Herzegovina
Oct. 17th, 2017 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeThe morning of Wednesday 4 October was another sunny one in the city of Mostar, and I started to have concerns about our lack of skin protection. Having to check out of the apartment at the ridiculously early time of 10am, we were up and about earlier than I would have liked, giving us time to see a little more of the city before exploring the surrounding countryside. We packed the bags into the car and examined the Hotel Neretva once again, a building with which I had become somewhat fascinated during our stay in the city. On the search for burek, we also saw a concrete building which I suspect was some sort of conference facility with shrapnel holes gouged out of it, while we also tried for a third time (and again unsuccessfully) to look around the Karadozbegova Mosque but noticed that this was still closed to visitors. The graveyard here, with graves dating from 1993, was particularly poignant and we spent a sombre few moments in reflection.
Finding suncream proved to be incredibly difficult, with supermarkets and pharmacies seeming to stock anything but. We did find a place eventually, but the range was poor and the prices extortionate, but alas we had no other option. Consequently, we grudgingly paid around £15 for a small bottle and doused it on. We then headed back to the car, trying to find the infamous Sniper's Tower on the way. This was an eight-story former bank building which was used by Croat forces to pick off Bosniacks as they went about their daily business. Being such a tall concrete ediface, you would have thought that spotting it would be easy, but alas the map we had was incorrect and we were looking at completely the wrong part of the city. Pictures suggest that there was some interesting graffiti there, and it is still in ruins some twenty-five years later, but aside from glimpsing it as we headed south out of Mostar, we didn't get the opportunity to view it.
I had persuaded Wolfie to visit a few places in the local area ahead of our two and a half hour drive to Sarajevo. We had largely exhausted Mostar, as fascinating as it was, and I had read that the town of Blagaj some twenty minutes' drive was definitely worth the detour. The source of the River Buna is here, underneath a picturesque cave. The water runs through a stunning little valley, with a few wooden huts and restaurants on either side. We parked up in the main town with one other car, with the clearly bored attendant coming to us early to ask for money (which turned out to be double the advertised price but we did not know it at that time). He was friendly though and gave us directions on how to get to the source of the river, which was a short walk down a winding country road along which there were a number of wooden stalls selling all kinds of tourist chinz (although many of them were actually closed as there were so few people here). The main sight here is actually the tekija, which was built in the sixteenth century for the dervish cults. It is at the base of a 200m cliff wall, with the aforementioned cave off to one side. It's incredibly authentic, with the woodwork being a particular delight. Again, there was a strong theme of red carpets and hexagonal Ottoman-style furniture, particularly in the prayer room which was quite austere, although had a number of interesting artefacts such as Arabic tapestries on the wall and a grandfather clock in the corner. The mosque with the coloured stained glass stars in the roof was a particular highlight. We were two of only four people in the house, so we largely had the place to ourselves, although we did get lucky as a bus load of Turkish tourists were arriving as we were leaving. The tejika has a wonderful little garden overlooking the cave and river, while we also walked across one of the wooden bridges over the river to get a better look at the house. It was certainly a worthwhile detour but, as was common in Bosnia, it didn't take an awful lot of time to see, giving us more opportunity to see things in the local area. I started plotting.
Our initial plan had been to see the fort at the top of the hill. This imposed itself over the town and looked rather complete, so we drove to its base. It was here that we discovered it would be a forty-five minute to an hour walk, in the midday heat, just to get up there with the same length of time coming back. Balancing this up, we decided there was probably better use of the time and started to double back. As we did, a trio of French travellers asked us about the route up there, to which we pointed, although the trail wasn't particularly well-marked. We told them that we didn't think it was overly worth it before heading off, whether they heeded our advice I'm not overly sure.
