Croatia and a couple of Balkans, Day 4 a night in Mostar
The road from Blagaj into Mostar descends on to a green plain. The summer temperatures here can reach into the 50's centigrade and although it was October Mostar was pleasantly warm. We drove straight to our pension, the Villa Fortuna and booked in
There was a little courtyard with a small stone building in it which was modelled on a Turkish style kitchen with antique furniture inside, looking as it might have done a hundred years ago. The cooking and eating areas used to be kept away from the main house to stop it smelling of food and getting too hot. We took a glass of wine down with us but the lady who had checked us in showed us round the building and offered us more wine and a bowl of olives. She then left the bottle with us! We drunk a little of it and then went out to find something to eat.
It was dark but we were not too far from the centre and we walked through quiet cobbled streets until we found a restaurant we fancied. We were starving so chose a shared mixed grill platter which was enormous, and followed it up with coffee and walnut liqueur which sounds odd but is very nice. We then walked back to our base via the Old Bridge which spans the River Neretva. The Old Bridge or Stari Most had been built by the Ottomans in the 16th century and was a cultural icon. In 1993 it was destroyed by the Croats during the Croat- Bosnian war. It was claimed that it had been bombed for strategic reasons but it may have been for psychological ones. The Spanish who had provided a lot of aid to Mostar during the war rebuilt the bridge as well as the historic parts of the town with money from the World bank, UNESCO and many other parties.
At night the tourist areas of the city were poorly lit and very atmospheric.
There was a little courtyard with a small stone building in it which was modelled on a Turkish style kitchen with antique furniture inside, looking as it might have done a hundred years ago. The cooking and eating areas used to be kept away from the main house to stop it smelling of food and getting too hot. We took a glass of wine down with us but the lady who had checked us in showed us round the building and offered us more wine and a bowl of olives. She then left the bottle with us! We drunk a little of it and then went out to find something to eat.
It was dark but we were not too far from the centre and we walked through quiet cobbled streets until we found a restaurant we fancied. We were starving so chose a shared mixed grill platter which was enormous, and followed it up with coffee and walnut liqueur which sounds odd but is very nice. We then walked back to our base via the Old Bridge which spans the River Neretva. The Old Bridge or Stari Most had been built by the Ottomans in the 16th century and was a cultural icon. In 1993 it was destroyed by the Croats during the Croat- Bosnian war. It was claimed that it had been bombed for strategic reasons but it may have been for psychological ones. The Spanish who had provided a lot of aid to Mostar during the war rebuilt the bridge as well as the historic parts of the town with money from the World bank, UNESCO and many other parties.
At night the tourist areas of the city were poorly lit and very atmospheric.
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