SEPTEMBER 2023
One of the most special destinations of our summer Balkan trip was Mostar in Bosnia-Hercegovina. It was the number one destination where I could still feel history being present, which added weight to this visit and also the craving to learn more about Balkan history. We were able to explore Mostar and its surroundings for three days, which I personally found the perfect amount of time.
Where to stay
We had a really fun combination of staying in a wine hotel & staying in a basic campsite for our stay in Mostar. We accidentally drove by the Emporia hotel, which is situated in the middle of vineyards and immediately decided that we had to stay here. The Emporia hotel is located just outside of Mostar, a 5-10 euro taxi ride away. I loved that we had the opportunity to explore Mostar in the mornings, while escaping the heat in the afternoon, by using the swimming pool. The food, wine and drinks at Emporia were amazing. The hotel is very modern and clean. Bosnia still is very affordable, so we went all out with dining in our hotel. We paid € 130 per night for a room in the high season and were able to have a multi course dinner with drinks for € 60.
To balance our luxury experience, we also stayed in River Camp Bara, a pretty basis campsite. It is located in Blagaj, which is a little village that is very well connected to Mostar by bus. If you want to cool down you can take a swim in the ice cold river that runs next to the campsite. We paid € 15 per night and were impressed with the wifi speed and hot shower.
Mostar
Mostar is one of the most visited cities in Bosnia and I completely understand why. You probably know Mostar because of the UNESCO famed Stari Most (old bridge), which was ruined in the Bosnian war and which has been restored after. The Stari Most is absolutely stunning and a fine example of Islamic architecture. Mostar was one of my favorite destinations of my Balkan trip, yes it is very touristy and it gets crowded in the afternoon, but it also exudes magic. When you walk around Mostar, you can see Islamic influences everywhere you look. Besides the Stari Most there are some beautiful mosques and the shopping street feels like one big souk. Mostar has a very tragic history as there has been heavy fighting during the Bosnian war between 1992 and 1994. The Bosnian war happened relatively recently, so a lot of people who live in Bosnia today have experienced this war. The thought of this added a lot of weight to our visit to Bosnia. I didn’t want to just take pictures of pretty renovated buildings, but I also wanted to learn about Bosnian history and the Balkan conflict. We therefore visited the War Photo Exhibition, which was sad but interesting. Besides the war it also showed how people used to live over the past centuries. When taking pictures of the Stari Most we had a conversation with a Bosnian woman, who escaped to the Netherlands during the war. You could still feel how the war had affected her, which made a deep impression on us.
Of course I also took lots of pictures. My favorite view of the Stari Most was from the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. We paid a few euros to enter + an extra fee to be able to climb the minaret and were in awe with the view of Stari Most. Besides this, the mosque was very beautiful and colorful! (Just note that you need to cover up to visit the mosque, I received a scarf to cover my shoulders, picture below was taken in front of the mosque)
If you want to take pictures with Stari Most, it is easiest to walk down to the river and take pictures from there. There is a bit of an ugly platform right in front of the mosque, but you can get creative or walk a bit further away for a good angle. We deliberately visited Mostar early in the morning to escape the crowds and the heat, but therefore we didn’t see any bridge jumpers. Apparantly, it is a really popular activity to jump off the Stari Most, some locals do this after they have raised money. I would have loved to see this, but they didn’t start jumping very early during the day.
Besides buying some local sweets and baklava we didn’t do a whole lot of shopping, but you definitely can in Mostar! We found many stores with beautiful carpets, if you are looking for an investment. But if you are looking for fake designer goods, that’s an option too. I truly felt like I was in the Middle-East/Asia with the souk style shops. It felt unreal that we actually were in Europe! If you want to take pictures in the shopping streets, you have to come really early, definitely before 9AM. It got extremely busy at 11AM with slow walking tourists.
Dervish house – Blagaj
Near Mostar you can visit Blagaj, where you can find the Dervish house: a historic Ottoman style monastery which is partly built into cliffs, overlooking super blue water. We stayed in Blagaj and did an evening walk to the viewpoint opposite the Dervish house. The monastery is still being used and you can visit it for a few euros. We didn’t go in and I do regret that now. This is a pretty popular sight and you can find many restaurants at the lake, the atmosphere was very good, we just didn’t pick the best one (dry falafel). There really are all sorts of restaurants at the lake, perfect to enjoy some middle-Eastern cuisine while in Europe paying with euros.
Pocitelj
We were recommended to visit Pocitelj by a local. It was about a 30 minute drive from Mostar. This little fortified town originates from about 1400, after which it was quickly taken over by the Ottomans. It was highly damaged during the war, but it has slowly been rebuilt and gives a good idea of what these style of Ottoman villages would have looked like back in the day. Surprisingly there weren’t a lot of tourists, even though most buildings are a tourist attraction or store. We spent about one hour here, which we mainly spent by hiking up to the fort, climbing the ruins of the fort and enjoying the view from up there. It felt pretty off the beaten path, because we were allowed to climb the crumbling fort, without protection or an entrance fee. I can see tourist buses stopping here too, but that wasn’t the case when we visited.