At this stage we were running out of petrol, and I was getting a little concerned that the country routes down which we were travelling would not reveal a petrol station in due course. Fortunately, we did manage to rejoin the main highway from Mostar to the coast eventually and filled up, before pressing on to the charming town of Počitelj, which is on the left bank of the River Neretva. Considering we had turned down the chance to climb up to the fort in Blagaj, there was a huge irony here as we ended up climbing up steep paths to the fort here. After a little confusion regarding where to park, we ended up outside a restaurant, from which we got explore this quaint settlement. Built in a natural karst ampitheatre around the bank of the Neretva River, the walled city developed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries although the first mention of the settlement dates back to 1444. It was significantly destroyed during the Bosnian War and was reopened in 2003. It has a distinctly Ottoman feel and is dominated by the Dadzi-Alija Mosque at the base of the town, which was built in 1563. As we walked past at around 1pm, the distinct call to prayer was eminating and it was a real privilege to experience this six hundred year old tradition in such a special place. There are two major buildings perched on top of the hill, both dating from the Medieval fortifications. The Kula on the southern side was silo in shape and afforded stunning views of the river valley in every direction. Of course, it was primarily a military defence and stationed by watchmen. Within the small fort, there has been some modern stairwells and glass panelled walkways constructed. There was tape demarking that these were yet to be safety tested but as it had come loose, we weren't sure as to how secure the steps were. We opted to risk it anyway and didn't die, so that was something. As with Jajce earlier in the week, this town was labyrinthine, with narrow pedestrian streets guiding you between residences and historical structures. It must be like living in a museum but the fact it was still a home for many people did add a continuum and a sense of authenticity to the place. Climbing up to the top of the hill in the scorching heat was quite a challenge, and Wolfie's rash was causing him a few issues as we progressed, but the views were ultimately worth it, even if he did grumble at my insistence that we follow every sign, deviating from wherever we had intended to go initially. At the top though we followed the wall from the Fort around to the hexagonal defence structure at the northern edge of the town before dropping back down to the river valley and roadside. Noticing that we hadn't seen the Sahat Kula, the tall bell tower tucked behind the Mosque, we paid this a quick look before heading back to the car through one of the town's original gates. We were parched however and decided to buy a bottle of homemade pomegranate juice made by one of the old crones selling it by the roadside. I didn't have any Bosnian money but they were happy with Euros (you could have paid in Croatian kuna too as the border was a mere twenty minutes later) and we were glad for the drink, which we guzzled thirstily. It was quite pleasant, slightly sweet with a definite pomegranate taste. It was exactly what we needed. As we headed back to the car, we spied the old Turkish baths before trying to find a toilet as we were desperate for a pee. There was a restaurant right next to where we had parked and a sign pointing to the toilets but alas we could not find them and we had to give up. We were contemplating going to the Burek store across the road for some food but Wolfie wasn't particularly hungry so we decided to push on.
It was now about 2:30pm and thus we had a couple of hours before we needed to head to Sarajevo to ensure we got there before nightfall. We had been told by the nice lady we had met in the Black Dog Pub on the Monday night about the Kravice Falls and seeing they were only a short distance away, we decided to drive out there. As we went, we saw the new A1 motorway they were building, which will severely reduce the travelling times across the country. We went under a huge concrete bridge spanning a river valley, highlighting just how major a construction project this is. It was odd seeing such a motorway with no cars on though. You could still see the bridge at the Kravice Falls car park, where we paid a nominal fee to park before descending into the valley to see them. Fortunately, there was a toilet here, so we got to use this before walking about ten minutes to the river course. You could hear the falls before you could see them, along with the small collection of cafes and watersports stands offering services to the handful of people who were swimming in the crystal clear waters. The height of the waterfall was not as high as that in Jacje but it was certainly wider, with six or seven separate falls in an 180 degree alignment. Indeed, before reaching the base of the Falls, we had stood at the source of one of them, where Wolfie through a twig into the stream to watch it cascade over the edge. The Falls were very nice but there was little else here, so with further things to see, we left after about five minutes. Unfortunately, we left a little too swiftly and I slipped going up the steep pathway, grazing my elbow and denting my pride in front of a troupe of Italian tourists. Still, I was largely fine, just a bit limpy for the short journey back up to the car park.
