Tom`s travels: Mostar (09/03/2025)

We woke up early and headed to the train station to catch the only train heading to Mostar. We departed the train station around 7:15, and the ride was really amazing, considered one of the most beautiful train rides. We went through valleys and down along the Neretva River, taking in the scenic mountain scenery all around us. Eventually, a little over two hours later, we reached the city of Mostar. We got off the train and decided to first stop for a drink at the Fabrika Coffee hosted inside the former courtyard and madrasa of the Roznamedzi Ibrahim Efendi Mosque. This mosque, built around 1620, is believed to be the only mosque that survived the destruction of the bombings of the city during the war between 1992 and 1995. After the drink, we continued our exploration of the city by walking along the main street Braće Fejića. Shortly after, we came across the Karađoz Bey Mosque. This 16th-century mosque features a typical Ottoman round big dome and a tall single minaret. The interior was closed, but we managed to see a little of it through the windows on the portico. A man standing outside then came and started talking to us, telling us about the mosque and showing us the outside with the ablution fountain, cemetery, and general architecture, telling us the mosque was badly damaged both during WWII and during the Bosnian War. He seemed to speak many languages and ended up speaking to us in Italian. I tried telling him we were fine and just wanted to see from the outside, but in the end, he still talked to us and then offered to take us to a nearby spot. After following him, he eventually led us to the backyard of some apartment blocks where a commemorative plaque was put in place to remember the three Italian journalists, Luchetta, Ota, and D'Angelo, who were killed by a grenade there in 1994 while reporting on the war. Heading back to the mosque, the man then asked us to give him some money for the tour. We were trying to grab a few coins, and then he told us we were supposed to give him 15 euros. We laughed and told him that was obviously too much, especially for a non-professional tour which lasted just a few minutes. He then insisted and told us it would be 15 euros each or at least 50 Bosnian marks (the equivalent of 25 euros). Again, we told him that was really too much and in the end gave him 7.5 marks. He wasn't happy, but neither were we. After that weird and unsettling encounter, we continued on our walk through town and reached another mosque, that of Sinan Pasha. Built in the 17th century, this mosque, which was also closed, featured a single minaret but a four-sloped roof typical of the Bosnian architectural style for mosques rather than the round cupola-shaped Ottoman one. We were right next to the Neretva River, so we walked to the riverfront to admire the view from above. Moving onwards, we reached the core of the old town with the main street and typical Ottoman part known as Kujundžiluk, which was once the market, featuring stone houses and low buildings functioning as market stalls. At the beginning of this area, we entered the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Built around 1618, this is one of the largest and certainly the most famous in town. In a classic Ottoman style, it features a central domed building, sided by a minaret and with a nice small courtyard featuring the ablution fountain, now surrounded by a couple of souvenir shops. Unfortunately, despite being open, the entrance to the mosque required a fee,10KM, plus some more if one wanted to climb up to the minaret, in total 15KM. Ania just visited the mosque, while I also paid the full price to climb the minaret. We first visited the mosque interior together, with a well-crafted and decorated mihrab and mimbar, and the nice intricate floral patterns of the dome. Ania then went out while I climbed up the minaret to reach the top. The staircase was steep and tight, but once at the top, I was able to admire a beautiful view over the old town of Mostar, with the famous old bridge right in front of me. I stayed there for a little while, admiring the cityscape, the river below, and the surrounding barren mountains. Once back down the minaret, we reached a small terraced area right next to the mosque and right above a cliff overlooking the river, from where we had another splendid view of the old bridge. Once outside, back on the main street, we walked along the main old market area, passing by some nice stone houses, while others were weirdly painted in different bright colors, giving it a terrible sight and a very Disney-esque look. After some walking, we eventually reached the Stari Most, the old brige, Mostar's main attraction. This 16th-century Ottoman bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 and designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student and apprentice of the famous architect Mimar Sinan. It was the only crossing of the Neretva River in that area and connected the two sides of Mostar's old town. Featuring a single humpback arch, it is 30 m long and 4 m wide, reaching a height of 24m at its peak point. It is also flanked by two fortified towers, the Halebija tower and the Tara tower, where once the bridge guards stood. The bridge is infamous for having been destroyed during the Croat–Bosniak War on 9 November 1993 by the Croatian Defence Council (HVO). After the war, the bridge was