Located in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the beautiful city of Mostar boosts with its rich history and architecture.
Tour Guide Mostar brings you must visit objects in Mostar…
Catholic Church and the Franciscan Monastery in Mostar
Today the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Monastery in Mostar stand together as one the most beautiful architecture examples. Originally this complex was built in 1866. during the Ottoman rule.
Today the bell tower of the church is the highest construction in the city, boosting 107m of height. The view from the top of the tower is truly magnificent, showing the whole panorama of the Mostar.
This complex boasts a library with 50,000 ancient western and eastern scriptures and books. It is the largest library of such characteristics in Herzegovina and this region. In the monastery there is also an important collection of paintings by Italian masters of the XVI and XVII century, and also works from modern artists.
Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque
Today the iconic Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque is probably among the most famous symbols of Mostar. It`s the second largest mosque in Mostar, situated on the left bank of the Neretva river, just about 150 meters north of the Old Bridge.
The entrance leads to the beautiful courtyard where you can enjoy the colorful garden, shops, restaurant and Šadrvan fountain. The concept of building Šadrvan comes from the Persian culture and it was brought to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman rule. Read more about the history behind the picturesque Šadrvan in our previous post.
Visitors can enter the mosque and enjoy the unique architectural features of the Ottoman style. The most important element in the mosque is the mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of Mecca.
The mosque was constructed in 1618. Visitors are allowed to climb the minaret, which offers a panoramic view of the city.
Kriva Cuprija bridge
Besides the famous Stari Most (Old Bridge), a genuine symbol of the town destroyed in 1993, there is another ancient bridge in Mostar: the Kriva Cuprija (or the Crooked Bridge).
It crosses the Radobolja creek, a right-bank affluent of the Neretva River. The exact date of its construction and the name of its founder are not known.
Kriva cuprija is a stone one-arch bridge of small dimension and closely resembles the Stari Most. The arch is a perfect semi-circle 8.56m in width and 4.15m in height. The bridge footpath and the approaching roads are paved with cobblestones, as is the case with the main roads in the town. Stone steps enable people to ascend to the bridge either side. The floods of December 2000 destroyed this bridge.
A reconstruction project has been initiated by UNESCO, financed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The project was completed in the year 2001.
Whether you are in Mostar for a few days or few months you will almost undoubtedly have the urge to let your hair down and go dancing to the early hours at some point. If you are with a group of friends and you are having a good time and you someone asks; “what shall we do now ?”
Well, you can’t go far wrong by going to the Alibaba Discotheque in the old part of the city of Mostar… There is something for all of you, whether it be dancing on one of the dancefloors, sitting on the terrace admiring the magnificent panorama, propping up the bar meeting new people or maybe even smooching in one of the snugs.
Alibaba Night Club is opening its doors on Friday 2 June. Come and experience something new, at this premium night club.
The club boasts 2 levels, 2 dance floors. Cargo caters for everyone, offering only the best at the most exclusive venue that Mostar has to offer.
Join them every weekend night from 2 June. In a spirit of revelry with good music and beverage prices to keep everyone moving and grooving.
This post originally appeared on : http://www.jamieoliver.com
We’ve reached the slightly flat stage of the World Cup where some teams are playing their final game, already knowing they are going home. Bosnia-Herzegovina is one such team, taking on World Cup favourites Argentina – let’s hope they can leave Brazil on a high, just like our Foodie World Cup is going to.
When I started to think around Bosnia-Herzegovia as a “virtual” destination for this month, I was intrigued to learn more about the kinds of cuisine found there. Bosnia-Herzegovia is pretty much landlocked, except for a tiny piece of coastline along the Adriatic Sea. As with much of the cuisine of Eastern Europe, centuries of changing rulers and borders have resulted in a flavourful mix of culinary influence – Turkish, Austrian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean – as well as similarities with Romanian and Bulgarian kitchens, too.
Beef, lamb, pork and veal will very often find their way into kebabs called Ćevapi, or into soups and stews such as goulash, loaded up with onions, garlic, tomatoes and other vegetables. The food isn’t so much spicy as robust, often full of peppers and paprika. You’ll also find smaller bites you will recognise, such as stuffed grape leaves with rice (dolma) and flaky pastry filled with meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes (burek). There’s plenty of local, village-made cheese to be found, and good wines. For sweet treats, you’ll be served stewed fruits, filled doughnuts, and the absolutely delicious baklava, which are bite-sized flaky pastry layers lusciously combined with honey and nuts.
