2024 Balkans Overland Adventure, Sarajevo and the road to Montenegro...

Sarajevo is one of the most underrated European capitals. Even though we didn’t know much about the city before our trip, it didn’t take long for it to become enamored with it.   With a fascinating combination of European and Ottoman influences, its rich history, and a contagious joy of living.  We met our guide Ahmed at the hotel and started our walking tour stopping at an archaeological site between the Hotel Europe the first modern hotel and the oldest shopping center in Sarajevo, Bezistan – an old bazaar from the Ottoman period. Just a few steps away from the bazaar, is an inscription on the tiles of Ferhadija Street that says “Sarajevo – the Meeting of Cultures”. With an East and West compass.  It marks the place where the main two cultures shaping the city’s character merge.  Our next stop was the Old Jewish Temple and it houses a valuable collection of exhibits pertaining to Jewish traditions and customs in the Balkans. In the 16th century, Sarajevo welcomed thousands of Jewish settlers who reached the Ottoman empire escaping the persecution in the Iberian Peninsula.  Sarajevo is often called Little Jerusalem by the Jewish as they were living alongside Muslims and Christians and the inhabitants of the city were reminded of their ancient homeland.  Next, we walked to the Old Orthodox Church one of the oldest religious objects in Sarajevo…Its archaic foundations are unique and reminiscent of early Christian churches.  Continuing through the old town, our guide explained about the prominent Ottoman Gazi Husrev-beys and his many contributions to the city.  The Gazi Husrev-beys Mosque is one the most beautiful mosques in Bosnia. Just behind the mosque you can see the unique Clock Tower famous for showing an unusual standard of time for the modern world.  We went in to a lovely old building with a center courtyard called Caravan Saray – Morića Han…Sarajevo was on the Silk Road Route and Caravan Saray – Morića Han was a roadside inn back in the day with rooms, meals, bazaar and stables to keep animals…today, it houses cafes, restaurants and shops.  We made our way to Bascarsija Square – Sebilj Fountain, this fountain represents the point of entry into the city’s historical and cultural center. When it was originally built in the 15th century, it laid the foundations for Sarajevo. Now, several centuries later, it’s the city’s biggest attraction and a popular meeting spot for locals and tourists alike.  We continued through the city to Sarajevo City Hall is the most representative Austro-Hungarian building in Sarajevo.  We crossed the river to get a better photo and then continued along the river to the Latin Bridge.  Latin Bridge is the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on 28 June 1914, which ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I.  A small plaque commemorates the exact location where the assassination took place.  We walked to the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bosnia only Cathedral and had a quick peek inside.  Outside the Cathedral is a statue dedicated to Pope John Paul II who visited Bosnia on two occasions. Once our tour was complete, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and were off to Montenegro.  Being on the road from Sarajevo to Kotor was some of the most surprisingly beautiful scenery we had enjoyed yet. We were ready to go after having spent two hours on our walking tour of Sarajevo. On the road from Sarajevo, we saw some really stark mountains in front of us.  We learned yesterday that Bosnia & Herzegovina have real mountains. Being on the road to Montenegro from Sarajevo was some of the most surprisingly beautiful scenery we had enjoyed yet. Deep in the mountains, we passed through Konjic, our first city in Herzegovina and got to see an old bridge from the Ottoman Empire. Things were going great until we were in a traffic back up and lost 40 minutes due to a car crash.  We drove through Mostar and were sorry we missed stopping but maybe for the better since it was raining heavily on our drive through.  We stopped for a break at Stolac, a pleasant little town…I lucked out and scooped a couple of magnets including one for Mostar. After about another hour driving through the countryside of rocky limestone hills, we entered an area of south of Stolac to the Montenegro border known as the Republic of Srpska…the area belongs to Herzegovina but this Republic wants to succeed from Herzegovina and support Russia in the fight against the Ukraine…many spraypainted signs with the letter Z identifying their cause were visible. The area was a sparsely populated and the roads were rough and winding.  We stopped for a quick break in the city of Elcha before crossing the border…We were processed very quickly by officials departing Herzegovina and entering Montenegro.  It is interesting to see how the two countries operate from a joint facility.  It took about an hour to wind our way to the Bay of Kotor. This was a fabulous drive, and takes about 5.5 hours as long as you don’t hit traffic backups construction or accidents.  Now we are in magnificent Kotor…  will post about that tomorrow.