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An Independence Day Road Trip
By Emma Morgan, YES Abroad Bosnia and Herzegovina 2013-2014
Yesterday, March 1st, was Bosnian Independence Day, and YES Abroad students celebrated by taking another road trip. It was a very busy day, so I'll just give you the stop by stop rundown.
Stop #1: Trebinje (pronounced Treb-in-ye)
After a long car ride through the incredibly scenic Čemerno mountain pass (it was gorgeous; I'm talking purple mountains majesty), we arrived in the southern city of Trebinje. Trebinje is tucked into a valley with the River Trebišnjica running through it. We got out of the van and walked along the river and into the Old Town. Stari Grad (Old Town) Trebinje is very different than Stari Grad Sarajevo; for starters, there are Serbian flags everywhere and all the signs are written in the Cyrillic alphabet, but also there were palm trees everywhere, despite the need for my winter coat.
Stop #2: Stolac (pronounced Stol-ats)
After Trebinje, we headed to Stolac, a town named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stolac is one of the oldest settlements in the country, dating back to the 6th Century BCE when Illyrians settled it and named it Daorsoi. Upon occupation it was renamed by the Romans (in 1420 first mentioned as “Stolac”) and occupied by pretty much everyone else since then. It’s a gorgeous little town, but much like Trebinje, there was a serious lack of Bosnian flags, even though it was Independence Day. Instead, most shops and houses sported the Croatian flag because many in the town identify as Croats.
We walked along the River Bregava and noticed an old fortressed perched on a hill above the city. Our coordinator told us that it was a very old fortress, that it was poorly kept and currently under reconstruction. We hiked up to it and explored as a group. I know I say this about every fortress and castle we’ve visited this year, but this fortress was one of the coolest I have ever seen! Pictures don’t quite do it justice. After running around the fortress like little kids on a playground, we all headed back to the van and onto the next destination.
Stop #2.5: Stećci (pronounced Stech-tsi)
About 3 km outside of Stolac, there is a small area on the side of the road with ancient tombstones scattered about called Stećci. Stećci, or in the singular form stećak (stech-ak), tombstones date back to the 11th-15th centuries of the medieval Bosnian Kingdom. These tombstones are all over Bosnia (they’re even in Sarajevo) and some parts of Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. They were really interesting, so we got out of the car to take photos.
Stop #3: Mostar
As you may have read in an older blog post, I’ve already been to Mostar, but it was just as fun the second time around. The first time we visited it was in September, and tourist season was still very much alive and well, which meant that Stari Grad in Mostar was packed.
This time though, the city was empty and we really got to fully appreciate the Stari Most (Old Bridge). After some dinner, some coffee, and plenty of photos, we headed home for the night.
Happy Independence Day Bosnia!