For a fitting football snack, I was keen to try my hand at Pljeskavica burgers, because every host should serve a plate of good burgers for guests watching the footy! The word “pljesak” means “to clap the hands”, which is what you do to flatten these particular patties. Some say these burgers are the Serbian national dish (known as the Serbian hamburger), while others refer to them as Bosnian burgers (particularly US chains, oddly!) or Balkan burgers.
The burgers are traditionally thrown onto charcoals to cook – an outside BBQ would be ideal – and sandwiched inside a flatbread (traditionally a thick pita called lepinja). They will need to be prepped before the guests arrive but, because the Balkan burger is thin, it cooks through quickly and will be ready in no time.
You can serve the burgers with pickled vegetables, known as Turšija, or fresh onions, tomatoes and bell peppers, also typical of the region. If you have the time, you could quickly make some of these easy flatbreads to go with them.
Pljeskavica – Balkan / Bosnian burger recipe
Ingredients:
250g minced beef
250g minced pork (optional – otherwise use 500g beef)
250g minced veal
1 onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flatbread to serve
A little oil if you are cooking on a griddle pan
Method
In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork and veal (you could use lamb, instead) and add the onions, garlic, paprika and salt and pepper. Mix everything together really well with your hands. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours.
When you are ready to make the burgers, keep a bowl of water to your side to dip your hands into – moist hands will prevent the meat from becoming too sticky. Take a large, palm-sized portion of meat and form a flat burger, about the size of a small side plate and around 0.5cm in thickness. You could also place the meat between two sheets of clingfilm to form and flatten the burgers out – I found this to be the easiest way.
Repeat until all the meat is used up then place the burgers onto a tray, cover with clingfilm and leave them in the fridge for a further hour or so.
To cook, heat the barbecue or a large, oiled griddle pan. The burgers will cook in around five minutes – flip occasionally so that both sides are equally cooked.
Serve with warmed flat bread, cut in half horizontally, along with pickles, onions and peppers.
During the 16th century in Mostar, in the čaršija (carshiya ) there were more than 30 various types of crafts. They were predominantly grouped into guilds which were arranged according to the types of professions after which even the streets (carshiyas) were named, bearing the features of distinct carshiyas.
The old Tabhana area in Mostar was built in the middle of 16th century, at the place where the river Radobolja flows into the Neretva. Before 1664, the tanners moved to the present-day tannery, the Upper or Large Tabhana.
At that time Mostar became an important economic center because of the trades and craftsmanship that developed in the carshiyas. The city attracted Armenian, Greek and Jewish traders to settle here and start their own businesses.
They also developed business relations with people from Dubrovnik, Trieste, Venice and Istanbul. Mostar was the place where trade flourished. Over time many successful traders and salesman from Mostar opened their shops in Paris.
Franjevačka
Today the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Monastery stand together as one the most beautiful architecture examples in Mostar.
They were built in 1866. during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Today’s church with its dimensions, appearance and the bell tower (107m high), dominates the city of Mostar.
This complex boasts a library with 50,000 ancient western and eastern scriptures and books. It is the largest library of such characteristics in Herzegovina and this region. In the monastery there is also an important collection of paintings by Italian masters of the XVI and XVII century, and also works from modern artists.
Kriva ćuprija
Kriva cuprija is a stone one-arch bridge of small dimension and closely resembles the Stari Most. The arch is a perfect semicircle 8.56m in width and 4.15m in height. Built in 1558, eight years prior to the more famous Old Bridge, it is believed to have been built as a trial attempt for the following, more daring, construction.
Stari most
The bridge spans the Neretva river in the old town of Mostar, the city to which it gave the name. The city is the fifth-largest in the country; it is the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the unofficial capital of Herzegovina. The Stari Most is hump-backed, 4 meters (13 ft 1 in) wide and 30 meters (98 ft 5 in) long, and dominates the river from a height of 24 m (78 ft 9 in). Two fortified towers protect it: the Halebija tower on the northeast and the Tara tower on the southwest, called “the bridge keepers” (natively mostari).
