Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stari Most (literally 'Old Bridge'; also known as Mostar Bridge is a rebuilt 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 by Croat paramilitary forces during the Croat–Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it; the rebuilt bridge opened on 23 July 2004.
The bridge is considered an exemplary piece of Balkan Islamic architecture and was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557. It was designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student and apprentice of architect Mimar Sinan who built many of the Sultan's key buildings in Istanbul and around the empire.
Bosnia has some very picturesque towns and landscapes. Strangely enough this viewpoint is not advertised in any way. Nearer to the falls roadsigns tempt you to the parking 'with view'. This is a paid parking and the view consists of walking down the steps in the photo. However, even though the falls are very impressive there, the photographic view is not. Thanks to the Lp guidebook I was able to find this spectacular viewpoint.
Have you visit Manarola in Italy? Well this is not a shot from that location but in my humble opinion Mostar is for Bosnia what Manarola is for Italy. Mostar’s history, location, people, good food and affordability will give you far more bang for the buck! It’s a photographers paradise with no restrictions. From there in no time you can reach Sarajevo, Buna, Kotor, Dubrovnik, just to name a few! A plethora of great photography locations in 3 different states. Did I mention good food :) This is another view of the iconic bridge. What do you think?
How did you start your day? I was moved by a text that I read today from one of the fellow photographers. I decided to add my two cents and write something in this post on that subject without going to “deep” on you :) In his text, in short, he first mentioned mankind chaos that we are all experiencing today and then he mentions God, love and family as a way to overcome the first. On that note I think that this is a perfect opportunity to post this beautiful altar from a beautiful Orthodox church in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A house of God! Sarajevo is known as European Jerusalem. A place where for 400 years, Muslim, Jews, Catholic and Orthodox religion were able to coexist as one. They were able to celebrate and embrace their differences, and live happily together for four centuries! Only in this city you are able to walk down the main street and see 4 different temples in just a 100m (330ft) radius. And they are all beautiful and glorious in their own way. These same streets were always filed with good humor and laughter and they still are. It’s a shame that even in that environment people were able to forget how strong they can be together. Seems to me that lately all I’m hearing is that that same story is echoing all around the world. It’s just a thought, but I think that we all should stop for a sec and turn ourselves back to beautiful Godly places and start thinking about better future together. What do you think?
Blagaj revisited, the water level was considerably higher than my last visit in October 2014, it's also not off the beaten track anymore, Korean bus...
An early blue hour in Mostar Bosnia, along the Neretva river, the figure in red jacket across the creek kept taking selfies to my annoyance, and the...
Scanned image.
November 1989, the original structure before the wars.
Mostar Old Town in Bosnia
Early morning blue hour in Konjic, Bosnia, I think flickr chose the wrong one to put on top this time, anyway I'll let it be.
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Europe - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Konjic - Old Stone Bridge...
Early morning blue hour in Konjic, Bosnia, I think flickr chose the wrong one to put on top this time, anyway I'll let it be.
View over Sarajevo at dusk, on a chilly autumn evening, the brightly lit building in the foreground is the national library. Quite a few supernova...
Today's morning on Troglav (1913m), highest peak of Dinara range, was marked by strong to gale force Jugo (south wind), but atmosphere was fantastic...
Elegant ridge leads to the summit of third highest peak of Dinara massif, Bat.
It's been very mild and dry winter, completely the opposite of...
A quaint little town in Herzegovina by the Neretva river between Mostar and the Adriatic coast that nobody has heard of yet, it's just about finished...
A quaint little town in Herzegovina by the Neretva river between Mostar and the Adriatic coast that nobody has heard of yet, it's just about finished...
When visiting Bosnia this is one of the must haves; the old Turkish bridge that was blown up during the war and rebuilt to exact specifications afterwards. The town is lively, colorful and growing in tourism, but the many scars from the war can easily be seen as well. Many shelled out buildings sit next to restored ones in the area alongside the Neretva river. They are hoping for more tourists that stay overnight, but so far the biggest group are day trippers from Dubrovnik.
Mostar is actually located in the area of Herzegovina, which is the smaller part of the country, drier and with a Mediterranean climate, south of a mountain range that divides the country. Besides the geographical division, there is also the political division which is Bosnia (Muslim) and Srpska (Orthodox). Mostar lies in the Muslim part.
I tried some blue hours on both sides of the bridge, and eventually chose this one as it includes the whole reflection whereas the other side suffers from expanding shrubbery.
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“One life, one encounter.” Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter — this really underscores how many first-and-only-time things happen in the day-to-day.
Would you be able to guess? The Buna spring in Blagaj is simply breathtaking. A small part of the wider townscape ensemble which is historical and natural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina dating all the way to 15th century. The small opening on the right is the source of Buna and it is the entrance to famous Green cave where the artifacts from the 5 century BC have been found. This spring is also second largest source of drinking water in Europe. Next to the source, a 16th century Dervish house – Tekke is still one of the most mystical places as well as one of the most important cultural and historical monuments in all of Bosnia & Herzegovina. The place is still used for dervish gatherings but it is also a museum. While being there one can definitely feel the spiritual power of this place. What do you think?