reconstructed thanks to funding, including that of Italy, and was finalized in 2004. Nowadays, the monument is probably the most visited in the country and is also famous for locals using it as a diving spot and asking tourists for money to do so; an annual diving competition is also organized, usually every July. Once we got to it it there weren't many people around, and so we managed to take some nice pictures and admire the view from its top. Once on the other side, we walked down to the riverbank to admire the bridge from below. We took a few pictures and then headed back through the western side of the old town, again characterized by nice stone buildings. On this side, we reached the Kriva Ćuprija, translated as crooked bridge, another old single arched bridge built in 1558, which crossed over the smaller Radobolja river. On this part of town, there were barely any tourists as all of them crowd the area just next to the bridge and along the single main street crossing over it, something we would notice later in the day. A man then approached us as we were standing on this second bridge and asked if we wanted a tour. We told him no, and he continued to insist. We told him not now, maybe later, at which he told us he would leave with a tour group so he wouldn't be in town later. After again telling him we didn't want the tour, he then asked for money. We told him no, and he insisted, telling us how in Mostar, only tourism sustains the city. We told him well, but then we would obviously pay for a service, like a tour, but didn't want one at the moment, and wouldn't just give him money like that for nothing. He then told us to eff off and hurried to join the tour group he was leading, obviously paid, to another destination. Just above the bridge, we then reached the Nezir Agina mosque, a 16th-century building with a 22m high minaret dominating the old town and with a small terraced area in front from which we had a great view. From there, we then left the old town and headed to the nearby Lučki bridge, from where we had a great view of the south of the old town and Stari Most. Once back on the eastern side of the river, we headed back towards the old town. The place was now much more crowded, with the old bridge now basically full of people walking up and down, as many tour buses had arrived from nearby Croatia, dropping off thousands of visitors. Already now in March, I couldn't imagine it in a full summer weekend. We decided to have lunch and opted for Hindin Han, a touristy but nice restaurant right below the Nezir Agina mosque overlooking the Radobolja river.Ania had grilled veggies with cheese, and I had a steak in red sauce and fries. After lunch, we continued visiting the rest of the town, heading over to what was once the Tabhana, the district where leather was processed. Here we saw the old Ottoman hamam, turned into a museum, but which was closed at that time, and in front of it the Hadzi-Kurt mosque, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, and with a small yet nice interior. From there, we then left the old town again and headed northwards to reach the Španjolski trg, or Spanish Square, named so in honor of 22 Spanish soldiers (plus an interpreter) who died serving in the United Nations Protection Force in the Croat-Bosnian War. Facing the square is an apricot-hued building built in 1902 in a neo-Moorish style as known as the Stara Gimnazija, the old high school, obviously rebuilt after the war. From there, we crossed over another bridge, reaching the eastern side again. Heading uphill, we then reached the Muslibegović House, an 18th-century residential house and one of three examples of Ottoman-era private buildings still surviving in the city. The house is now partly used as a tourist accommodation and partly as a museum, which we intended to visit, but found out it was closed and only open during the summer. From there, we continued our climb and reached the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, originally built between 1863 and 1873 but completely destroyed during the war in the 90s. During our visit, the new cathedral was being built and has been under construction since 2011. It was already visible inside, but with no interior fittings or decorations. Behind it, we then visited the old orthodox church, much smaller in size, dating to 1834, and the only one before the construction of the nearby newer one. From here, we could admire the canyon heading up to the nearby mountain just east of the city, and, turning around, had a nice view of the old town below. From the churches we headed down and passed by the Sahat Kula, the clock tower, 15m in height and dating to around 1630. Right in front of it, the Herzegovina museum, also closed outside the summer period. A little further down, we then reached the Nesuh-Aga Vucjakovic mosque, another nice Ottoman-style mosque from the 16th century. A walk further took us back to the core of the old town, where we decided to try some baklava to try from a place called Ottoman, where we even had a really tasty one with blueberries. We then had one last walk through the whole old town once again, this time having to push through larger crowds of people, which were already starting to decrease as the sun was soon setting and people were heading back to their tour buses. Eventually, it was time for us to head back to the train station and catch the next ride back to Sarajevo.