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Published: September 28th 2007
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Mostar and the Neretva River
Photo From Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina A Muslim Wonderland in a Christian Backyard
The diversity of the Balkan area is about more than just sights and scenery, the former Yugoslavia has multiple ethnic groups that have, at least in recent years, not always gotten along. With Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks all living within a very small geographical area it isn’t hard to imagine how wars come about. With the end of hostility in the area in the last few years, things are starting to come back to some sense of normalcy but some areas of the former Yugoslav republics have been slower to rebuild than others.
Bosnia Herzegovina is a bit behind in the grand scheme of reconstruction. While Croatia and Slovenia have been able to build strong tourist trades and industry, Bosnia has been unable to flourish like its western cousins. But, as you travel in this part of the world, it seems that there is a wealth of knowledge that could be shared with others around the world which night be more valuable than commerce. In a town like Mostar, you see Muslims and Christians living in very tight confines with little or no problem coexisting.
Despite
St. Blaise and the Bell Tower
Photo From Dubrovnik, Croatia previous hostilities between ethnic groups, today there are crosses, synagogues and mosques all within the same square mile. While the rest of the world tries to learn how to get these various religions to tolerate each other, Bosnians have dealt with diversity since the area was part of the greater Ottoman empire 400 years ago. Sure, Bosnia may not be rich monetarily, but it seems that it has a richness of learned tolerance which the rest of us could learn from…
A Few Days in Dubrovnik Prior to heading on to Mostar and then on to Split, we stayed a couple of days in one of the old Communist era “concrete monstrosities” which still dot the coastline throughout Croatia and the surrounding countries. These ugly hotels are over priced and, in many cases, falling a bit apart (our only sign of decay was the rickety, often useless elevator system). Our hotel was definitely overpriced, but it had a great view, quick access to town via the bus system and a nice beach that we used at least a couple of times.
We spent most of our time in Dubrovnik enjoying the fine Croatian weather on
Stari Most
Photo From Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina the beach during the day and the decent Croatian food in old town at night. Croatian food consists mostly of fish dishes or meat cooked in copious amounts of butter. We found, after a bit of experimentation, that sea bass was the preferred food in Dubrovnik. Stay away from the meat unless you want to feel your blood pressure and cholesterol rise…trust me!
We did, after a few days of resting, make it into town to see the sights. Dubrovnik is worth at least a couple of hours of sight seeing. It has a pretty cool old town which is surrounded by fortresses and tall protective walls. It feels a bit like a fairy castle sitting right on the blue, blue water of Dubrovnik’s coast.
Inside, the town has a couple of decent churches, a bell tower and a good promenade. When Dubrovnik really shines (pun intended) is at night. With all of the lights and people out to get food and just wander a bit, the town has a certain panache which makes it really fun to hang out in and just enjoy the atmosphere.
Mostar Minarets After getting some rest and
Franciscan Monastery at Night
Photo From Dubrovnik, Croatia seeing what Dubrovnik had to show, it was time to head on to Spilt. On the way to Split we had planned a brief stop across the boarder to see a bit of Bosnia. Just a three hour drive from Dubrovnik or Split, Mostar is definitely worth your time if you are in the area and you have access to a car.
Though some of the tour books warn that the cultural barrier in Mostar is higher than you might find in Croatia, we found this to be a bit of an exaggeration. While Bosnia is definitely poorer that Croatia, the people in Mostar were very friendly. From the guys in the parking lot who were interested in the fact that we were Americans to the more German speaking than English speaking waiter at lunch, we found everyone to be friendly and really trying to please.
I will say that the moment you cross the boarder into Bosnia it feels like a completely separate country more because of the mosques than anything. Every town you drive through has at least one big cathedral and one tall minaret for calls to prayer. Bosnia is 50 percent Muslim but at
Mostar and the Neretva River
Photo From Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina least 25 percent Catholic making it a very interesting mix of cultures.
As you drive into Mostar’s downtown you see the multiple minarets standing out over the roof tops of town and you feel a bit like you’ve stepped into the middle east. What makes it obvious that you haven’t stepped further east is that everyone is clearly of Slavic decent with light skin and usually lighter brown hair. Some women were wearing head scarves, but for the most part the population dresses the same regardless of religion or race.
Mostar’s main sights are concentrated around its largest and most important historic center point, Stari Most (bridge). Traditionally considered the point where East meets West, Stari Most has stood, in some form, on this sight for over four centuries. The present incarnation of the bridge was rebuilt after the recent war, unfortunately Croatians had shelled it and destroyed the original as much as a strategic ploy as a moral defeat for the town’s people. While it stinks that the bridge we see today isn’t the original, it still is a great example of the original and its distinctive design. The original was built in just 9 years (shorter
Dubrovnik From Above
Photo From Dubrovnik, Croatia than it took the bridge to be rebuilt after the recent war) and, at the time, was the longest single arch bridge in the world. While today it is no longer a technological marvel, it is still a pretty distinctive and cool bridge to look at while eating lunch by the river.
The town has mosques and sights aplenty to keep the average tourist occupied for at least a couple of hours but what becomes apparent as you dig deeper into Mostar are the signs of the conflict that raged on these streets less than fifteen years before. Throughout town many buildings are still empty shells which are not presently safe for human habitation. Even more jarring are the signs of bullet holes everywhere you go. Almost every building standing in town has hundreds of holes in it for the fighting that went from street to street.
During our lifetime none of the major western nations have dealt with armed conflict of this scale on their home turf. It was really tough for Kel and I to imagine what every person living in Mostar must have gone through during the Balkan conflict. People, even today, have fresh memories
Stari Most and Kel
Photo From Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina of people fighting it out right in front of their houses. In some cases we saw apartment buildings that easily had a thousand small holes in them from street fighting. No matter how much we are sympathetic to people who have been through conflict like the Croatians, Bosnians and Serbs, we can never truly know what these people went through or how much they suffered. More than anything it’s amazing that they have come as far as they have in a mere 15 years.
After a few hours of walking through the streets of Mostar we set off for our next home, Split. Hope everyone back home is doing wonderfully. Thanks for reading!
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The Nomad
Camo
Hey there!
Hey guys! I have been following your trip for a while now. You've been to some places that I have done a little while ago and your great photos bring back good memories.. The Western Bulkans is a great area and I would love to go back some day to do more. I hope you get to Sarajevo, that is one of my favourite cities in Europe. Anyway hope you enjoy the rest of the trip. Lovin the blogs!