[Around The World #9] Maglaj & Tešanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2012.

Hey once again,

This will be the last post about my summer vacation last year. Finally.

I believe that this was the final day before we went home again. 

My mom and I wanted to go to some park she read about and once again we asked my friends for help. In the end we were five people in a blue Škoda driving through Bosnia while the sun was burning down on our car. 

Surprisingly enough we found the park my mother was looking for but in the words of my dear friend Haris there was "Nothing. Absolutely nothing" - well except cute puppies which didn't really seem to interest him (therefore his mom and brother) & lovely nature. 

Long story short, we got in the car again and visited two old castles/fortresses in Maglaj and Tešanj which were breathtaking - not only because of the steaming hot weather. 

bhtourism provides you with more info:

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MAGLAJ
The Middle Ages in Maglaj remain to be visible in over a hundred tombstones and the Maglaj Fortress, built in the late 13th century which served to defend the town from conquerors. With the arrival of Ottomans, the fortress was reconstructed and a clock tower was added to it in the 17th century. Stone spheres of unknown origin and purpose (dating back 20.000 B.C.) can also be seen – one of them is displayed in front of Maglaj’s City Library. Maglaj is also the home to one of five Catholic Church shrines in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Shrine of St. Leopold Mandić. St. Leopold was known as the Apostle of Confession and the Apostle of Unity and his hand bones are kept at the church. A special mass is held on Wednesdays when all visitors are welcome. 

TEŠANJ
Tešanj is where the ancient and the modern era meet. The Fortress of Tešanj, dating back to the Illyrian period, was furnished in the Middle Ages, later a clock tower was added. The fortress has two garrisons and a restaurant/café and is often a venue of various cultural and entertainment events. The other sightseer attraction is the 17th century Ferhat-bey’s Mosque built by Ferhat-bey, a relative of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

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I hope you enjoyed this even though it took me ages to get everything up.  Once I am in Bosnia again and know what my work schedule looks like I'm maybe able to write something daily or weekly - depending on how much happens. 

Mostly I will try to do more fashion-related stuff again. Whatever pops up. 

Anyways. I wish you an awesome time until I get back from NYC! :D

Yours, 

Lea.

Maglaj

Tešanj

[Around The World #8] Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2012.

Dobar dan! :)

Travnik is a lovely little city with gorgeous buildings and nice people. Also it's a town twinned with Leipizig, Germany. The same day we went to Mostar and Međugorje we stopped there since the guys promised us that Travnik has the by far best ćevapčići around (the Travnički ćevapi) – absolutely true. If you look at a map you will see that Travnik was not on our way from Mostar to Zenica but we went anyways and got there - crabwise. It kind of overran its time but was well worth it.

The next day me and my mom decided to go again, to see the city by daylight and mostly to visit Ivo Andrić’s birthplace. If you don’t know Ivo Andrić you have literally been living under a rock all of your life. Go and check him out. He is one of the most important Bosnian/Yugoslav novelists. In 1961 he won the Nobel Price in Literature for "The Bridge on the Drina“ which is an awesome book – even though it’s not my favorite, that would be "The Woman from Sarajevo".

It is important to know that he didn't live in the house we visited (which is now a lovely little museum) but was born there.

Travnik was the principal city and military centre of the Ottoman Empire as you can find out on Bhtourism. Therefore it is one of the most oriental towns of BiH - which makes me love it even more since everything oriental attracts me like bees to honey. Visitors even called it "European Istanbul" (for reference check the link above). No wonder Andrić was fascinated by his birthplace and referred to his town's history in his work.

After running around, doing a little shopping etc. we headed back to Zenica where we were invited for a DELICIOUS dinner and talked the night through (well almost). 

Yours,

Lea.

[Around The World #7] Mostar & Međugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2012.

Good evening

Ladies & gents... this will be by far my favorite post. Probably out of all I've written. You will get the chance to get a glimpse of paradise, two of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my entire life - so far.

Mom, Haris, his best friend Kemal and I decided to go on a "little trip" and visit Mostar and Međugorje since those were the cities that I've always wanted to see - for a reason.

