I recently spent some time in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and because I’m on somewhat of a quest to visit as many countries as I can, I decided to take a side trip from Dubrovnik to Medjugorje and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the towns that we visited and the people that we met were so intriguing that the day ended up being much more than just another checkmark on my list of countries visited!
Our first sightseeing stop of the day was Medjugorje in Bosnia, a pilgrimage sight of sorts for Catholics. In the 1980s a group of children saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary appear to them on a hill above this town. In recent years the town has become overwhelmingly commercial, selling everything from rosaries to giant figurines of Jesus. As depressing as this commercialization may be, equally inspiring are the people who come here from all over the world in search of healing and miracles. Many Italians make the journey here, and mass was being held in Italian outside the main church when we were there.
Mostar
After driving through vast plains surrounded by rocky mountains dotted with trees, we arrived at the highlight of the tour, the town of Mostar. Here we were handed over to a local guide, Layla, who walked us through old town and gave us the history of some of the major sights. We stopped in a local art gallery to watch a brief film of the bombing of the famous Stari Most bridge by the Croatian army in 1993. The destruction that the town has overcome in the past two decades and the amount of restoration that has taken place is truly amazing.
Stopping to watch a film of the bombing of the famous Stari Most bridge.
As we walked through the cobbled streets of old town, Layla gave us a lesson on how Bosnians prepare and serve coffee (similar to Turkish coffee). She recommended that if we were interested in buying souvenirs in Mostar that we buy a copper coffee set- these products are all handmade in Bosnia. We liked the coffee sets so much that we decided to take her advice! Layla also recommended Restaurant Europa, which we ate at during our free time. We ordered cevapi, which are basically little sausages with seasoned minced meat. They were served with the fluffiest pita I’ve ever had and a dollop of the local chili sauce. Being a coffee fanatic I had to finish the meal with some Bosnian coffee, which lived up to its reputation for being extremely strong and sweet.
Cevapi
During our free time, after doing some souvenir shopping and having lunch, we wandered down to the river to get some pictures of the Stari Most bridge. This bridge is known for the tradition of tourists giving donations to locals in exchange for the display of locals jumping off the bridge into the river below. Unfortunately we didn’t witness anyone jumping, but we still got to admire the grand bridge (rebuilt in 2004 after the war) arching high above the emerald green river.
Stari Most bridge
Before heading back to Dubrovnik we made one final stop at the village of Pocitelj. The stop was brief but it gave us a chance to walk up the hill to the mosque to see the village below, and we also couldn’t resist buying some of the juicy mandarin oranges from the produce stand at the entrance to the village. The surrounding farmland is full of orange trees so you can bet the oranges were just picked that morning!
View from the hill
Overall this tour was a great introduction to Bosnia, and the day turned out to be much more than just checking off another country from the list. Hospitable people, picturesque old towns, and striking, vast landscapes definitely left me wanting to see more of this unique country!
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