We were now at the furthest point of our day from Sarajevo, so we started to head towards the Bosnian capital. I noticed that the interesting town of Medjugorje was on the way and persuaded Wolfie to take a look. This is a major Catholic pilgrimage site as on 24 and 25 June 1981 six teenagers reported they had seen an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the hills nearby. Since then, the small town has become the second largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world and there's a huge tourist industry selling chintzy Catholic souvenirs to the vast number of people who come here. The yellow coloured Saint James Church with its dual spires containing clocks, situated on the main square, was perhaps the only sight of interest although we did try and find the stations of the cross on Križevac Hill. Unfortunately the sign posts weren't overly clear and we ended up going to some Catholic conference centre which I suspect was not the right place. The drivers in this town were particularly poor, the narrow streets meaning they were not suitable for the number of vehicles using them, and Wolfie just wanted to get out. As a consequence, we made our departure and continued our journey.
This region of Herzegovina is famed for its vineyards, with experts predicting that Bosnian wines are set to become big in the coming years. There were a number of wine trails highlighted in the guidebook but as Wolfie was driving, we couldn't really drop in for a tasting. However, one thing we could do was see if we could buy any as we would be passing a number of vineyards on our way north. The region of Čitluk is the epicentre of the Bosnian wine industry and it didn't take long to find a wine seller, although we initially eyed it with suspicion as it was a brown octagonal hut in the car park of an industrial plant. We since discovered that the plant was where the wines were bottled and although the shop looked long since closed, it was actually open. The cracked window pane in the door was misleading. Inside there was a lovely woman who spoke little English but through broken Russian we managed to make ourselves understood. There was no tasting on offer but she did stock four 250ml bottles of local wine, which I thought would be perfect in order to get a taste of the region's production. I bought these for an insanely cheap price - the bill coming to something like £8 - before we drove through the town of Čitluk after which the region is named. This was a pretty non-descript place but as we drove through it, I noticed the Brkić vineyard was just off the main road. The first modern cellar in Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Brkić family in 1979 and their natural organic wines are amongst the best the country has to offer. It took a while for me to process this but I did ask Wolfie to stop further up the road, enabling me to walk back down the hill and towards the winery. Their wines were understandably expensive but after a brief chat with one of the two brothers who now own the place, I opted to pick up a deep red, which was wrapped up for me. It cost about £15 and it being a 750ml bottle, we would have to drink it before we left the country, but I was happy with my purchase.
The journey to Sarajevo was about two hours from here, but we did stop off halfway in the town of Jablanica (which we had actually passed through two days earlier as we had made our way from Banja Luka to Mostar) when I realised there was a major piece of World War II history just off the main road. The associated museum was closed but we did get to see the bridge that the Partisans destroyed during the Battle of the Neretva in 1943, one of two major victories that Tito's men enjoyed over the Axis powers. I cannot do the battle justice in this journal, so please enjoy this Wikipedia link detailing what happened. It was a daring military strategy and one that proved to be ultimately successful, which is why the remnants of the bridge have been left there, just clinging to the hillside before plunging into the water. On the other bank there sits a stream train of the day, highlighting its use as a rail bridge I suppose, while a pedestrian walkway has since been constructed near the downed bridge, from which you can take excellent photos. The mountainous setting merely adds to the military achievement, not to mention the drama of such a place, and it is easy to see why the bridge was left as a testament to the fledging Yugoslavia's strength.
This stop ultimately meant we were late arriving in Sarajevo, having to navigate its streets in the dark. Fortunately, the hotel was pretty easy to find and we only had to travel down the main thoroughfare before turning left onto a narrow back road. Alas, this road was also a tramway and one of the busiest streets in the city, but Wolfie drove expertly, eventually parking up on the small driveway of our accommodation. We were met by one of the porters, who told us he would move our car to the secure car park down the road if we give him our car keys. Initially I was reticent to do this, but not knowing where the car park was, I guess we had little choice. It was literally two doors down behind a huge wooden door, and at least the porter driving the car there meant we didn't have to navigate the busy road or tramway. And with the car secure, we didn't need to worry about it, which was a huge bonus considering our close proximity to the city centre. We couldn't wait to explore, so after checking in to our room, we did exactly that, heading out to find some food and a craft beer bar for the night.
