Mostar, named after the bridge guards who guarded Stari Most, that is, the bridge in the middle ages, is one of the most popular cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Old Town of Mostar will be the main point of your tour. If you want to see and pass by Mostar, where the Ottoman traces are most evident in the Balkans, 1 hour is enough.
But Mostar deserves much more than a day trip. In Mostar, the world-famous Mostar Bridge, the Old Bridge Museum operating just below the Tara Tower, the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, where you can see one of the most beautiful views of Mostar from its minaret, the Ottoman Period Biscevica House and Müslüm Bey Mansion are the places you should see.
Eğri Bridge, located on the Radobolja Stream, one of the branches of the Neretva River, and Bakırcılar Çarşısı, located on the left side of the Neretva River, are among the places to visit. The infamous Sniper Tower, War Photo Exhibition and Herzegovina History Museum next to the Clock Tower should also be added to your list of places to visit.
Mostar was hit hard by heavy fighting during the War in the 1990s. Everything is nice and pleasant in the Old Town. But if you go a few streets beyond the tourist area, you will see many ruined houses and houses with bullet holes in the walls, many remnants of tragic times.
ⓘIf you want to travel the whole route by walking according to the order I gave, it takes 4 km. It takes 1 hour if you walk non-stop. You can start early in the morning and complete the route in 1 day while resting. You can go to the Sniper Tower, which I have added to the list of places to visit in Mostar, and go back to the bridge by taxi.
You need to spare 1 day for places to visit near Mostar. Blagay Lodge, Poçitel Village and Kravica Waterfall, which you can go on a tour or by renting a car from Mostar, are a wonderful day trip route. These three are indispensable places for a trip to Mostar!
1. Mostar Bridge
The Mostar Bridge (Stari Most or ‘Old Bridge’) is one of the most famous bridges not only in Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in Europe. The bridge, which not only connects the Bosnian and Croat parts of the city, but also gave its name to the city, was built over the turquoise Neretva river in the 16th century during the Ottoman period.
The stone bridge, which replaced the old wooden bridge connecting the two parts of the city, was built by Mimar Hayrettin, a student of Mimar Sinan, in 1566, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The bridge, an example of fine engineering, which has served uninterruptedly for 427 years, was unfortunately destroyed by the Croatian forces in 1993 during the Bosnian civil war.
After the war, with the support of Turkey, the construction of the bridge in accordance with the original began in 1997, and it was opened on July 23, 2003 by Prince Charles. A short time after it was rebuilt, 456 mold stones were used in the construction of the bridge, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.
Mostar Bazaar, full of cafe-bars, small restaurants and souvenir shops, stretches along both sides of the historical bridge. The bridge and the stone roads around it are so worn out due to walking on it that you have to be careful not to slip while walking! You’d better have comfortable shoes on your feet.
2. Muzej Stari Most
Muzej Stari Most (Stari Most Museum) is a small museum often overlooked by travelers due to the tourist souvenir stalls set up around it. There are towers at each end of the Mostar Bridge. Two towers, Tara Tower and Halebija Tower , were used as watchtowers, prisons and ammunition storage.
Tara tower on the right is home to the Old Bridge Museum . The entrance to the Stari Most Museum is located at the eastern end of the bridge. Part A of the museum, which consists of three sections, includes a six-story tower, and is wonderful to see Stari Most from a bird’s eye view.
You get information about the story of the bridge from several screens inside. Section B, which you will reach by following the signs, takes you to an underground archaeological excavation area. Section C is a corridor filled with images and pictures detailing the history, destruction and restoration of the bridge.
When you go from the museum to the Old Bazaar of Mostar, you may be a little confused where you are, but somehow you find your way again. The entrance to the museum is 10KM and it is open to visitors every day between 10:00 and 18:00. The museum is closed on Mondays.
3. Mostar Bazaar
Mostar Bazaar (Bazar Kujundžiluk) is the part of the city located in the heart of the picturesque Old Town. It is a place where you can not get enough of visiting with its wonderful texture and historical buildings. This region, called Čaršija, will form the center of your trip to Mostar. The Old Bazaar, which runs along its cobblestone streets, has also been part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2005, along with the Mostar Bridge.
Stretching on both sides of Stari Most, which separates the Muslim and Croatian sides of the city, and filled to the brim with traditional restaurants, handicraft shops, trinkets and souvenirs, the Old Bazaar dates from the 16th century. Even though it is crowded, walking around the bazaar, which has colorful streets and a lively atmosphere, is a must for a trip to Mostar.
If you visit before noon and visit the streets and shops, you will not feel the discomfort of the crowd. Some days can be overcrowded due to cruise ship passengers arriving from Dubrovnik for the day. In such a case, if you have time, it is best to sit in one of the delicious cafes and watch the view.
There are two separate markets on either side of the Mostar Bridge, although it is not well understood due to the division between the Bosniak and Croat ethnic groups living in the city. The difference between the two is hardly noticeable. However, the region close to the mountain, where carpets, rugs, scarves, copper items and other souvenirs are sold, has a more Anatolian atmosphere.
