By ISA BELLE The Ottoman rule over Bosnia officially ended in 1908 when the country was annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They have left the Bosnia for over 100 years now, but their influence over Bosnian culture is hard to ignored. The famous burek was a traditional Ottoman food; Bosnians still drink a lot of Turkish coffee; [...]
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Green Visions trip to Bjelasnica
Written by alinsarajevo If you are somewhat outdoorsy and planning a Balkans vacation, there issimply no excuse not to take a Green Visions trip. Green Visions, an eco-tourismagency based in Sarajevo, has been leading treks in the Bosnian mountains fromMay to October for over a decade now (as well as offering other types of trips, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Banja Luka
Banja Luka is the capital of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As you can see in the name, the population of Republika Srpska consists of mainly Bosnian Serbs versus Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats from the Federation. Banja Luka has around 200,000 people, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Hiking in Grabovica
By ISA BELLE 45 minutes north of Mostar is an area perfect for hiking, called Diva Grabovia. It is a perfect example of Karst landscape, defined by layers of bedrocks. If you are not familiar with this geographical term, it’s just incredibly beautiful nature with high mountains and the magical turquoise Neretva River flowing in [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Hike to the cross of Mostar
By ISA BELLEIn my last article you can read about the cross on the Hum, the hill dominating Mostar. Although being a topic for argument, it’s one of my favorite places. Not because it is a cross (I think it’s ugly) but because the space takes me away to nature while being in a big [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Cross over Mostar
By ISA BELLEYou cannot miss it when you are in or around Mostar: the huge cross (33 m tall) on the Hum Hill which dominates the city. You can see the cross from most spots in Mostar because it is illuminated even at night. It seems to stand there quietly and peacefully, but nothing could [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Kravice waterfalls near Ljubuški
Written by Isa Belle Herzegovina is a region of incredible natural beauty with shaggy mountains, beautiful lakes and blue rivers. One of its gems is the Kravice waterfalls near the town of Ljubuški, close to the border with Croatia. It is here that the river Trebižat pours itself 28 meters down to a pool of [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Bihac and Surroundings
By ISA BELLE Bihac is a town of approximately 50,000 inhabitants in the north-west of Bosnia, cut in twice by the Una River and close to the border with Croatia. A few people that I talked to made me really excited prior to my trip. They told me that it was a beautiful town with [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The beauty of Ramsko jezero
By ISA BELLEWith approximately 7000 inhabitants, a few cozy coffee bars serving good cakes and cheap coffee Prozor itself is not that interesting; however, the surrounding nature is truly amazing, especially Ramsko Jezero (Ramsko lake), where two of my friends and I visited this Monday. This artificial lake, not far from the city, is one [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Bride over the Drina Added to UNESCO List
The Mehmed Paša Sokolovi? Bridge over the Drina River in the town of Višegrad was recently added to Unesco Hermitage List. This historically significant bridge is featured in Nobel Prize-winning author Ivo Andric’s “Bridge over the Drina,” a novel describing century-spanning stories and events taking places in Bosnia, affecting the lives of multi-ethnic Bosnians: Muslims, [...]
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