Thursday, June 25, 2009

Mostar

Our bus trip to Bosnia Herzegovina was an interesting journey. In fact, we visited twice. Driving from Dubrovnik along the coast was beautiful. Heading north, we entered the narrow coastal strip of Bosnia Herzegovina that cuts across Croatia to the Adriatic Sea. It only goes for a few km and we went through Croatian and Bosnian immigration and then Bosnian and Croatian immigration as we exited back into Croatia a short time later.

About 65 km from Dubrovnik, we turned east to Mostar and soon reached the border to repeat the passport formalities, our 2nd trip to Bosnia Herzegovina.

Mostar is a fascinating city but sad in some ways. It was badly damaged in the fighting and its famous bridge, built in 1556, was destroyed in 1993. It has now been restored in the same style. A poignant sign says “Remember 1993”. This small sign is the only indication that it has not been standing since 1556.

The town is truly beautiful with wonderful views over the picturesque Neretva River. There are more mosques than churches, a 16th century Turkish bath, a great bazaar and overall, a fabulous ambience.

While we were in the town, the heavens opened again. Our washing was out drying on the line as were our new rain jackets. We found a restaurant to shelter in for a late lunch. It had fabulous views of the bridge. It was a great time to take photos of the bridge as no-one was silly enough top be out walking. We sat for a long time over lunch and only got a little wet on the return trip to our accommodation.

2 comments:

Amanda said...

Fancy building such a gorgeous bridge so long ago. What a shame it was damaged in '93.

It sounds like you need to have a rainjacket with you at all times. With you, not hanging out in the rain...

Miss Di said...

Such barbarity, such a bloody history.

But I hope you got your washing dry! And have you tried the Turkish baths?