Artisans sell their traditional goods and handicrafts in streetside one-room shops. Almost all of the shopkeepers on the Muslim side speak Turkish and are very friendly. You can negotiate prices.
4. Biscevic House
Biscevic House is an example of the most beautifully preserved residential buildings of the Turkish period. It was built in 1635. During the Ottoman period, single or two-storey houses built on the banks of the Neretva River and neighborhoods called ‘mahalla’ developed rapidly. Although they look relatively plain from the outside, the inside is even more impressive when seen from the street.
The entrance to the Bisevic residence is plain. Inside are rooms with walk-in closets, carved wooden ceilings, and pointed-arch windows that protrude above the fast-flowing Neretva below. High walls surround the house protectively. A fountain streams silently on a shady, paved porch.
The slippers we use in our homes are given at the entrance. Along the edges of the rooms are divans, couches and oriental rugs and drapes. Framed Arabic calligraphy adorns the walls. You are allowed to take photos. You even have the opportunity to try on traditional clothes stored in antique chests and have a picture taken.
5. Muslibegovic House
Today, Muslibegovic House is considered the most important example of Ottoman-era residential architecture. The house of the Muslibegovic family, a noble family of Old Herzegovina, was decorated in the traditional Bosnian-Ottoman style. It preserves the family’s former glory with furniture and artworks from the Ottoman period.
Muslibegovic House today serves as Mostar’s national monument, museum and a small hotel. In 1872, the mansion was expanded with two rooms added to the ground floor and the upper floor. The part of the house used as a hotel has twelve bedrooms. Among the most valuable exhibits of the museum are the Koran manuscript dated 1855 and an ornate sword dated 1866.
6. Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque
Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque is the city’s most popular mosque, located on the Muslim (east) side of the river, just a few minutes’ walk north of Stari Most. The mosque, which is an example of Ottoman mosque architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, dates back to 1618. It is a wonderful mosque that you should note if you want to watch the city from above.
When you climb the minaret of the mosque, which can be seen from all over the city, you have the chance to see and photograph the wonderful view of the city, including the Mostar Bridge. For those who are claustrophobic, it can be difficult to get to the top because the mosque stairs are already very narrow. You may have to go out in the dark or with the light of your mobile phone as there is insufficient lighting on some steps.
It is worth the effort as you will be amazed by the view when you climb to the top of the minaret. You see a 360-degree panorama of Mostar with the Old Bridge right in front of you. Nowhere else in the city can you find a better view than this. But if you want to see a good view again, pay attention to where the sun is.
If you’re shooting towards the sun, your Stari Most photos won’t come out well. You have free access to a scenic courtyard. Next door, you have to pay 6KM to access the viewing areas of Stari Most. For the minaret and mosque, you have to pay another 6KM. The mosque is open every day from 09.00 to 20.30, from October to March. It is open to visitors between 11.00 and 17.00.
7. War and Genocide Victims Museum
The Museum Of War And Genocide Victims is a museum that tells the history and brutality of the Bosnian War that took place between 1992-1995 after the collapse of Yugoslavia. With concentration camps, 200 thousand casualties, rapes, injuries or losses, this war, II. It was the worst war in European history since World War II.
Run by war victims, the museum features detailed exhibits on the history and causes of the conflict, many personal stories and relics from the atrocities, and video footage of the destruction of Stari Most. Do not visit unless you have children with you. The entrance of the museum is located directly opposite the Karagözbey Mosque.
Entrance 10KM. Open from 9 am to 9 pm. There are several other small museums on the way to the War and Genocide Victims Museum. Muzej Hercegovine (Herzegovina Museum) and BosniaSeum are two other museums you should see if you like to visit museums.
8. Karagözbey Mosque
🕌 Karagözbey Mosque (Karadjoz-Beg Mosque) is another mosque you can see for its beauty and view. It is a five-minute walk to the north of Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Dating back to 1557, Karagözbey Mosque is one of the largest mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but is rather small compared to Istanbul mosques.
There is also an entrance fee for this mosque (5KM, double if you want to go up to the minaret). Its minaret offers magnificent views from every direction, but unfortunately the Mostar Bridge is not fully visible from here. Mostar must be on your list of places to visit .
9. Sniper Tower
Sniper Tower is a very impressive place within walking distance from the Old town of Mostar. Its impressiveness comes not from its beauty but from its ugliness and its role in the war. The building that used to be the former Ljubljanska Bank was a Yoguslav Bank captured by Croatian and Serbian forces during the Siege.
Due to its strategic location and height relative to the surrounding buildings, it was used as a sniper tower during the war. Croatian snipers stationed in the building during the Bosnian War took aim at Bosniaks walking, driving, running errands across the river in public places, and even just staying at home.
Imagine living in a place where you are in danger of being shot just because of your faith and where you come from. They hunted Bosnians for years with the fire they opened from this castle, regardless of children, young or old. Sniper Tower is a little scary, a little spooky, a little repulsive. There is a lot of graffiti reflecting the war both inside and outside.