A far cry from the black & white long exposures previously... both in genre and location..An evening scene just prior to sundown with the mountainous backdrop and foreground scenery reflected in the still waters of the River Neretva. Located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near to Glogosnica, South of Ostrožac.
A truly amazing part of Europe that is not exactly on the beaten trail, but has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere I've ever seen.
This was the first time doing a trip like this where I left all the Nikon DSLR gear at home, in favour of just using the Fuji X100S & some filters, I was a bit concerned I would miss the DSLR and possibly miss some shots because of it, I needn't have worried, as the Fuji was more than capable and not having to carry a ton weight of stuff around Europe was liberating to say the least! I think the Nikon stuff will be gathering dust a lot more often from now on. And as for not being able to shoot wide landscapes at F/2...
You can view my most interesting shots on Flickriver here: www.flickriver.com/photos/pete37038/popular-interesting/.
Dusk in Mostar, city on Neretva river
NOTICE: I am having problems uploading photos, I keep getting an error message. If this continues, I will be leaving this site.
Blagaj Tekija at...
Blue hour in Jajce, Bosnia, an early blue hour version and a late blue hour version. To help English speakers, it's pronounced roughly "yahytse" ,...
This cemetery holds the soldiers who fell during the Bosnian wars and also holds a memorial of the conflict. This took place between 1992 and 1995...
Throwback Thursday, this time it's Sebilj fountain in old Sarajevo, Bosnia, the most photographed subject in that country after the Mostar bridge. ...
Sarajevo, Bosnia, graves of the fallen in the 1990's wars. I believe the domed grave belongs to Alija Izetbegović, Bosnia's first president.
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Throwback Thursday, this time it's Sebilj fountain in old Sarajevo, Bosnia, the most photographed subject in that country after the Mostar bridge. ...
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Europe - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Mostar - UNESCO World...
Taken from the top of the bridge itself. Throwback Thursday, early morning blue hour in Mostar, Hercegovina, while everyone is still sleeping, the...
When around Čvrsnica it is hard to take your eyes away from it.
It is an amazing mountain with special climate and this is how it looks after what...
The Latin Bridge and the National Library, taken on the final night of my last trip before an early morning series of flights back home, almost a...
A quaint little town in Herzegovina by the Neretva river between Mostar and the Adriatic coast that nobody has heard of yet, it's just about finished...
Do you have any travel plans this year? After having a trip of lifetime past summer I decided to plan something different this year. The plan is to move forward with my Bucket List and to explore this side of the ocean this summer. This is the shot from my last big trip and the city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s known for the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), medieval arched bridge that was reconstructed back in 2004. The original bridge dated back to 16th century and it was destroyed in 1993 during the civil war. This edit is way overdue but I enjoy going back and forth with my editing. What do you think?
Earlier I posted a view of the famous Mostar bridge, taken from the opposite side, from the terrace of the mosque. This view is taken from another bridge, and is the more classic one, but the growing shrubbery is encroaching on the view and reflection. As a result I believe the other one works better, however this one has the benefit of the included minaret. Here is the former one so you can see the difference: www.flickr.com/photos/adelheids-pictures/39911420475.
The original bridge was destroyed during the Bosnian war, but after the war the bridge was proudly rebuilt using stones from the same quarry and only techniques as they had been used before. It remains a UNESCO world heritage site.
Are you traveling for holidays? Due to a busy work schedule I want be able to do some traveling until January and until than I have to satisfy myself with editing photos from some beautiful places I visited this year. For those of you who remember I posted some interior shots of some great architectural landmarks from Sarajevo earlier in my feed. For those of you who didn’t see them please scroll down and check them out. This shot is from Sarajevo’s National Library and the interior speaks for its self. What do you think?
Blagaj revisited, the water level was considerably higher than my last visit in October 2014, it's also not off the beaten track anymore, Korean bus...
Blagaj revisited, the water level was considerably higher than my last visit in October 2014, it's also not off the beaten track anymore, Korean bus...
Blue hour in Jajce, Bosnia, an early blue hour version and a late blue hour version. To help English speakers, it's pronounced roughly "yahytse" ,...
Extremely bright lights spewing from the minaret of Konjic mosque, with the newly reconstructed "Ottoman" bridge over the Neretva river, Konjic,...
The view of the bridge from another modern bridge, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina, over the Neretva river.
Pliva mills near Jajce, Bosnia. Quite a pleasant place for photography, though I was disappointed that the autumn colors weren't ready yet, and none...
The view of the bridge from another modern bridge, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina, over the Neretva river.
Pliva mills near Jajce, Bosnia. Quite a pleasant place for photography, though I was disappointed that the autumn colors weren't ready yet, and none...
National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, reopened in May 2014 after being destroyed in 1992. I had to wait a long time before the sun...
Throwback Thursday, early morning blue hour in Mostar, Hercegovina, while everyone is still sleeping, the short days of October means not too much...
High lying plateaus and karst fields are trademark of Dinaric Alps in the western Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These vast beautiful grasslands are...
The Latin Bridge and the National Library, taken on the final night of my last trip before an early morning series of flights back home, almost a...
Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina!
Most notably Adelheid Smitt, Nenad Spasojevic and Pete Rowbottom.