Croatia (4)

The final evening of the conference there was a dinner and I attended with my traveling companion, friend and fellow student, Neringa, who is originally from Lithuania. Here is a photo of the two of us at the dinner:


The next morning, was my final day in Croatia, and I took an early morning bus to Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive with a couple of border crossings, as the route took us through a small area of Bosnia, back into Croatia, and then back to Bosnia.

Cavtat Harbor, 6:30 am

During the drive, I was able to take some decent shots of the views:

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Harbour

Suspension Bridge North of Dubrovnik

This enormous valley was once a swamp - it has now been drained and irrigated and is sometimes called the "California of Croatia". The area is famous for its tangerines and also grows lemons, grapes, tomatoes and other crops.

On the way to Mostar we stopped at an old village that was occupied by the Turks and was an example of the mixture of medieval and Turkish architecture.

Mostar is a very old city that was situated on a trade crossroads, and between the western and eastern worlds. It was occupied by the Ottoman empire for about 400 years, from the mid 1400's until the mid 1800's and there is a strong Turkish influence on the architecture and the culture of Mostar's citizens, many of whom are Muslim, the rest being mostly Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs. Although many of the Mosques did not survive the war, there are about 17 remaining and the call to prayer echoes throughout the city throughout the day.



The city is still recovering from the war that lasted until the mid 1990's and there are many buildings that are not yet repaired.



After the war, pieces of the iconic bridge were fished out of the river and the bridge was repaired, (pictures below). The name of the city is derived from the word "Mostari" which means bridgekeepers.


I did a lot of shopping in Mostar, purchasing some wine, 2 pashmina shawls, a watercolor and ink drawing of the bridge and some small purses and other items for Sarah and for friends.


And finally, one of the last views on my way to the bus stop...