Friday, April 4, 2014

A Trip to Blagaj [Part 1/3]: Arrival

The old town of Blagaj is a small town, only a couple of miles south from Mostar. Blagaj is situated at the spring of the Buna river and a historical tekke (tekija or Dervish monastery).

The source of the Buna river is a strong karstic spring. The river flows west for approximately 9 kilometres and joins the Neretva near the village Buna. The historic site of the Old Blagaj Fort, on the hill above Blagaj, was previously visited by us, and you can view those images here.
This is a multi part series. Other parts include:

click on the images for a bigger view

The first image shows the river Buna, emerging out of the deep caves in the background. The newly renovated tekke in the left side of the image.


But before I show you our destination, let me show you a couple of images along the way. Nature is here is in fresh bloom, and a lot of young leaves and pale greens can be seen everywhere.


There are a lot of bird and flower species in this region, and while this historic center, that we were visiting, doesn't house many of them, you can actually go on a hike uphill and down the river stream to discover a lot more.


Two bridges (a wooden and a stone one) make a path across the river and lead to various cafes and restaurants.




Here is a small sneak peek of the cave where the river emerges from. But more on that in the final part of this series.


Young fig leaves with little figs being born out of them, are located along the river stream up to the old Town.


This stone bridge has been recently named a national monument.
 

As I said, there are a lots of restaurants here, build right next to the river. Sometimes, when the water is higher the lower parts of the restaurants can't be used, because they flood. Of course there is lot of space above for lunch and drinks.



On the other side of the river, you will find a restaurant that is higher up from the ground. We visited around 5 in the afternoon on a work week, and of course everything was empty. I made that choice deliberately in order to get more intimate images. Usually you will find many tourists here.



We arrive to the end of part one of this series. In the next part we will visit this big white house you can see in the image that follows. It's part of the old Town of Blagaj and the aforementioned tekke. But more on that in part two! 


36 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place this is, amazing how they built on this small stretch of land!

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    1. It amazes me too. There is so much more to see in the next part.

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  2. the sheer mountain walls are just amazing to me and are something I have never seen, the chairs are so beautiful.. and the stone bridge is wonderful to... all of this in one place... i would love it. glad to see the green is out for you... i see caterpillars in the old rotted wood photo which means butterflies soon

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    1. The mountain walls are really something. You will see that better in the last part of this series, where I get up close, with many details. It's quite something.

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  3. What a gorgeous backdrop for the town! It certainly is a beautiful place!

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    1. This is only the old part of the town that is closest to the river spring. The town stretches up north from here, with many more attractions.

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  4. the cliffs are amazing! i like the riverside seating, too!

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    1. It's really nice and fresh here, especially during warm summer nights.

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  5. This looks like a great place. You do a good job of showing the sights. I really like the shot of the river coming out of the cave and the river side seating.

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    1. More from the caves in part three. Thanks for visiting.

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  6. Oh my what a beautiful BEAUTIFUL place...of course I know that the way you captured it makes it that much more breathtaking.
    BTW, red is my favorite colour..I love all the red accents...

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    1. Red is my favorite as well. :) Thanks for visiting.

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  7. The color of the water looks quite incredible : what a lovely nest you find there !

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  8. A lovely place--- But I want to especially complement you for the superb first shot. Wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Bill. More from that place in part two.

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  9. Wonderful, Mersad! SO beautiful there. I really like them all, but especially like the second one with the branches in the foreground, and the last one is fabulous!!

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    1. Glad you liked them. Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. What a picturesque place! The beautiful rock wall forming the backdrop to most of these photos is amazing. And the color of the water is incredibly lovely.

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    1. It's fresh water and very clear and clean. I guess that shows in the images as well.

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  11. Hi Mersad. What a wonderful place to visit and smart to do it without people their. The water looks rough at times and I love all the shots of the spring green new leaves even the tiny figs. Love the 2 different bridges. All the restaurants look lovely.

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    1. The tiny figs caught my eye too. I usually see them full blown everywhere in the city, but I have never really been up close with fresh leaves.

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  12. Danke dir dass duuns diesen wundervollen Ort zeigst. Einfach nur schön und wie toll muss es sein dort am Wasser zu sitzen und die Natur und das Rauschen genießen zu können. Gefällt mir sehr sehr gut, genauso wie die tollen Fotos.

    Hab ein schönes Wochenende und liebe Grüssle

    Nova

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    1. Es ist wirklich entspannend hier zu sein.

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  13. Wow, what a beautiful area.. as are your images of. Great series!

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    1. Thanks Laura. Hope you will stay tuned for the second part.

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  14. Wunderschön liegender Ort, diese Felsen und das blaue Wasser, gefällt mir sehr gut. Liebe Grüße

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  15. Thanks for taking us to this beautiful sight in Herzegovina. Practically impossible for must people to know about this otherwise. Greetings from afar.

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    1. Thanks Jorge. I like being the unofficial spokesperson for the region :)

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  16. What an amazing place in many ways - mountains, water, flora, and architecture. And the fig leaf is perfect!

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  17. wow, what a beautiful place!

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  18. We are so fortunate to have you join our group. I cannot tell you enough time. I will never get to visit these magnificent places but with your camera I can travel place I would so love to visit. I told the Kreso's about blogging with you and they said to say hello to Bosnia for them.

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  19. Your posts make me want to visit the old towns. More and more I keep thinking about it because it's part of Europe to which I have never ventured.

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  20. love the turquoise blue color of the water here! Stunning location against the cliffs.

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  21. Loved my introduction to Blagaj...beautiful place. Can't wait for more!

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