10. Convent of St. Peter and St. Paul
st. Peter and Paul Churches , the Franciscan church with the tallest bell tower in southeast Europe . First, the Franciscans came to Mostar in the 14th century and built a church and monastery in the 15th century. When the Ottomans took over the region in 1583, they destroyed both the church and the monastery. The re-establishment of the Catholic Church in Mostar was in the middle of the 19th century.
When Sultan Abdülmecid I issued an edict granting freedom of religion to Christians in 1859, the Franciscans returned to Mostar and established this church and monastery in 1896. Both II. The church, which was bombed during World War II and during the civil war in 1995, was restored again. Today the church and the Bell Tower offer a magnificent bird’s-eye view of Mostar.
You reach the viewing point by first taking the elevator and then climbing 148 steps. Like the minaret of Mostar’s mosques, the Franciscan Church Bell Tower, called the Peace Bell Tower of the church, offers a 360-degree panoramic view.
11. War Photo Exhibition
The War Photo Exhibition is a museum in the tower on the west side of Stari Most that houses a photography exhibition from the time the Muslim side of Mostar was attacked by Croatian and Serbian forces. About 50 black and white photographs taken by New Zealander Wade Goodard are on display.
It offers an insight into the daily life of Mostar at war. Documenting the reality of how devastating the war was, in all its beauty and ugliness, the photographer depicted not only destruction but also real daily life. The view from the windows of the tower is also exquisite. The exhibition is open from 9 am to 22 pm. Entrance 6 KM. Mostar must be on your list of places to visit .
12. Curved Bridge
The Curved Bridge (Kriva ćuprija) is another ancient structure located near the famous Mostar Bridge. It is 8 years older on the Mostar Bridge, built in 1558. It is located on the Radobolja Stream, a modest tributary of the Neretva River. The bridge, which is very similar to the Mostar Bridge, is said to be a test model for the Mostar Bridge.
A stone arch bridge, made in an almost perfect semicircle. The façade of the bridge, which is approximately 8.5 meters wide and approximately 4 meters high, is filled with cube stones, and the spaces between the path are filled with crushed stone. Although extraordinary floods destroyed the bridge in December 2000, it was restored in 2001.
13. Blagay Lodge
Blagay Lodge is a centuries-old spiritual fortress built on the hillside where the Buna River miraculously originates. Blagay, a place among us, is a dervish lodge that played a major role in the rapid conversion of Bosnians to Islam. It is an exquisite place with a magnificent view and incredible nature that you should see on a day trip from Mostar.
The lodges in places where there is no caravan are actually one of the characteristic features of the Balkan geography. I have visited similar lodges in Albania, but Blagay is much more attractive and interesting. There are prayer rooms, guest house, Turkish bath, kitchen, inner courtyard and ablution room in the lodge, which also includes the tombs of Sarı Saltuk and Şeyh Açıkbaş.
I rented a car with a driver and went, you can rent a car and go. It is better to rent a car if you are a few people, if you are single, join the tours. Because what you need to see is not only Balagay Tekeksi, but also Poçitel Village and Kravitse Waterfalls! Mostar must be on your list of places to visit .
14. Poçitel Village
Poçitel Village is a stone-built Ottoman village built on a hillside dating back to the Middle Ages. Although the village, which was established at a strategic point on the banks of the Nevreta river, was badly damaged in the Bosnian War and lost its population and was abandoned, it has now started to come to life again due to those who have come back and tried to bring the village back to life.
Poçitel, 30 km from Mostar, is like a typical Anatolian village with its historical buildings, bath, madrasah and stone houses. But of course, we unfortunately do not have such beautiful villages. You can imagine what a glorious place it was in the past. It has been very well preserved with its stone houses, narrow and stone streets, clock tower, castle and bath.
Poçitel is one of the few settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has preserved its integrity since the first settlement days. Many works in the village are 16th and 17th century Ottoman artifacts. About half an hour drive from Mostar. Mostar must be on your list of places to visit .
15. Kravitse Falls
Kravitse Falls is a stunningly beautiful waterfall that you won’t regret to go and see. During my first trip to Mostar (1994), I had never even heard of it. Of course, at that time, there was neither a profession called influencer nor this many blogs. On my second trip, I put the Blagay Lodge and Kravitse Waterfalls on my one-day route together with Poçitel.
It was an amazing trip that I enjoyed very much. Located in the south of Mostar, near the city of Lybushki , Kravitse Waterfalls were formed by the waters of the Trebijat River pouring from a height of 30 m. A huge emerald lake has formed in front of the waterfall, which pours out from many different branches in an incredibly impressive way.
In the large pond, where the water temperature is cold even in summer, in May, the young people were swimming regardless of the temperature of the water. Located 40 kilometers south of Mostar, the area has the status of a national park and you have to pay 5€ for entry. There is a restaurant where meat grill type meals are served, a picnic area and camping areas. Mostar must be on your list of places to visit !
