Herzegovina-Neretva Canton

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.

“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?

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.

.

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.

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/.

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?

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?