We went on a four-month-long road trip through seven Balkan countries, most of which were part of the former country of Yugoslavia and five of the nations were first-time visits for us. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, the start of our adventure, is a mix of cultures and religions. This is especially evident in the first city we explored, Mostar, which dates back to at least the 9th century.

The Neretva River, with its copper-caused greenish blue water, flows under the Stari Most (Old Bridge) in the Old Town area that features architecture from Ottoman, Mediterranean, and European styles. The old bridge is actually a fairly recent and almost identical replacement of the original 16th century stone bridge. During the Bosnian War in the early 1990s the Bosnians used the 400-year-old bridge as a military supply line, which made it an attractive target for the opposition. The single arched bridge collapsed after enduring the force of 60 shells. The replacement, rebuilt from 2001 to 2004 using 16-century building techniques and stone from the original quarry, spans 29 meters in length and 4 meters in width. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Many lost their lives during the Bosnian War, including 8,000 Bosnian Muslims. The inhabitants of Mostar endured 20 months of no fuel, no electricity, and no consistent supply of food and water. Neighborhood parks were converted into cemeteries. Our apartment overlooked Graveyard Schitluci, pictured below.

Several damaged and propped-up buildings intentionally remain as reminders of the war.

The Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, prominent in the first photo of this post, stands on the cliffs of the Neretva River in the center of the city. The early 17th century, Ottoman-designed complex was damaged during the 1990s warfare and restorers completed their work in 2001. 

We took a 20 minute drive southeast from Mostar to the village of Blagaj to see the 15th century Dervish Monastery. The waters of the high-volume Buna River originate underneath the limestone cliffs towering over the well-preserved monastery. 

The most famous cascade in the country, Kravice Waterfalls, spills down 25-meter limestone cliffs along the River Trebizat, about 40 kilometers south of Mostar. The beautiful, popular summer picnic and swimming spot features cascades of water up to 120 meters wide in some places.  

Two Nobel Prize winners were born in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their statues stand in Park Zrinjevac in central Mostar.  Ivo Andrić, awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1961, authored the classic Bridge on the Drina. In 1975 Vladimir Prelog (left photo) won the Nobel Prize in chemistry and physics. 

From Mostar we drove to the small town of Travnik, with a population of under 20,000. The 16th century Šarena Mosque, also known as the Sulejmanija Mosque or Painted Mosque, often catches the attention of tourists because of its colorful exterior murals above a ground floor market. Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to see the even more colorful interior, restored recently. 

The early parts of the Medieval Fortress in The Old Town (Stari Grad Castle or Travnik Castle) were constructed during the reign of Bosnian Christian kings, before the Ottomans conquered the area in the 15th century. The new Islamic government expanded the castle plus added walls and watchtowers. Currently, this national monument is the best preserved castle in the country and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

We explored the city of Sarajevo over three full days. Home to about 300,000 residents and the largest city in the country, the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and stands along the banks of the Miljacka River. 

Artisans built Sacred Heart Cathedral in the late 19th century with Neo-Gothic style of architecture. Its twin clock towers reach almost 43 meters in height. The colorful interior features intricate frescoes, large stained glass windows, and a large marble altar. 

Sarajevo endured extensive mortar shell attacks during the four-year-long Bosnian War. Shells that hit the streets and sidewalks caused a spreading pattern on the concrete that some residents said looked like flowers. As a memorial, many of the damaged spots were filled with red resin and named Sarajevo’s roses. The rose pictured below is in front of Sacred Heart Cathedral and is one of more than 100 memorial roses throughout the city. Kovači War Cemetary, also known as the Martyrs’ Cemetery, is the burial place for many of the 11,541 residents of Sarajevo who were killed during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The first president of independent Bosnia, Alija Izetbegović, is also interred here. The oldest tombs in the cemetary date back to the 15th century. 

Emma, our guide on a free walking tour, pointed out the Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures on Ferhadija Street.  The sidewalk plate marks the border of the Old City from the Ottoman (Muslim) era and the newer construction during the Austro-Hungarian (Christian) era. 

Built in 1529, the stone tower features an Islamic prayer clock that displays lunar time.  The time piece is manually adjusted each day so that the hands display 12 o’clock at dusk. 

The Church of St. Anthony of Padua, a neo-Gothic style Franciscan church, replaced an old dilapidated church in the early 20th century. The beautiful stained glass windows, many of which display the Biblical story of creation, were added during an interior redesign in the 1960s. The exterior portions and windows damaged during the Bosnian War have since been restored. The spire measures over 50 meters high and houses 5 bells, the largest of which weighs more than four tons. 

Some describe the 1896 neo-Moorish striped City Hall as Sarajevo’s most beautiful Austro-Hungarian–era building. The interior rotunda with a geometric stained glass ceiling is certainly memorable. 

We took the nine minute cable car ride up to the viewpoint at 1164 meters on Mt. Trebević. And then explored the upper portions of the 1984 Olympic bobsled track, now covered in various styles of graffiti art and used by both bike riders and pedestrians. 

The Bosnian Serb forces surrounded most of Sarajevo from 1992-95 and prevented food, medicine, fuel, and arms from entering or being distributed throughout the city by way of roads. The Bosnian Army controlled a small area just east of the airport, so supplies could be flown to the city, but the challenge was how to get the necessary items to the local people, who were also suffering from no water, no electricity, and no heat. Driving the supplies across the runway was not a feasible option, even though the airport was supposedly under control of neutral United Nations forces. 

So the citizens dug an 800-meter-long tunnel that went under the runway. Starting underneath two houses on the east and west sides of the airport, groups of volunteers dug around the clock for four months and four days, using only hand tools to create the tunnel that measures 1 meter wide and 1.6 meters high. Diggers from both ends of the project met five meters underground on July 30, 1993. Rails were added to the tunnel to move the supplies more quickly. The Bosnian Serb forces continued their siege on the city and despite their investigative efforts, were never able to find and destroy the Tunnel of Hope or its entrances. 

Višegrad, a town of about 7,000 people, sits at the confluence of the Drina and Rzav Rivers and near the Serbian border. The Mehmed Paša Sokolović, the often-photographed bridge over the Drina River, spans almost 180 meters and is supported by 11 arches. Mimar Sinan, considered by many to be the greatest Ottoman architect, designed the bridge at the request of the Grand Vizier. Prior to the bridge’s construction, crossing this fast-moving part of the river involved rafts. The stone structure became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andrić’s fictional book Bridge on the Drina is set in Višegrad. 

We took a short boat ride from Višegrad on the Drina River to the Stari Brod Memorial, created in 2008. The 39 sculptures represent just a few of the Serbian mothers and their children who, at this site, tried unsuccessfully to escape torture and death during World War II. In 1942 the Bosnian Muslims and Croatians were allies with Nazi forces. The Italian Nazi troops took control of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović, often called the Višegrad Bridge, and many Serbians living in the area tried to escape towards what is now the country of Serbia. However, they were trapped between the Drina River and Nazi-controlled mountains. About 6,100 Serbians were killed and thrown into the river at site of the memorial. 

Since the late 19th century, the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church is the most important church in Višegrad. Ninety percent of the current population of the municipality is Orthodox Christian. However before the Bosnian War in the 1990s, half of the area’s population were Muslim.