11 - 12 September 2017
After visiting Red Lake, I drove cross-border to Mostar, which is part of Bosnia and Hercegovina. The cross-border procedure was pretty similar like crossing border between Johor Bahru (Malaysia) and Singapore, except a green card is required. Some visitors give feedback in online forum saying it is never required to enter Bosnia and Montenegro from Croatia. I checked from the car rental company and it seems that this card cannot be exempted. At a very small additional fee, I did not hesitate to just get it in case I needed it. The green card is an international motor insurance card system which serves as arrangement between authorities and insurance organizations of multiple states to ensure that victims of road traffic accidents do not suffer from the fact that injuries or damage sustained by them were cased by a visiting motorist rather than a motorist resident in the same country. Such system has the benefit for motorists to avoid the need to obtain insurance cover at each of the frontiers of the countries which they visit. I was never asked to show the green card in most of my cross-border driving, but I was asked once.
I stopped over at Kravice Fall before heading to Mostar. Kravice Fall is highly recommended by other visitors for swimming. People have been saying it is a hidden gem in Bosnia and it is unexpectedly beautiful in poor surroundings. I was not into swimming in the cold water. Just by looking at its beauty, I felt the place was overrated, probably because the sky was cloudy.
After visiting the fall, I had a late lunch at Restaurant Playvi Prodrum along the highway R425. The serving was exceptionally huge for its price. A huge meat platter was only 7 Euros.
As I drove into Mostar, I felt uneasy. The surrounding was messy, wet and pitiful. Leaves and puddles were everywhere. Traffic was terribly congested. Later only I realized there was heavy rain a few hours ago which caused some tree fall.
Like my accommodation in Mostar very much.
Mostar is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, formerly one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country. Mostar has been most famous for its old Turkish houses and the beautiful historic Ottoman-style bridge, which spanned the Neretva river in what is considered the historic center of the city. The city was the most heavily bombed of any Bosnian city during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the breakup of Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the war, air strikes destroyed many important buildings and structures, including the cultural and spiritual icon: The Old Bridge. Through combined efforts with the international community, rebuilding of The Old Bridge was completed in 2004, almost 11 years after its destruction, using some of its original pieces recovered from the Neretva river.
Mostar bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge is 21m high and you will frequently see members of the Mostar Diving Club dive off the bridge. It is customary to give the divers a few KMs after they make the jump.
The next morning I took public bus from Mostar to Blagaj to visit the well known Blagaj Tekke. With help from the local, I managed to reached the correct bus stop and boarded the correct bus. I waited at the bus stop right in front of the bright yellow United World College building at Spanish Square and boarded bus #11 headed to Blagaj. Bus tickets can be purchased from the driver for 2.10 marks each (cash only). The bus ride was around 30 minutes. I overheard a Chinese couple was heading to the same destination and they had help from an old uncle in getting off so I followed them. Once we alighted, I walked near them and asked to visit the monastery together. That was how we became friends. Poppy and her husband are from Taiwan and they were on their honeymoon.
It was built on a solid rocky soil at the right side of the source of the Buna river, one of the biggest in Europe. The primary purpose of the structure was to serve as a dervish Zikr praise-chanting (praising God and His names) venue, while the musafirhana (guest house) has a profane purpose. I was impressed by the windows, the vibrant carpets, and the Hamam ceiling.
Anyone who entered the pray house are required to take off shoes. Women and men will be given a floor length wrap-around skirt to cover your legs. I was wearing long skirts but was still requested to wrap and cover up to ankles. For women, a scarf is given to cover your head. The women handing these out are very kind in helping you. The scarfs do not smell bad and you can wear them without worries.
We made our way back to Mostar and spent the rest of the day in the old town of Mostar. We decided to walk separately and meet for dinner.
The rain was back and I was trapped in a cafe for a pretty long lunch to wait for the rain to stop.
I was very much impressed by the various Turkish souvenirs such as lamps and ceramic bowls which are usually colorfully painted. The Blue Evil Eye, locally called nazar, is one of the most popular souvenir items from Turkey which can be found in Mostar and Sarajevo as well. It is easily recognizable through its eye shape and blue color. The Blue Evil Eye was originally used as an amulet to protect the wearer from the bad curse. Today, it is used for aesthetic rather than superstitious reasons. If you were to get one, get them from Mostar (1 Euro) which is cheaper than Sarajevo.
The dinner at Sadrvan was awesome thanks to the recommendation from Poppy's host. The pita bread, stuffed onion and the mushroom sauce from the Nacional Plate (15 Euro) were my favorite. The grilled vegetables (5.1 Euro) was bland in comparison with the Nacional Plate.
Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. It is one of the local dessert which cannot be missed. Despite knowing that it will be very sweet and we wont like it, we would still want to try it.
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