The 05:56 “Call to Prayer” amplified from the nearby mosque’s minaret had us awake and ready a little earlier than usual.
The plan was to have a free morning wandering in Sarajevo or doing whatever took your fancy. Some younger members of our group slept for most of the morning as a consequence of last night’s revelry which apparently didn’t finish till 04:30 for some!
The ‘oldies’ in the group headed back down the 1km of road and found a caravanserai off one of the touristy alleyways. Caravanserais were stop-over places on the Silk Road for camel trains where beds and food for all could be found in remote locations away from the bigger cities.
Caravanserais, Sarajevo
Turkish tea & coffee at caravanserais, Sarajevo
This caravanserai had a bazaar selling rugs, carpets, lamps and silk scarves plus other brass and silver trinkets. Upstairs was an art exhibition of Bosnian and Herzegovinian calligraphy. We rested and enjoyed Turkish coffees of a very high concentration in the courtyard.
We then returned to the artisans’ walkway in the old part of Sarajevo and purchased wooden recorders and ear-rings.
Souvenirs at market, Sarajevo
Souvenirs at market, Sarajevo
Our travel plans for leaving Sarajevo were put on hold when our bus had an electrical problem involving a blown fuse affecting the air-conditioning and we couldn’t leave until this was rectified.
The three hour drive to Mostar was through spectacular countryside with high mountains, deep river valleys and lakes to be seen for most of the way.
Scenery, Sarajevo to Mostar
Scenery, Sarajevo to Mostar
The grey craggy peaks we skirted around near Konjic were reminiscent of the Dolomites in Northern Italy and then as we descended we began to follow the Neretva River which flows through the centre of our destination town of Mostar.
We arrived in Mostar at around 17:30 and after a quick shower we headed down into the old city of Mostar, a walk of some twenty minutes away.
The road to the old city had several reminders of the Balkans War with bombed out buildings and scenes of destruction aplenty.
Damaged building, Mostar
Damaged building, Mostar
The old town is absolutely beautiful with 17th century architecture still surviving although the ancient Ottoman bridge needed partial reconstruction after it was bombed by the JRA (Yugoslav Republican Army) and the Bosnian Serbs.
Ottoman Bridge, Mostar
Ottoman Bridge, Mostar
View from Ottoman Bridge, Mostar
View from Ottoman Bridge, Mostar
We adjourned for a meal in a restaurant near the old bridge. The meals were again huge and so we shared a main course which still provided far more then we needed and for a mere €10.3. This area around Mostar has numerous vineyards and is well regarded for its wines. Even in sampling the ‘house’ wines with our meals we were pleasantly surprised at their quality.
Grapes at restaurant 001, Mostar
Souvenir stall, Mostar
Mostarsho beer, Mostar
Tomorrow morning we have free time to explore this ancient and beautiful city whose history has been blighted by the barbaric atrocities of recent times.