MOSTAR - BOSNIA

As a day trip from Sarajevo I travelled along the Una river to Mostar, the second largest city in Bosnia. Despite being almost 3 hours in duration the bus ride to Mostar was most enjoyable as the mountain scenery along the way was amongst the best I had seen whilst in eastern europe and I was quite dissapointed not to be able to stop and take photos along the way.

My time in Mostar consisted mostly of walking around and trying to capture the beauty of the city before the next passing shower meant it was time to get indoors. I spent a number of hours just wandering alongside the river, taking photos here and there and generally just taking in the beauty of the area. I also enjoyed poking around the old part of the city and exploring some of the city buildings which had been heavily damaged by artillery shells during the war. After talking with the girl in the tourist information office, I learned that the famous bridge in Mostar had been completely destroyed during the war and only rebuilt a few years ago. Still the bridge was far and away the most popular tourist attraction, partly because of its beauty and the history associated with it but also because of the famous divers whom jumped at regular intervals.... a descent of only 28 metres !!!

Apart from the bad weather, I absolutely loved my visit to the city and was in agreement with other travellers I had met in Cuba who had singled Mostar out as one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. I think there is a high possibility I will one day return to this area of Bosnia to spend more time exploring some more of the picturesque towns in the region.

Photos 1&2: Buildings destroyed during the Balkans war.
Photos 3-6: Views of the city, river and famous bridge.
Photo 7: One of the bridge jumpers preparing to make his decent.