30 Jun 2014 Sarajevo to Mostar (Mike)/Mostar (Carol)

30 Jun 2014 Sarajevo to Mostar (Mike)/Mostar (Carol)

Mike

 

Breakfast at the hotel.  Mike settles his bill.  Time to see some of the Sarajevo anniversary exhibits - there is a big Peace exhibit which Mike can't find, but he does manage to find a large collection of political cartoons all along the river walkway, about War and Sarajevo and the eternal religious political fight that is Bosnia.  Back across the river for a very quick visit to the 11 July Museum, the museum about the killing of Muslims at Srebrenica on 11 July 1995 and the following weeks.    Mike only has about 30 minutes here.  Too bad.  This museum is worth hours.

 

It is starting to rain very heavily.  Mike runs back to the hotel, grabs his backpack, leaves the key, and between the raindrops goes back to the tram.  He takes the tram to the turn off to the bus station, and waits for the rain to let up.  Finally, in a light rain, he walks the last 200 m to the bus station.  One bus to Mostar has just pulled out, but Mike's ticket is for the next one, leaving in about 15 minutes.

 

All aboard.  By the time we are on the road, the rain has let up.  We stop at the Healthy Water Restaurant, and once again, Mike gets the 300 g of roast lamb.  Can't get enough of the good stuff.

 

We pull into Mostar bus station, and Mike walks the 100+ m to his previously reserved room.  Touts everywhere.  He unpacks, and close to 1700 goes out for the walk of the town.  The Nerevsta River runs north-south here.  East of the river is Bosnian-Muslim.  West of the river is Croatian-Catholic.  The bus station and Mike's lodging are on the west side.  Walk south along a street with lots of still bombed out buildings.  Pass the biggest tourist areas, including the area on both sides of the famous Mostar Bridge.  The rebuilding of this bridge in 2004 was the reopening of Mostar for tourist business, and they seem to have all returned.

 

Mike goes to the next bridge down, crosses over, and up to the famous bridge.  The destruction, while substantial, is less on the west side of the river.  There is of course the famous 9 story building hulk and other buildings, but by and large, things are going better on this side.  Here, about 1900, lo and behold, he meets Carol, whose group is a few meters away in another hotel.  Over to say hi to the group again briefly, and then goodby for this trip.  Mike goes back to the tourist restaurant where the two female greeters are forced to dress in the local getup and hand out menus.  But the goulash plate is really tasty, and the beer satisfies. 

 

Sun sets after 2030, and it is back to the room to sleep.

 

Carol

Sightseeing day. Starts off with Mostar walk. Adria is a very competant local guide. She complains that the concrete used between the refurbished cobblestones is difficult for pedestrians, easy for vehicles. Walk the bridge. The walkway is marble, with raised cross sections. Given the rise in the center, better to walk along the sidewalls. Interesting discussion of childraising, vaccination, etc with guide. View the old mosque, then on to a historic house a la turka. The last owners, childless, willed it and the historic furnishings to the town. Two stories filled with neat stuff.

Time for a visit to a Slow Food educational center that is a store and wine cellar. Herzegovina has unique foodways that are being preserved. A lavish spread has been set up for us: ajvar, bread, and Livano cheese. This is the unique "cheese in a bag" aged in a sheep(?) stomach for 6 months. This cheese is already  recognized as a unique cultural heritage. We drink a sage blossom elir (non alchoholic) with medicinal properties, then some grappa (smooth firewater). Then many kinds of halvah and some red wine. Others shop on the street afterward.

On to Pocitelj, a fortress town on UNESCO "tentative list" Much affected by bombing, but buildings like the mosque have been refurbished. Great hillside fortress. We are caught up in heavy rain, but soldier on.

The dervish tekke at Blagaj is our next stop. Still raining, we opt for lunch first. Space made for us at a crowded fish restaurant on the river. Trout the specialty. Our table seats 4, we get 4 platters with 5 fish each. Do the math. Some grilled fish also have a lemon and pumpkinseed cream sauce. Yummy sides of rice and chard. Of course, a salad platter too.

Rain stops during lunch. Dazzling blue sky. The tekke is set next to a sreeam emerging from a grotto under a sheer cliff., Swifts and swallows nest in grottoes. Many wild pomegranate trees (unique regional subspecies). Enchanting.

It is a Muslim contemplative site, but everything Carol learned in Iran about Zoroastrianism glaringly obvious in what we see before us. We must remove shoes, cover hair and shoulders. Not enough full length shirt wraps for all us girls (OK for our tour guide, a contemplative and local guy with excellent English). Beautiful rugs with vegetal symbolism. Carol asks lots of questions. This is syncretism, a mash up of the old religion and Islam, IMHO.

Back to Mostar. Free time to wander. Drop in at the war photo exhibit, then Carol sets off to view some of the less touristed areas. In search of the synagogue site. Finally, after lots of map reading and enquiries, find the marker denoting where it was, and might again be someday. Then another batch of wash set out under sun.

Where are my shopping genes? Even walking out with friends and scouring shops, nothing tempts. We do stop at a place where a master embroderer has created word pictures of Islamic verse: glorious, large, pricey.

Comes the rain (and Mike).

Just munchies in place of dinner. Bag the wet wash in my pack. To bed.