Bosnia - October 2010

Just like Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH for short) is part of the old Yugoslavia. I took a day trip to Mostar. This is another new country to add to my list, along with Montenegro which I saw later in the week.

I was up early for my bus tour to Bosnia. Our first stop was in Pocitelj, a picturesque village along the way. Well I took pictures so that qualifies it as picturesque.

Here are some pomegranates ready for picking. They grow wild throughout the region.

I climbed the hill to look at some of the residences. The fall harvest was complete, with plenty of vegetables displayed throughout the town.

Mostar represents the best and worst of Yugoslavia (now six different countries). Once living in harmony, war in the 1990s destroyed the city.

Buildings are still pocked with bullet and shrapnel holes from the three way civil war between the Croats, the Serbs and the Muslims. There is still tension in the air today.

Here's the small bridge, one of the few structures to survive the civil war.

The main attraction was the Old Bridge (still named so even after being rebuilt in 2004).

This was taken at the Turkish House, named after its owners. Beware of the Turkish toilet, a hole in the floor - sorry no photos.

This was the men's lounging room in the Turkish House. The women were only allowed in to feed the men at meal times.

There's a diving club where young men jump 75 feet into the freezing river to attract girls and tips. I would have opted for the bars to pick someone up.

Here I enjoyed a typical lunch with the Old Bridge in view. It was some sort of beef sausage, but I didn't ask anymore.

I passed on the offer to buy some Aladdin magic flying slippers. The colors just weren't right.

Another bullet ridden building on the way back to the bus.