A Week in #Bosnia | Day Five – Blagaj, Jablanica and Sarajevo @ExcitingBosnia
A Week in #Bosnia | Day Five – Blagaj, Jablanica and Sarajevo @ExcitingBosnia
After a stroll around Mostar in the morning sun and coffee by the bridge we were off to Blagaj before making our way towards Sarajevo.
Blagaj is situated at the spring of the Buna river and a historical tekke (tekija or Dervish monastery). The Blagaj Tekija was built around 1520, with elements of Ottoman architecture and Mediterranean style and is considered a national monument.
It is or WAS a stunning beautiful and serene spot but of course like a lot of discovered places, people want to visit and the commercial side of visitors tends to follow suit.
Here are my hosts thoughts on Blagaj and few words from me out of shot too.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mJ6uxnxXng&w=560&h=315]
Whatever you may think of the commercialism of the tekke at Blagaj it is still well worth the visit.
After visiting Blagaj it was a hot foot back to the car to start our journey to Sarajevo. It’s quite a drive so there was a planned stop at Jablanica for a quick bite to eat and a pivo.
What an absolute treat. The Restaurant Zdrava Voda in Jablanica sits in the valley of Neretva and has stunning views from the restaurant. And of course you guessed it, meat was on the menu, but this time it was lamb being roasted on spits and you can see them being cooked outside.
The lamb is served in the centre of the table with most delicious potatoes and salad. It is definitely worth stopping here to sample the lamb.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQxRKbk-m6k?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Having had our meat fix, we now headed off in the direction of Sarajevo.
Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is one of the fastest developing cities in the region.
Again, it was a bit of a whistle stop visit but was good to have dropped by. We headed for the Stari Grad (Old Town). It is the oldest and most historically significant part of Sarajevo. At its heart is the Baščaršija or bazaar, the old town market sector where the city was founded by the Ottomans in the 15th century. You can see a virtual tour of the Old Town if you click here.
We had a relaxed walk around the bazaar and found a place to stop to have a pivo. It’s thirsty work all this travelling you know! Then before heading off we went looking for a Sarajevo cevap to tide us over for the long journey back to Cardacani.
We called into Ćevabžinica Željo and ordered our cevaps. Delicious as always but there is an argument over whether the Banja Lukan cevap or the Sarajevo cevap is better. I have had both and I think I will remain neutral on this one…though I do pin my colours to the mast in an interview I did in Banja Luka about Bosnian Street Food.
In 2011, Sarajevo became the first city outside the European Union to be nominated for the European Capital of Culture in 2014 and I for one will definitely be returning and have an overnight stay to see more.
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