Bosnia-Herzegovina in pictures !
As promised, here are in pictures these 300km in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 100km in Croatia which carried me from Tuzla to Split!
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A mosque, lost in the middle of the countryside.
Whereas Orthodox church towers reign supreme on the Serb spiritual landscape (90% of the population is Orthodox), the dominant religion in Bosnia-Herzegovina is Islam (45% of the population is Muslim) and minarets rise even in the most remote villages.
Along the road, I regularly saw abandoned houses and restaurants… (because of the war?)
So why not take advantage of it?!
Then, a few days after, while precisely looking for why there were that many abandoned up buildings, I fell on the French Wikitravel article about Bosnia-Herzegovina… I quote: “The main danger in Bosnia-Herzegovina is landmines. […] In any case, do not venture to an abandoned house“.
Too late, but fortunately my legs walked out of the house intact! On the other hand, I do not think that the Wikitravel warning is exaggerated: in Sarajevo, I actually saw many people who had lost a leg…
The beautiful countryside, North of Sarajevo
The arrival in Sarajevo!
Sarajevo under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, a Muslim cemetery.
The most beautiful building in Sarajevo, the Academy of Fine Arts!
A street in the old city, the touristic and indeed splendid district of Sarajevo
And now, a bit of gastronomy! If you ask anyone in Bosnia (even tourists), you’ll be advised to taste the Cevapcici: “it is THE Bosnian speciality!” Well, of course it is, but it is also a simple sandwich with meat sausages inside. You’ll find no sauce on your plate and will have to count on the minced onions to save you from a complete dryness. You will taste it (since it is the specialty)… but probably only once!
On the other hand, “Bureks” are worth tasting several times! They are salted pastries inherited from the Ottoman empire, that can be filled with spinach (delicious!), meat, cheese or potato. They are served either balled-up (in a tart or an individual portion) or shaped like simple sticks, and traditionally go with a buttermilk glass.
A treat! And a cheap one : this is 250g and only 3KM = 1,5€ !
The Ottoman Empire did not only bake savoury! Here, a sweet Baklava (left) and an even sweeter Kadaïf (right)
Sarajevo is also a city steeped in History, but unfortunately not in the best one… If you think back 100 years (exactly), the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia immediately comes to your mind.
But if you think back only 20 years ago, can you tell me about the Bosnian war and the siege of Sarajevo? In my case, I could not! I will not burden you with this conflict, but here are a few figures: the siege of Sarajevo by the Serbs lasted almost 4 years, 4 years during which 300 bombs per day on average were fired towards the city. When the siege was lifted, 80% of the city had been destroyed…
These figures are terrible, but here I can smile… Because I am in the sunbeam of this conflict: the “tunnel of the life”. It connected the besieged zone and the free zone (as declared by the UN), and in particular allowed the provisioning of Sarajevo in spite of the siege, thus saving its inhabitants from the famine.
Vestiges of the past violences…
On the frontages, almost all the windows are new. Only a very few have escaped the flames and are still here to testify.
After three days in Sarajevo, I went back on track: towards Mostar.
View from a bridge in Konjic
The Neretva river, just after Konjic
I arrived in Mostar and went straight towards the old city (“stari grad”) which apparently was worth seeing… And indeed, the old city is worth seeing!
Its construction started during the 15th century under the command of the Ottoman empire. I could say that Mostar is a very beautiful example of Islamic architecture, but I know nothing about it, I only read it. But, I can tell you that in spite of the damages which the city underwent during the Bosnian war, the city still shelters an incredible number of mosques. You almost cannot raise your eyes without seeing a minaret pointing to the sky!
4 at once!
The old bridge of Mostar (“stari most”), built in 1566 under the Ottoman empire, destroyed by the Croatian army in 1993, then rebuilt in 2004. One year later, it became UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The old city seen from the old bridge
30km South of Mostar, I stopped at the bottom of the old fortress of Pocitelj. People can walk through the village and climb up to the fortifications; the panorama is superb!
The tower seen from the bottom
The bottom seen from the tower
Right before leaving Bosnia-Herzegovina for Croatia, I decided to dive in Kravice waterfalls.
My trip through the country ended on a high note, and moreover a natural one!
This is the last photo of Bosnia-Herzegovina, all the others are here !
The following day, the Croatian coast finally opened in front of me. Splendid.
And two days later, I arrived in Split and met not only Samuel, but also…
SURPRISE! Benoît and my parents were there too, we were all back together…
I had found my host family for the 10 next days! 😉
To be continued…
Great photos. Made the same route myself in 2013. Knew nothing about Pocitelj until I came home and read about it. The countryside is great everywhere but I especially enjoyed north and north East bosnia with rolling hills, meadows, pine forests in the hills, and hay stacks. The grass is like carpet, impossibly picturesque.
Just wanted to drop by and say I read your post!
And thank you for dropping by and saying it !