BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA

War torn in the 1990s, the country is at peace and open, showing its scars but offering up its diverse physical and spiritual beauty.

"'Wait…are those bullet holes left over from the war?' I ask. 'Yes sir. Those are from the war. Many buildings in Mostar still have the marks from the bullets.' Ivan, the Croatian guide from a large Croatian-Bosniak family, was well versed in the conflict. Most anybody who grew up in the area had to be. It was was not possible to find somebody who had not been directly affected. We were on the western part of the city, near the old quarter near the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Like much of the surrounding area, the church had been destroyed by mortar fire in 1992. It was rebuilt in the early 2000s and now had the tallest tower in town, appropriately named the “peace tower.” The dividing line of Mostar was the Neretva River. The west was primarily Croatian-Bosniak Catholic. The east, the home of Bosniak Muslims. Twenty-five years after the conflict, the city of 115,000 people was actually two separate places. Though separated by a river just ninety-five feet across, each side had their own fire, police and postal services. While Catholics and Muslims attended the same schools, per Ivan they were taught separate lessons with separate histories and separate textbooks. Despite years of relative peace, neither side was ready to fully acquiesce into a future of united tolerance."

--Luke's Journal

CITIES VISITED:

MUST DO:

FAVORITE MEMORY:

Mostar

Medjugorie

Walk across the Stari Most Bridge that connects the two distinct cultures of Mostar--Islam and Christianity.

Observe the daredevil divers who jump off of it.

In Medjugorie, feel the power of the pilgrims as they trek to a site where an apparition of the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared, the site is said to true healing powers, confirmed by numerous visits by the sick who became healthy.

Seeing two different cultures so close together in Mostar, a bar on one side and a hookah cafe on the other. Almost felt like two different countries joined by one tiny bridge.

DIFFICULTY TO VISIT RATING:

2/5  MODERATE

Easy to take a day trip with a reputable guide from Croatia if desired. Roads are a little banged up, best to leave the driving to the locals. Ample buses too.