Adventures with Julia

October 11, 2017

Entering Bosnia.

We had planned to drive ourselves to Mostar, but the plans got complicated and Mark chose not to drive.  A driver named Mario picked us up at 7am and off we went toward the narrow stretch of Bosnia that touches toe sea and was given to the Ottomans by Dubrovnik in the 17th century to keep relations good and promote trade.

Outside venue at Medjugorje. Imagine the place full.

That stretch was about 45-minutes from Dubrovnik.  Passing into and, 12 kilometers later, out of Bosnia, was pretty slick.  A quick look at our passports and off we went.

The church filling up for the 10am English Mass. The church was overflowing before Mass started. I’m guessing 500 people at least.

After another hour we passed into Bosnia again, got our passports stamped this time, and headed for Medjugorje.

A priest talking about the apparitions at Medjugorje. He was trying to console those who believe the site should be approved by the Pope as a shrine.

We arrived there at 9:30 in time for the English Mass at 10am.   At first it looked like there were very few people around, but the church filled up and then overflowed with people.  I am guessing about 500 were present for the Mass, along with 15 priests on the altar.

The priest getting ready to start Mass. There were 15 priests on the altar to assist with communion.

It was an ordinary service except for the comments by a priest who talked about the apparitions at Medjugorje before the Mass. I heard that Mary appeared as a “white form with a child in her arms” to 6 children on June 24, 1981 and some  more times since then to some of the children, who are now adults.  One of the women, Vicka Ivankovic, claims to have talked Our Lady and prayed with her.  She was given a mission to pray for the sick and says she continues to have daily apparitions.   At the time, they told only their families and the local priest, who believed them.  As word got out, people started to come to the hill where the apparition occurred and eventually the Yugoslav authorities heard about it and put the priest in prison.  There was not much else they could do and more and more people came to the site.  A small church was built in the mid 80’s and was later replaced by a large church and an outdoor altar, with seating for thousands.  I did not have time to climb the hill, but did light several candles for a number of people, victims of the fires and my parents.   I passed a priest and asked about a blessing.  He gave me one right on the spot.  He also suggested staying to meet one of the children (Vicka) who received the apparition.  Too bad we had no extra time.

At our lunch spot with the bridge in the background. Mirna really knew her way around.

Back on the road, we arrived in Mostar at lunch time and met our city guide, Mirna, who took us directly to a restaurant with a table facing the famous Old Bridge, or Stari Most.

A pedestrian street in Mostar.

I don’t remember what I ate, but the view of the bridge was super.  There was even a boy sitting at the top waiting for someone to pay him 25 EU to jump.  No one did while we were there.

This is the new bridge built in 2004, as an exact copy of the original bridge built in 1566.

The bridge was built in 1566 and withstood everything until it was bombed in 1993.  In 1991 the Croats and Bosnians voted to leave Yugoslavia and fought Montenegrins and Serbs who wanted to stay.  The war got messier when the Catholic Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims turned on each other in May 1993.   Mostar and Sarajevo took the brunt of the fighting, although Dubrovnik was bombed too.  95% of Mostar was destroyed.

The Neretva River passing under the Old Bridge.

Finally, in November 1995, the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed, ending the war.

Julia and Mirna, our Mostar guide, walking over the Mostar Bridge

Now, with the help of UNESCO and many countries, the city is largely restored to look just as it did before the war.   However, the population is not the same.  There were 130K in 1991 and as of 2013 the population was 113K.

Another pedestrian street on the other side of the bridge in old Kotor.

As she showed us around the town, we asked about the current political situation in Bosnia. She confirmed that the country has 3 presidents: one for each religion; Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim.  They are voted into office for a 4 year term and rotate acting as president every 8 months during the term.   According to Mirna, nothing gets accomplished, even though they are friends.

The produce market in Mostar. This lady shelled walnuts to sell.

Pretty weird, but what the hay.  Not much is getting done with one president either.

We walked through the pedestrian streets, on both sides of the bridge and took several photos of the bridge from different vantage points.  Mirna knew all the good spots where tourists would not be.  She is 24 and getting married this Saturday.  Everything is ready and she seemed very relaxed.  She knows everyone in town and they were all congratulating her as we passed.

In one shop there were several photos and a video of the bridge being blown up and the city being devastated.  It was hard to imagine that it all got put back together again.  The original bridge was designed by a Turkish architect, took 2 years to plan and 6 years to build.  So this time they did it the same way with a Turkish architect and the same amount of time to build it.  It is 29 meters long, 25 meters from the top to the water and 5 meters wide.

The Neretva River passing through the middle of Mostar. Longest river in the region.

The bridge crosses the Neretva River, which is the longest river in the Balkan region and flows through Croatia its last 20 kilometers to the Adriatic Sea.

We left Mirna about 4pm and Mario had us back in  Dubrovnik by dinnertime.  It had been a long day and we did not feel like walking into the Old City, so we ate dinner at the hotel.  For me it was a special day being able to visit Medjugorje and pray for many people, even if the apparitions have not been sanctioned by the Pope.