Finding suncream proved to be incredibly difficult, with supermarkets and pharmacies seeming to stock anything but. We did find a place eventually, but the range was poor and the prices extortionate, but alas we had no other option. Consequently, we grudgingly paid around £15 for a small bottle and doused it on. We then headed back to the car, trying to find the infamous Sniper's Tower on the way. This was an eight-story former bank building which was used by Croat forces to pick off Bosniacks as they went about their daily business. Being such a tall concrete ediface, you would have thought that spotting it would be easy, but alas the map we had was incorrect and we were looking at completely the wrong part of the city. Pictures suggest that there was some interesting graffiti there, and it is still in ruins some twenty-five years later, but aside from glimpsing it as we headed south out of Mostar, we didn't get the opportunity to view it.
I had persuaded Wolfie to visit a few places in the local area ahead of our two and a half hour drive to Sarajevo. We had largely exhausted Mostar, as fascinating as it was, and I had read that the town of Blagaj some twenty minutes' drive was definitely worth the detour. The source of the River Buna is here, underneath a picturesque cave. The water runs through a stunning little valley, with a few wooden huts and restaurants on either side. We parked up in the main town with one other car, with the clearly bored attendant coming to us early to ask for money (which turned out to be double the advertised price but we did not know it at that time). He was friendly though and gave us directions on how to get to the source of the river, which was a short walk down a winding country road along which there were a number of wooden stalls selling all kinds of tourist chinz (although many of them were actually closed as there were so few people here). The main sight here is actually the tekija, which was built in the sixteenth century for the dervish cults. It is at the base of a 200m cliff wall, with the aforementioned cave off to one side. It's incredibly authentic, with the woodwork being a particular delight. Again, there was a strong theme of red carpets and hexagonal Ottoman-style furniture, particularly in the prayer room which was quite austere, although had a number of interesting artefacts such as Arabic tapestries on the wall and a grandfather clock in the corner. The mosque with the coloured stained glass stars in the roof was a particular highlight. We were two of only four people in the house, so we largely had the place to ourselves, although we did get lucky as a bus load of Turkish tourists were arriving as we were leaving. The tejika has a wonderful little garden overlooking the cave and river, while we also walked across one of the wooden bridges over the river to get a better look at the house. It was certainly a worthwhile detour but, as was common in Bosnia, it didn't take an awful lot of time to see, giving us more opportunity to see things in the local area. I started plotting.
Our initial plan had been to see the fort at the top of the hill. This imposed itself over the town and looked rather complete, so we drove to its base. It was here that we discovered it would be a forty-five minute to an hour walk, in the midday heat, just to get up there with the same length of time coming back. Balancing this up, we decided there was probably better use of the time and started to double back. As we did, a trio of French travellers asked us about the route up there, to which we pointed, although the trail wasn't particularly well-marked. We told them that we didn't think it was overly worth it before heading off, whether they heeded our advice I'm not overly sure.
