[GG] Bosnia

Mostar & Sarajevo

July 7 – 9

Including Bosnia-Herzegovina in our travel plans evolved after reworking our Croatia departure plans for the third...or perhaps the fourth time. Mostar is a bus ride from Dubrovnik, but culturally feels like a world away. The bus was full for the morning departure. We had assigned seats & a small compartment overhead for stowing a toiletry bag...hmmm, even that might have been a tight fit. We definitely could not fit our back packs up there & my roller bag had to be stored in the luggage compartment of the bus. So our bags were piled around us. Cozy. Wedged in & held tight. This bus did not offer the amenities of our bus trip in the Czech Republic. No catered drinks or food. No movie.

We followed a river most of the way out of Croatia, then as we crossed into more mountainous territory, greens had dried to gold in the hot sun. Mostar is a fairly large city, 100,000 in population, most of whom probably had first hand experience in at least one war. Buildings still bear witness to the fighting. Bullet holes, evidence of fire, portions of buildings literally blown away, crumbled bricks and stone.

You know you're in Old Town when the wide, straight paved roads give way to narrow, winding cobblestone paths, lined with stores and souvenir stands. Much of the merchandise seems right out of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Church steeples compete with the spires of the mosques, each vying for the tallest spire. So far, the Christians are ahead with a cross on top of a hill, looking down on the city and its three faiths: Christians, Orthodox Serbs, and Muslim Bosniaks.

As it turned out, our afternoon in Mostar was propelled by three goals:

1. Visit Stari Most, the Old Bridge, which was built in the 1500's by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. This was a technological marvel and back in the day was the longest single-span stone arch on the planet. For centuries Stari Most served as a metaphor for the diverse faiths and cultures which were brought together peacefully in Mostar....the people found a way to bridge the gap. It definitely is a beautiful bridge and worth visiting. We saw young men jumping from the bridge, 75 feet down into the river. First they had a front man collect money & once they had “enough” the speedo-kid would engage in a little drama (will he jump? Yes, no, yes, no, and finally, yes). For centuries this leap has been a means to express fearlessness and prove manhood to the available women in the village. Today the leap is propelled as much, maybe more by economics. Certainly it would seem in the high tourist months that economics is the driving factor.

2. We were also anxious to explore the old town with its alleys of merchants. The winding cobblestone paths with merchant upon merchant reminded me of a miniature version of the bazaar in Istanbul.

3. Cee had been looking for a dress and in Mostar she was successful. She found not only a dress, but a also a necklace, and ring. Score!

The air was still and hot in Mostar so our main requirement when finding a place for lunch was air conditioning. As a bonus we had typical Bosnian food which was excellent.

On to Sarajevo – by train, arriving after dark. We had only a rough idea where the hotel was (“Old Town”) and no clear idea how to get there. Our options are always walk, bus or taxi. It was unclear which way to walk or which bus to take. So Bee negotiated fare with a taxi driver, 50 euros down to 6, and we were deposited at the Boutique Old Town Hotel, a comfortable, nondescript hotel located on the edge of Old Town.

Sarajevo was a bigger Mostar but without the bridge and with the “Sarajevo Rose”, red colored concrete filling the holes left in the street by bombs and mortars during the last war. The old town had a distinct Muslim feel to it and mosques outnumbered the Christian churches. We heard the Muslim yodeling call to prayer several times. The streets were cobblestone and lined with copper merchants and all sorts of trinkets and trash. Again, this reminded me of the bazaar in Istanbul.

We took a city tour from a chain-smoking, 50-ish fellow who had also been the tour guide for Richard Gere. He seemed quite knowledgeable about the recent war and the price Sarajevo had paid for freedom. It was disturbing to reflect on his stories about the war and how friends and family turned against each other.

And then it was time to go...an all day train from Sarajevo to Budapest.