The journey starts with a few hours on the road, following the Adriatic coast, with a quick stop in Dubrovnik. Well, actually, the stop is not going to be so quick, because people with invalid will get on the bus, and it will take the driver about 30 minutes to sort out who was supposed to board, and who wasn't, and remove the applicable luggage from the hold.
Here, crossing the borders is a bit complicated (don't forget that all those countries were at war which each other just 20 years ago), and because of the way the road is built, you have to cross the borders again and again. We get stopped at one of the borders between Croatia and Bosnia because 4 passengers from Latin America are supposed to have a visa, but they don't, so we drive them back to the last town we crossed. We will eventually reach Mostar with a one hour and a half delay, which is not too bad compared to what it can do when it gets pretty bad.
The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia-Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.
A monumental project to rebuild it to the original design, after it was destroyed during the Bosnian War, and restore surrounding structures and historic neighbourhoods was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by Spring 2004. The money for this reconstruction was donated by Spain (who had a sizable contingent of peacekeeping troops stationed in the surrounding area during the conflict), the United States, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, and Croatia.
As far as I remember, that town has always been a symbol of resilience to me, and I am filled with emotion.
Here is another local specialty, the cevapci:
A few more hours on the road, and here is Sarajevo, where you feel like in Turkey, between the numerous mosques and the old bazaar:
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