At this stage we were running out of petrol, and I was getting a little concerned that the country routes down which we were travelling would not reveal a petrol station in due course. Fortunately, we did manage to rejoin the main highway from Mostar to the coast eventually and filled up, before pressing on to the charming town of Počitelj, which is on the left bank of the River Neretva. Considering we had turned down the chance to climb up to the fort in Blagaj, there was a huge irony here as we ended up climbing up steep paths to the fort here. After a little confusion regarding where to park, we ended up outside a restaurant, from which we got explore this quaint settlement. Built in a natural karst ampitheatre around the bank of the Neretva River, the walled city developed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries although the first mention of the settlement dates back to 1444. It was significantly destroyed during the Bosnian War and was reopened in 2003. It has a distinctly Ottoman feel and is dominated by the Dadzi-Alija Mosque at the base of the town, which was built in 1563. As we walked past at around 1pm, the distinct call to prayer was eminating and it was a real privilege to experience this six hundred year old tradition in such a special place. There are two major buildings perched on top of the hill, both dating from the Medieval fortifications. The Kula on the southern side was silo in shape and afforded stunning views of the river valley in every direction. Of course, it was primarily a military defence and stationed by watchmen. Within the small fort, there has been some modern stairwells and glass panelled walkways constructed. There was tape demarking that these were yet to be safety tested but as it had come loose, we weren't sure as to how secure the steps were. We opted to risk it anyway and didn't die, so that was something. As with Jajce earlier in the week, this town was labyrinthine, with narrow pedestrian streets guiding you between residences and historical structures. It must be like living in a museum but the fact it was still a home for many people did add a continuum and a sense of authenticity to the place. Climbing up to the top of the hill in the scorching heat was quite a challenge, and Wolfie's rash was causing him a few issues as we progressed, but the views were ultimately worth it, even if he did grumble at my insistence that we follow every sign, deviating from wherever we had intended to go initially. At the top though we followed the wall from the Fort around to the hexagonal defence structure at the northern edge of the town before dropping back down to the river valley and roadside. Noticing that we hadn't seen the Sahat Kula, the tall bell tower tucked behind the Mosque, we paid this a quick look before heading back to the car through one of the town's original gates. We were parched however and decided to buy a bottle of homemade pomegranate juice made by one of the old crones selling it by the roadside. I didn't have any Bosnian money but they were happy with Euros (you could have paid in Croatian kuna too as the border was a mere twenty minutes later) and we were glad for the drink, which we guzzled thirstily. It was quite pleasant, slightly sweet with a definite pomegranate taste. It was exactly what we needed. As we headed back to the car, we spied the old Turkish baths before trying to find a toilet as we were desperate for a pee. There was a restaurant right next to where we had parked and a sign pointing to the toilets but alas we could not find them and we had to give up. We were contemplating going to the Burek store across the road for some food but Wolfie wasn't particularly hungry so we decided to push on.
It was now about 2:30pm and thus we had a couple of hours before we needed to head to Sarajevo to ensure we got there before nightfall. We had been told by the nice lady we had met in the Black Dog Pub on the Monday night about the Kravice Falls and seeing they were only a short distance away, we decided to drive out there. As we went, we saw the new A1 motorway they were building, which will severely reduce the travelling times across the country. We went under a huge concrete bridge spanning a river valley, highlighting just how major a construction project this is. It was odd seeing such a motorway with no cars on though. You could still see the bridge at the Kravice Falls car park, where we paid a nominal fee to park before descending into the valley to see them. Fortunately, there was a toilet here, so we got to use this before walking about ten minutes to the river course. You could hear the falls before you could see them, along with the small collection of cafes and watersports stands offering services to the handful of people who were swimming in the crystal clear waters. The height of the waterfall was not as high as that in Jacje but it was certainly wider, with six or seven separate falls in an 180 degree alignment. Indeed, before reaching the base of the Falls, we had stood at the source of one of them, where Wolfie through a twig into the stream to watch it cascade over the edge. The Falls were very nice but there was little else here, so with further things to see, we left after about five minutes. Unfortunately, we left a little too swiftly and I slipped going up the steep pathway, grazing my elbow and denting my pride in front of a troupe of Italian tourists. Still, I was largely fine, just a bit limpy for the short journey back up to the car park.
