese u Travniku. Naime, zgrada originalne medrese iz 1705. godine srušena je 1892. godine prilikom izgradnje pruge kroz Travnik, ali je austrougarska vlast kao nadoknadu sagradila današnju zgradu medrese u periodu od 1892. do 1895. godine, koja je veća od nekadašnje.

NAJPLODNIJE RAZDOBLJE

Nakon toga seli se u Dalmaciju kada počinje njegovo najplodnije razdoblje. Kao arhitekta bogoštovnih zgrada kod dalmatinskog namjesništva u Zadru četvrt vijeka je radio kao arhitekt, konzervator, arheolog, restaurator i konačno kao fotograf gradeći sakralne i profane objekte. Godine 1920. odlazi u Zagreb gdje je radio kao profesor na Višoj tehničkoj školi. Izabran je za člana Jugoslavenske akademije 1922. godine. Preminuo je iznenada, 1933. godine, neposredno prije odlaska na nova arheološka iskapanja u Biogradu.

ĆIRIL IVEKOVIĆ

Achitect who Designed Imperial Palaces Serving in Sarajevo

HAVING ASSISTED IN CREATING DETAILED PROJECT DESIGNS FOR IMPERIAL PALACES IN VIENNA IN THE ATELIER OF KARL VON HASENAUER, ACCLAIMED AUSTRIAN ARCHITECT, ĆIRIL METOD IVEKOVIĆ, CROATIAN-BORN ARCHITECT, HE RECEIVED WELLDESERVED PRAISE FROM ONE OF THE BEST VIENNESE ARCHITECTS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LATE HISTORICISM STYLE AND BECAME AN INDEPENDENT ARCHITECT FOR THE GOVERNMENT IN SARAJEVO.

BUILDING IMPERIAL PALACES

In 1884, before his studies, under the supervision of the renowned Hermann Bollé, he performed stonework for the restoration of Zagreb Cathedral and construction of Saint Cyril and Methodius Church located in the Upper Town of Zagreb. The following year he taught stonemasonry at the School of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, and in 1886, without any support and funding, he went on foot to Vienna and enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts. During his studies, he worked with the architectural firm of Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, which specialised in designing theatres, and following his graduation, he drafted a detailed blueprint for the forefront of the courtyard to Hofburg Imperial Castle and for the staircase hall of the Historical Museum in Vienna. He then moved to Sarajevo.

SERVING IN SARAJEVO

For six years, from 1890 to 1896, he worked for the Government in Sarajevo. His first design was the Customs House, which was demolished between the two World wars. On the banks of the Miljacka River he created his most successful project, an anthological example of Historicism—he finalised the design of the Sarajevo City Hall which was originally designed by Alexander Wittek. He restored Ali-pasha’s Mosque in Sarajevo which is, in the opinion of most experts, the finest example of classical Ottoman architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not many people know that in 1893 Iveković created the first designed park in the country modelled on European parks. Without any design restrictions, it was built on a piece of undeveloped land next to a spa and hotel complex in Ilidža, which was also under construction at the time. The park was laid out in a Baroque style with carefully shaped floral roundels and a wooden pavilion featuring a cafe on top of an artificial hill. It was a park with artificial lakes and small wooden bridges, and in the park’s green space there was a zoo. After the World War I, the park began go to rack and ruin, and the present-day park in Ilidža it nothing like the park Iveković had designed.

PROJECTS IN BRČKO AND TRAVNIK

Ćiril Iveković completed another project that was originally designed by Wittek—the Town Hall in Brčko. Construction work was finished in 1892 based on Wittek’s preliminary design and Iveković’s detailed design. The layout of the ground plan in both designs is based on an equilateral triangle with a central hall and side towers, differing in painted and relief decorations and side tower features. Today the Town Hall is a protected natural monument in B&H. Iveković created a similar design for the new building of the Elći Ibrahim Pasha Madrassa in Travnik. The original building, constructed back in 1705, was demolished in 1892 before the new railway line passing through Travnik was built. To compensate for tearing down the original building, from 1892 to 1895 the Austro-Hungarian Government constructed the present-day building of the madrassa which is larger than the original one.

THE MOST PRODUCTIVE PERIOD

Iveković then moved to Dalmatia, and that is when his most productive period began. As the architect who designed ecclesiastical buildings for the Dalmatian government in Zadar, he spent almost twenty-five years there, working as an architect, conservator, archaeologist, restorer, and, finally, as a photographer, creating sacred and profane buildings. In 1920, he went to Zagreb to teach at the Technical College. In 1922, he became member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. He died suddenly in 1993 while preparing to go on an archaeological excavation in Biograd.