Mostar, Bosnia is a 12 hour bus trip from Split. The road outside of Croatia is pretty generic but once we crossed both the Croatian and Bosnian borders, the brush and greenery gave way to some stunning mountain ranges as well as deep ravines. Farmland shared space with small vineyards.
Our first stop was a small Turkish settlement an hour out of town.
We were invited to try true Turkish coffee.
To compliment the dark brew, we received a small wedge of Turkish delight, which had both rose and geranimum floral notes.
As we drove into town, Petr our main tour guide, gave a quick lesson on how Croatia was split off from Yugoslavia and why Bosnia has such a complicated political fabric. We learned that as a result of the civil war in the 90s, Bosnia has three fully functioning governments within one small country and the bureaucracy delays and entangles every governmental decision and delays any infrastructure project. The Roman Catholics, Orthodox Chrisitians and Muslims coexist but just and family and clan loyalty sometimes overrules official law.
We started to see small clusters of homes, lined by personal vineyards so they could enjoy homemade wine. The city of Mostar, or at least the Old Town, is quite small but Unesco has made sure that the bridge we came to see was restored to its full glory after WWII. It took 2.5 years to cut and hand-chisel the sandstone replacement blocks and another 5 years to rebuild the bridge using the same method the Sultan used to build.
Sasha, our local guide, also gave insight into the troubled history of Bosnia and remarked that Mostad was one of the newest towns in Bosnia, so many of the things we would see would “only” be 500 years old or less. Once we crossed the busy expressway from the clock tower, river stone cobbled the path and we were shown both the curved bridge and the larger, single-arch bridge that was an engineering marvel of its time.
To try out the concept, the Sultan had a smaller bridge built.
The big appeal of Old Town Mostar is trained jumpers will fly off the bridge once enough interest and tips are noted and pop back up from the deep turquoise water below to do it again and again. A trained jumper and their crew can make 100-200 Euro a day against the average 400 Euro/month salary in this part of Bosnia. They also offer jump school, where brave tourists and even locals can learn to jump safely in stages until they get to the main bridge. Those who jump successfully have lifetime rights to jump from then on.
Speed boat tours are also available for those who prefer a more calm exposure to the mineral rich water.
Another attraction in Old Town is the mosque.
We heard the call to prayer coming out of the minaret on the hill.
A distinctive door marks the entry to the Mosque.
Once inside, we marveled at the intricate ceilings from the front.
Our last stop of the tour was to the Kravica waterfalls. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
We opted for the little train that took us to the wading beach where other tourists were enjoying sun and the glistening water.
stunning views and amazing experience