Mostar, Bosnia

One day in Mostar, Bosnia and we discovered a whole new world.

30 Euro day trip from Croatia to Bosnia? Heck yes.

I will admit, coming abroad I never expected to end up in Bosnia. In fact, I really didn't know much about Bosnia. One of my goals going abroad was to see places and travel to countries that I normally wouldn't hit on a week trip to Europe. Everyone abroad visits Paris, but who goes to Bosnia?

We do.

Mostar is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Neretva River. The country recently went through the The Croat–Bosniak War in 1993, a war of independence against Croatia, Serbia, and Yugoslavia. If you go to Bosnia, make sure you go to a city, since there are land mines still in many of the forests. Through our tour company, we had a guide, and the city was very safe!

We walked through the Mostar markets to get into the city center. (Hey family and friends reading this.. I got you some cool stuff!)

The streets were packed!

The stores sold lots of tapestries and souvenirs with Bosnian, Middle-Eastern and Turkish influences.

We stopped for lunch and were blown away by the food!

After eating so many potato, bread, and pork based meals in Central Europe, we loved switching it up with a traditional Bosnian meal!

Ćevapi sausages, Bosnian Somun (Pita Bread), and Begova Čorba (vegetable stew with spices)

Bosnian Coffee!

Served in a long-stemmed pot with sugar cubes and a Turkish delight

Super delicious until you get down to the coffee grains at the bottom of the pot. We learned the hard way that you aren't supposed to drink the grain paste that's left over.. :)

After lunch, most of our group went to sit by the water. However, Brittney, Kyla and I headed over to go inside Koskin-Mehmed Pasha's Mosque! Built in the Ottoman Empire, the mosque is world famous, and you can climb its tower and get great views of the city! We always try to find something cultural to do in each place we visit!

View of Koskin-Mehmed Pasha's Mosque from across the river!

The inside of the worship space

51% of Bosnians are Muslim and practice Islam. There were people doing their 'isha' prayers inside, so we were very quiet.

The mosque was damaged during WW2 and almost completely destroyed during the war with Yugoslavia. It has since been reconstructed like a majority of the city.

We took a narrow stone staircase a few hundred steps to the top of the tower. The views were breathtaking!

The oldest stone bridge in Bosnia, the Mostar Stone Bridge was built in 1558 during the Ottoman Empire. The bridge was the pride and joy of Mostar. During the Croat–Bosniak War, the bridge was completely destroyed. It has since been rebuilt, and is seen as a symbol of hope for the community.

We explored the markets and walked the busy streets! Later, we met up with everyone by the water, and enjoyed the sun before we got back on the bus!

Olivia, Kyla and I all wore our tapestry pants

Waterfalls under the bridge!

Took our bus back to Split just in time to catch sunset! Going to miss this gem of a place! Loved getting to experience a different type of culture!