I've heard a lot about Mostar before, for several reason, one unfortunately being the war. There were two things I was most excited about: 

• Number 1: The "bridge of Mostar". 
I didn't knew she was called "Stari Most" until I was in Bosnia for the first time. When I was a child all I ever heard were 2 words "bridge" and "Mostar". I guess it always came on the radio. It's strange what kind of things you remember, I couldn't have been older than 3. I knew it was destroyed during the war and if you are from Germany or probably America you will know that there are all kinds of rumors surrounding especially Stari Most, the biggest being: they are still rebuilding it/they didn't rebuild it at all. Well, as you see above, they did. And it is beautiful.
Here are pictures of the bridge before the war and shortly after it.

(August 1974, from the German wikipedia article)

(I guess 1995, from google)

In my opinion they did a pretty good job at rebuilding it. This bridge has by far more meaning than just connecting two riversides. It connects the predominantly Muslim part of the city with the predominantly Catholic part of the city. Imagine what not rebuilding it would have meant. It was considered (and still is) as the symbolic connection between "East and West", "Christianity and Islam" and even "Catholic and Orthodox Christians".

• Number 2: The Neretva. 
See, I've read German author Juli Zeh's book "Die Stille ist ein Geräusch - Eine Fahrt durch Bosnien" (my sloppy translation: "Silence is a Sound - A Journey through Bosnia."). She tried to describe the color of the water, of the river Neretva. She comes to the conclusion that she has never seen a color like that and is not able to find the right words to "do it justice". The Neretva's color is just one of the questions she hopes to find answers to on her trip. At the end she comes back with a lot, not with an answer to any of her questions though.

"Wo wachsen die Melonen? Wie grün ist der Neretva-Fluss? Warum war hier Krieg? Wer hasst wen und wie sehr?" ("Where do the melons grow? How green is the Neretva-river? Why did the war start? Who hates whom and how much?")

I understand her. Of course I wanted to know whether what she said about the water was true. Whoever knows me knows that water has an extremely special meaning to me and I believe one of the reasons I consider Mostar and the area around it a sacred place is the color of the water, which is - extraordinary. No camera could ever be able to pick up that color, not really. It is almost surreal. That is why I have found a name for it, and mine is - as already mentioned - sacred. 

I could go on and on and on about Mostar but I will just continue, with another - for me and many other - sacred place. 
The topic "religion and me" is not always a good one and never easy. I am not at all a religious person but I am very much a spiritual one. I was raised as a Protestant and would say that out of all the World Religions Christianity is the one that personally suits me best - but even Christianity is not what I fully believe in, not at all. And believe me - I know a little about Religions. I read. I read everything I could get. I've read the Torah, the Bible, the Qur'an. I am still missing the Tripitaka and Veda - which I am actually most excited about. I would not talk about something I don't know ish about. 
Personally I started to pick out what I liked and what makes most sense to me - still: Humans come before any saint or god. 
Mostly I have been interested in Goddesses or rather in every little female character you can find in several different religions. 
That mainly derives from my strong interest in Egyptian religion (I mean the ancient one - of course) and my love for Sue Monk Kidd. Her books deal with the Sacred Feminine in a lot of ways, especially "The Secret Life of Bees" containing the "Black Mary" and OF COURSE: "The Dance of the Dissident Daughter - A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine". After these books and even before, my strong interest in the Holy Mary became apparent - which is funny since mostly Catholics worship her. For me, the love a mother has for her child is the most natural thing on earth and in heaven (short explanation).

That's why I was so thrilled to go to a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin Mary. We didn't see all of it and didn't climb the mountain where children originally said they saw HER (which made this place so special for Christian (Catholic) pilgrims around the world). I definitely have to go back again. With more time. 
Those are the main reasons why these two places out of all I have visited were probably the most special to me. 
I'm sorry for my rather intimate ramble but I believe that you can still look up more "objective" and general information on the net, and of course everything else you should know.
You can always find a collection of important information on Wikipedia but there are also other, maybe not so objective pages like this one for Medjugorje.

When it comes to Mostar I find visitmostar quite helpful.

I will end this post with two quotes

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>> Of everything that man erects and builds in his urge for living nothing is in my eyes better and more valuable than bridges. They are more important than houses, more sacred than shrines. Belonging to everyone and being equal to everyone, useful, always built with a sense, on the spot where most human needs are crossing, they are more durable than other buildings and they do not serve for anything secret or bad. <<
Ivo Andrić (for more information check my next post)
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>> You don't have to place your hand on Mary's heart to get strength and consolation and rescue, and all the other things we need to get through life. You can place it right here on your own heart. Your own heart. <<
 Sue Monk Kidd
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Yours, 

Lea. 

Mostar

Međugorje