Tom`s travels: Mostar & Blagaj (19/04/2025)

Ania and I, with my parents and brother decided to head to visit Mostar and a nearby town called Blagaj. We left early to try to beat the crowds and after a couple of hours' drive reached Mostar. We parked right next to the Franciscan church so we were really close to the old town. The sun was shining and it was rather warm already. As we walked along the main street we were happy to see it was still rather empty with the majority of the people, coming later in the day especially those on tour buses from nearby Croatia. We passed by the typical stone buildings of the town and then reached the Old Bridge, still finding it rather empty of tourists. We enjoyed the view from there for a bit and then continued on along the main street on the other side of the river. We stopped for a few photos from the panoramic point seeing the old bridge and then reached the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Ania and I waited in the nice courtyard while my parents and brother visited the mosque and climbed the tower for a nice view over the old town and Neretva river. After the visit we headed on and reached the Biscevic House, a preserved ottoman period residential house turned into a small museum. Dating to the 17th centuery and refurnished the following century the complex was then divided into three parts as the family grew, ending up into two kind of separate houses, the Biscevic and Laksic, the latter still serving as a private residence. The part that can be visited, the Biscevic House, features a traditional small inner courtyard and the main building facing the river with a daring extension supported by two tall pillars right over the river. The interior was divided into distinct male and female sections, and ground floor housing utility rooms and quarters for servants, while the living areas located on the second floor. The interior featured nice carved woodwork, traditional furniture and objects, and oriental rugs. The upper floor, known as tavan, featured a divan, a low and long sofa following the whole room's perimeter and with a beautiful view through the many windows. After the visit to the house we went back through the old town, passing once again over the old bridge and heading below it to the small beach next to the river to admire it from below. Finally we got back to the car and started heading towards the town of Blagaj, southeast from Mostar. Once there we parked our car and gave a couple of coins to a kid watching the cars from his house as that seemed to be a kind of privately owned parking which in the end was still probably cheaper than the public one right next to it which was either way full. From the parking lot we then walked down along the street passing some nice historic stone houses, such as Velagić House, and an old stone mill right next to the river. A little futher one we reached the main part of Blagaj featuring a series of bridges over the Buna River whose spring was just a few meters away. The water was fast, fresh, and beautiful in color and the setting really cool with a series of restaurants right on the waterfront. We picked one, the Mlinica, and decided to have lunch there with some typical food while admiring and listening to the waterfall nearby. After eating we got up and explored the area a little, walking up to the viewpoint right where the Buna River comes out from a cave in the mountainside, the Vrelo Bune, or Buna Spring. Next to the river stands a tekija, or sufi lodge, originally built in 1520 for the praise-chanting dervishes. Alongisde was also a guest house and the whole complex had to be rebuilt several times, especially due to the falling rocks, which due to its proximity to a 240m tall cliff right above, happened often. We admire the whole setting from that viewpoint for a bit, with the ottoman complex seamlessly integrating with the cliff above, and the Buna coming out of the cave right next to it - no wonder the place is so popular. After that we headed back to the car and before leaving a short drive up the nearby mount led us to the parking lot below the Blagaj Fortress. My mom and dad decided to wait in the car while my brother, Ania, and I headed up the zig zagging path leading up to the fortress. This town-fortress used to be the old site of Blagaj featuring a fortified wall enclosing several public and private buildings. The impressive exterior walls, some 12 or 14 meters in height, are perfectly preserved, while the medieval and later ottoman buildings inside are just ruins to their foundations. The fortress, perched atop a karst hill at 310 meters above sea level, commands the surrounding landscape, offering stunning views that stretch all the way to Mostar and the Neretva River. From the top of the walls, we could enjoy these views and take in the entire fortress complex below. Once we had toured the fortress it was time to head back down to the car. Eventually, once back with our parents we drove all the way to Sarajevo.