Mostar & Herzegovina
Mostar is an important tourist destination in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar International Airport serves the city as well as the train and bus stations which connect it to a number of national and international destinations. Mostar's old town is an important tourist destination with the Stari Most being its most recognizable feature.
Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Mostar, which is a World War II memorial, is another important city symbol and it was designed by the famous architect Bogdan Bogdanović. Its sacrosanct quality consists in the unity of nature (water and greenery) with the architectural expression of the designer; the monument was included into a list of national monuments in 2006.
The "Rondo shopping centre", "Biosfera Mall", "Orka Mall" and the "Mercator shopping mall" are some of the city's newer attractions. The Catholic pilgrimage site of Međugorje is also nearby as well as the Tekija Dervish Monastery in Blagaj, 13th century town of Počitelj, Kravice waterfalls, seaside town of Neum, Stolac with its famous Stećak necropolis and the remains of an ancient Greek town of Daorson. Nearby sites also include the nature park called Hutovo Blato, Boračko Lake as well as Vjetrenica cave, the largest and most important cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The historic site of Počitelj is located on the left bank of the river Neretva, on the main Mostar to Metković road, and it is to the south of Mostar. During the Middle Ages, Počitelj was considered the administrative centre and centre of governance of Dubrava župa (county), while its westernmost point gave it major strategic importance. It is believed that the fortified town along with its attendant settlements were built by Bosnia's King Stjepan Tvrtko I in 1383. The walled town of Počitelj evolved in the period from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Architecturally, the stone-constructed parts of the town are a fortified complex, in which two stages of evolution are evident: mediaeval, and Ottoman.
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. The source of the Buna river (Vrelo Bune) is a strong karstic spring. The Buna flows west for approximately 9 kilometres and joins the Neretva near the village Buna. The historic site of the Old Blagaj Fort (Stjepan grad), on the hill above Blagaj, was the seat of Herzegovinian nobleman, Stjepan Vukčić, and the birthplace of Bosnian queen Katarina Kosača-Kotromanić. The architectural ensemble of the Blagaj Tekke (a Sufi monastery) stands by the source of the Buna river, not far from the centre of Blagaj. The musafirhana (guest house) and türbe (mausoleum) are tucked into the natural surroundings, constituting a single entity with the cliffs, source of the Buna river and mills. The musafirhana of the Blagaj tekke and the türbe have been preserved to this day. The musafirhana was built before 1664, and rebuilt in 1851 - its original appearance is not known. The building was subsequently repaired on several occasions. The ensemble of the Blagaj Tekke was presumably built very soon after Ottoman rule was established in Herzegovina, around 1520 at the latest.
Trebinje which was initially a Byzantine territory governed by the Serbs. In the mid 9th century, Knez Vlastimir gave the Župania (city state) of Trebinje (Travunia) to his son-in-law Krajina to govern under his suzerainty. It commanded the road from Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to Constantinople, traversed, in 1096, by Raymond of Toulouse and his crusaders. Under the name of Tribunia or Travunja (the Trebigne of the Ragusans), it belonged to the Serbian Empire until 1355. Trebinje became a part of the expanded Medieval Bosnian state under Tvrtko I in 1373. There is a medieval tower in Gornje Police (Gornye Politse) whose construction is often attributed to Vuk Branković. The old Tvrdoš Monastery dates back to the 15th century. In 1482, together with the rest of Herzegovina and the Bosnian kingdom, it was captured by the Ottoman Empire. The Old Town-Kastel was built by Turks on location of the medieval fortress of Ban Vir, on the western bank of the Trebišnjica River. The city walls, the Old Town square, and two mosques, were built in beginning of the 18th century by Resulbegović family. The Arslanagić bridge was originally built (16th century) at the village of Arslanagić, five kilometres north of the town, by Mehmed-paša Sokolović, and it was managed by Arslanagic family. It was moved closer to Trebinje (1 km) in the late 1960s. The Arslanagić bridge is one of the most attractive Turkish bridges in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has two large and two small semicircular arches. During the period of Austro-Hungarian administration (1878–1918), several fortifications were built on the surrounding hills, and there was a garrison based in the town. They also modernized the town expanding it westwards, building the present main street, as well as, several squares, park, new schools, tobacco plantations, etc.
Međugorje. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of religious pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six local Catholics.
Following reports of apparitions, successive bishops of Mostar ruled the claims groundless. In March 2010, in view of continued public interest, the Holy See announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was forming an investigative commission, composed of bishops, theologians, and other experts, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome.
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