MOSTAR AND NEARBY - Croatia and Slovenia - page 644

in advance, to ensure you have the appropriate paperwork for crossing the border. If you're
not up for driving yourself, consider splurging on a driver to bring you here (for drivers
basedinDubrovnik,see here ; foraMostar-baseddriver,see here ) .Driversmaysuggestsev-
eral detours en route. Do your homework to know which ones interest you (for example,
Me đ ugorje isn't worth the extra time for most visitors), and don't hesitate to say you want
to just max out on time in Mostar itself.
By Bus: Especially if you're spending the night in Mostar, public buses work well
to connect Mostar with destinations on the Dalmatian Coast (particularly Split and
Dubrovnik). For details, see “Mostar Connections,” here .
By Package Tour: TakingapackageexcursionfromaDalmatian resorttownseemslike
an efficient way to visit Mostar or Me đ ugorje. Unfortunately, in reality it can be less re-
warding than doing it on your own—count on lots of hours on a crowded bus, listening to a
lackluster, multilingual tour guide reading from a script, and relatively little time in the des-
tinationsthemselves.Butifyoujustwantaquickone-daylookattheseplaces,anexcursion
can be a necessary evil. These all-day tours are sold from Split, Hvar, Kor č ula, Dubrovnik,
and other Croatian coastal destinations for about €50-60. The best tours focus almost en-
tirely on Mostar (it still won't be enough time); avoid tours that include a pointless boat trip
on the Neretva River or time in Me đ ugorje. Those that add a quick visit to the worthwhile
town of Po č itelj are a better deal. Ask for details at any travel agency in Dalmatia.
Orientation to Mostar
Mostar—a mid-sized city with around 130,000 people—is situated in a basin surrounded
by mountains and split down the middle by the emerald-green Neretva River. Bosniaks live
mostly on the east side of the river (plus a strip on the west bank) and Croats in the mod-
ern sprawl to the west. The populations are beginning to mix again, albeit tentatively. Vir-
tually all of the sights are in the Bosniak zone, but visitors move freely throughout the city,
and most don't even notice the division. The cobbled, Turkish-feeling Old Town (called
the “Stari Grad” or—borrowing a Turkish term—the “Stara Č aršija”) surrounds the town's
centerpiece, the Old Bridge.
The skyline is pierced by the minarets of various mosques, but none is as big as the two
major Catholic (Croat) symbols in town, both erected since the recent war: the giant white
cross on the hilltop (marking the place from where Croat forces shelled the Bosniak side
of the river, including the Old Bridge); and the enormous (almost 100-foot-tall) bell tower
of the Franciscan Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. A monumental Orthodox cathedral on the
hillside across the river was destroyed in the war, but is now being rebuilt.
A note about safety: Mostar is as safe as any city its size, but it doesn't always feel safe.
You'll see bombed-out buildings everywhere, even in the core of the city. Some are marked