The original bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 to replace an older wooden suspension bridge of dubious stability. Construction began in 1557 and took nine years: according to the inscription the bridge was completed in 974 AH, corresponding to the period between 19 July 1566 and 7 July 1567. Tour directors used to state that the bridge was held together with metal pins and mortar made from the protein of egg whites.Little is known of the building of the bridge, and all that has been preserved in writing are memories and legends and the name of the builder, Mimar Hayruddin (student of Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman architect). Charged under pain of death to construct a bridge of such unprecedented dimensions, the architect reportedly prepared for his own funeral on the day the scaffolding was finally removed from the completed structure. Upon its completion, it was the widest man-made arch in the world
According to the 17th-century Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi, the name Mostar itself means “bridge-keeper.” As Mostar’s economic and administrative importance grew with the growing presence of Ottoman rule, the precarious wooden suspension bridge over the Neretva gorge required replacement. The old bridge on the river “…was made of wood and hung on chains,” wrote the Ottoman geographer Katip Çelebi, and it “…swayed so much that people crossing it did so in mortal fear”. In 1566, Mimar Hayruddin, a student of the great architect Sinan, designed Stari Most during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. The bridge was said to have cost 300,000 Drams (silver coins) to build. The two-year construction project was supervised by Karagoz Mehmet Bey, Sultan Suleyman’s son-in-law and the patron of Mostar’s most important mosque complex called the Hadzi Mehmed Karadzozbeg Mosque.
The bridge, 28 meters long and 20 meters high (90′ by 64′), quickly became a wonder in its own time. The famous traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote in the 17th century that: the bridge is like a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies, extending from one cliff to the other. …I, a poor and miserable slave of Allah, have passed through 16 countries, but I have never seen such a high bridge. It is thrown from rock to rock as high as the sky.
The arch of the bridge was made of local stone known as tenelija. The shape of the arch is the result of numerous irregularities produced by the deformation of the intrados (the inner line of the arch). The most accurate description would be that it is a circle of which the centre is depressed in relation to the string course.
Instead of foundations, the bridge has abutments of limestone linked to wing walls along the waterside cliffs. Measuring from the summer water level of 40.05 m (131 ft 5 in), abutments are erected to a height of 6.53 meters (21 ft 5 in), from which the arch springs to its high point. The start of the arch is emphasized by a molding 0.32 meters (1 ft 1 in) in height. The rise of the arch is 12.02 meters (39 ft 5 in)
Stari Most diving is a traditional annual competition in diving organized every year in midsummer (end of July). It has been done 477 times as of 2013. It is traditional for the young men of the town to leap from the bridge into the Neretva. As the Neretva is very cold, this is a very risky feat and only the most skilled and best-trained divers will attempt it. The practice dates back to the time the bridge was built, but the first recorded instance of someone diving off the bridge is from 1664. In 1968 a formal diving competition was inaugurated and held every summer. The first person to jump from the bridge since it was re-opened was Enej Kelecija.
Kujundžiluk
In the center of the city, you can admire one of the oldest parts of Mostar, the Kujundžiluk, which winds along a small, pretty, cobbled street, dating back to the middle of the 16th century, where characteristic crafts shops and traditional restaurants are found. In the past, it was the pulsing heart of the business world in the whole of the region with more than 500 workshops in the Ottoman era.
Even with the changes due to the passing of time, this road has maintained its ancient outward appearance, characterized by its ever-present mosques and small inns – and has maintained, up till now, some of its most characteristic crafts, such as the working of copper and the weaving of carpets.
Together with the Old Bridge, undoubtedly the chief attraction of the whole district, the Old Bazaar represents a characteristic example of the architecture and, at the same time, of the daily life of Mostar, as seen in the vitality of the workshops, in the little restaurants (where you can taste excellent traditional dishes) and in the crowded cafes which characterize the local atmosphere.
Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque
Situated on the left bank of the Neretva river, just about 150 meters north of the Old Bridge, it`s the second largest mosque in Mostar. The interior is 12,4×12,4 meters.
Construction of the mosque was finished in 1619. after starting it started in the early 17th century.
The entrance leads to the beautiful courtyard where you can enjoy the colorful garden, shops, restaurant and Šadrvan fountain. The fountain had two purposes, one being architecture attraction and the second one was for people to wash and clean their hands before going to religious ceremonies.
Those who wish to climb up the minaret (lighthouse) stairs will be charged a fee. After climbing up the stairs, you will be able to enjoy the most beautiful panoramic view of the city.
After passing the šadrvan in from of the mosque comes the old cemetery where you can see medieval tombstones and there is also a small passage which leads to the picturesque terrace.