We were now at the furthest point of our day from Sarajevo, so we started to head towards the Bosnian capital. I noticed that the interesting town of Medjugorje was on the way and persuaded Wolfie to take a look. This is a major Catholic pilgrimage site as on 24 and 25 June 1981 six teenagers reported they had seen an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the hills nearby. Since then, the small town has become the second largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world and there's a huge tourist industry selling chintzy Catholic souvenirs to the vast number of people who come here. The yellow coloured Saint James Church with its dual spires containing clocks, situated on the main square, was perhaps the only sight of interest although we did try and find the stations of the cross on Križevac Hill. Unfortunately the sign posts weren't overly clear and we ended up going to some Catholic conference centre which I suspect was not the right place. The drivers in this town were particularly poor, the narrow streets meaning they were not suitable for the number of vehicles using them, and Wolfie just wanted to get out. As a consequence, we made our departure and continued our journey.
This region of Herzegovina is famed for its vineyards, with experts predicting that Bosnian wines are set to become big in the coming years. There were a number of wine trails highlighted in the guidebook but as Wolfie was driving, we couldn't really drop in for a tasting. However, one thing we could do was see if we could buy any as we would be passing a number of vineyards on our way north. The region of Čitluk is the epicentre of the Bosnian wine industry and it didn't take long to find a wine seller, although we initially eyed it with suspicion as it was a brown octagonal hut in the car park of an industrial plant. We since discovered that the plant was where the wines were bottled and although the shop looked long since closed, it was actually open. The cracked window pane in the door was misleading. Inside there was a lovely woman who spoke little English but through broken Russian we managed to make ourselves understood. There was no tasting on offer but she did stock four 250ml bottles of local wine, which I thought would be perfect in order to get a taste of the region's production. I bought these for an insanely cheap price - the bill coming to something like £8 - before we drove through the town of Čitluk after which the region is named. This was a pretty non-descript place but as we drove through it, I noticed the Brkić vineyard was just off the main road. The first modern cellar in Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the Brkić family in 1979 and their natural organic wines are amongst the best the country has to offer. It took a while for me to process this but I did ask Wolfie to stop further up the road, enabling me to walk back down the hill and towards the winery. Their wines were understandably expensive but after a brief chat with one of the two brothers who now own the place, I opted to pick up a deep red, which was wrapped up for me. It cost about £15 and it being a 750ml bottle, we would have to drink it before we left the country, but I was happy with my purchase.
The journey to Sarajevo was about two hours from here, but we did stop off halfway in the town of Jablanica (which we had actually passed through two days earlier as we had made our way from Banja Luka to Mostar) when I realised there was a major piece of World War II history just off the main road. The associated museum was closed but we did get to see the bridge that the Partisans destroyed during the Battle of the Neretva in 1943, one of two major victories that Tito's men enjoyed over the Axis powers. I cannot do the battle justice in this journal, so please enjoy this Wikipedia link detailing what happened. It was a daring military strategy and one that proved to be ultimately successful, which is why the remnants of the bridge have been left there, just clinging to the hillside before plunging into the water. On the other bank there sits a stream train of the day, highlighting its use as a rail bridge I suppose, while a pedestrian walkway has since been constructed near the downed bridge, from which you can take excellent photos. The mountainous setting merely adds to the military achievement, not to mention the drama of such a place, and it is easy to see why the bridge was left as a testament to the fledging Yugoslavia's strength.
This stop ultimately meant we were late arriving in Sarajevo, having to navigate its streets in the dark. Fortunately, the hotel was pretty easy to find and we only had to travel down the main thoroughfare before turning left onto a narrow back road. Alas, this road was also a tramway and one of the busiest streets in the city, but Wolfie drove expertly, eventually parking up on the small driveway of our accommodation. We were met by one of the porters, who told us he would move our car to the secure car park down the road if we give him our car keys. Initially I was reticent to do this, but not knowing where the car park was, I guess we had little choice. It was literally two doors down behind a huge wooden door, and at least the porter driving the car there meant we didn't have to navigate the busy road or tramway. And with the car secure, we didn't need to worry about it, which was a huge bonus considering our close proximity to the city centre. We couldn't wait to explore, so after checking in to our room, we did exactly that, heading out to find some food and a craft beer bar for the night.
