Leaving Mlini and Dubrovnik we travelled along the coast for 30 minutes or so before turning inland. We were using our GPS Which led us off the motorway and through some extremely narrow country roads. The coastal drive was beautiful as we swung along the coastal road from bay to bay, each as beautiful as the last. And offshore was just a maze of islands, some very big and others no more than large rocks.
The coast north of Dubrovnik
As soon as we turned inland the reason for the coast and the islands became obvious. Vegetation was meagre and stunted scarcely being more than knee high with only a scattering of taller bushes. Limestone. The whole of Bosnia and Croatia appears to be limestone and any rain almost immediately disappears underground, so that the soil is thin and sandy where there is any at all. Here and there were small, almost circular, dolines where what soil there is has been washed down into shallow depressions and sinkholes where it provides enough soil for some agriculture. The primary economic activity seemed to be sheep farming on the barren hill-sides, and fruit trees in the valley where there was sufficient soil and moisture. Visually the countryside reminded us of the Karroo or the drier parts of the fynbos in the Cape. There is undoubtedly more rain in Bosnia, but it simply disappears into the limestone.
Fairly typical limestone country between Dubrovnik and Mostar
As we drove on the narrow road through the hills we passed through any number of small, I mean 20 houses or so, villages, with many of the houses seemingly deserted. And, of course, the inevitable memorials, sometimes a single cross dedicated to an individual, and others at the site of a battle or skirmish with multiple dead.
Another war-damaged building.
Nowhere are you far from signs of the conflict. We had intended to visit a nature reserve on the way north, but our GPS suggested we turn right at a T junction, but it later transpired we should have turned left, so we missed the reserve!
Fortified hill
It is impossible to describe all the picturesque villages and towns we passed through on our way north. Larger towns tended to be at the bottom of valleys along a river or junction of rivers while the countryside was dotted with small hamlets. And the major roads follow the river gorges as the easiest way through the mountains. However, we did stop Jablonica, a medium sized town on the Neretva river and the site of a locally famous Battle of Neretva in World War 2 where the partisans under Tito were victorious against the German and Italian forces.
Neretva rail bridge destroyed in WW2
The partisans withdrew into the mountains blowing the bridge to prevent the German troops following them. The rail bridge has never been repaired and lies, ruined, as a monument to heroism of the partisans. There is a small museum close to the bridge, well worth the visit with model displays of the conditions of the time and many photos of the partisan brigades. We were particularly struck by the number of poets mentioned as members of the brigades.
Ursula at the “Red Cross” display at the museum
Continuing on our way we arrived at Mostar in the early afternoon where we had engaged a tour guide, a Muslim woman who took us on a two hour guided walk through Old Mostar. What to say about Old Mostar? It is a lovely old city at the bottom of the steep-sided valley of the Neretva River. Its location at the bottom of the valley meant that the Serbian and Croatian armies were able to besiege it and bombard it almost at will from the positions at the top of the hills. The Serbians were on the western side and the Croatians on the eastern side of the hills overlooking Mostar. The snipers seem to have been particularly feared but the combination of artillery and mortars also killed many people. At least 2000 people died during the sieges.
The rebuilt Old Bridge in Mostar
The Old Bridge, built in 1566, was destroyed by Croatian forces in 1993, but was rebuilt after the war using as much of the original stone rescued from the river. Most to of the mosques were badly damaged, the minarets made convenient points to aim at. As well the cathedral and other places of religious significance were targeted. By the end of the conflict more than 75 % of the civilians who had fled the city. It is a sobering experience to talk to people who had lived and suffered through those times. Overlooking the town on the west is a large white cross. It was from positions up there that Croatian snipers had killed so many. The old city has been largely restored and is now a popular tourist destination.
There are many bridges in Mostar at the junction of three rivers
Bosnia has a complicated political system with three separate entities, Croat, Bosnian and Serbian and with presidents from each of the three serving for 8 months during each four-year term. While we were in Mostar we learnt that the Serbian president was expanding and militarising the Serbian police force causing some worry about the future. To this day education is segregated with different school systems for the Croats and Bosniaks on Mostar.
Traditional coffee lesson
On a lighter note we were introduced to the rituals of Bosnian coffee drinking by the son of our guide who runs a traditional coffee shop. Bosnian coffee makes a normal espresso taste like flavoured water and is a serious competitor with the Arabic coffee we had in Sudan. Very small, very strong and thick sediment at the bottom. Later in the evening we found local micro-brewery and bar and spent a most enjoyable evening there chatting with the young man who served us and tasting a range of the beers, before finishing with a local schnapps.
And so on to Sarejevo