4 Day Ancient Secrets of Bosnia and Herzegovina

4 Day Ancient Secrets of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Ottoman Empire began to attack the region in 1383, eventually incorporating Bosnia as a Turkish province. During the almost four hundred years in which the Ottomans dominated the area, Bosnians adopted many elements of Turkish culture, including religion; the majority of the people converted from Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Islam. Because of Bosnia's position on the border between the Islamic power to the east and the Christian nations to the west, the Turks held on to the area tenaciously, particularly as their empire began to weaken in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the mid-nineteenth century, Bosnians joined Slavs from Serbia and Croatia in an uprising against the Turks. Austria-Hungary, with the aid of the Russians, took advantage of the Turks' weakened position and invaded Bosnia-Herzegovina, annexing the region in 1908.

Itinerary

Day 1: Magnificent Old City of Sarajevo

Stop At: Sarajevo City Center, Vrbanja 1, Sarajevo 71000 Bosnia and Herzegovina
You will get a transfer to the hotel located in the center of the old city of Sarajevo, also popularly called ''Bascarsija''. Check in the hotel and then join a guided tour of Sarajevo by a professional local guide. Sarajevo - an open city - is a unique example of traditional human living and settling. The beauty of the city is possible not only with numerous architectural monuments but also in the interpretation of the synthesis of living harmony and in the preservation of varieties, and Sarajevo is such, unique, unrepeatable and united open site, the world city. Previously included also criterion (vi) according to which living tradition makes this city unique and universal.

After the guided tour of the town, you will have some free time to enjoy moving around on foot. Ferhadija is a famous pedestrian alley that goes through the heart of town and is always filled, day or night, with pedestrians of all ages.
Duration: 4 hours

Pass By: NowBosnia, Mostar bb, Mostar 88000 Bosnia and Herzegovina
NowBosnia

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Depends on package purchased

Day 2: Breathtaking Historic Town of Mostar

Stop At: Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar, Stari Most, Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina
After breakfast at the hotel, you will depart to Mostar and enjoy an extraordinary drive through the most exhibited mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina and passing by the wild rivers. Next, you will arrive at the hotel located in the centre of the old town for dinner and overnight in Mostar.

Explore the old town of Mostar by a private local guide. The historic town of Mostar, spanning a deep valley of the Neretva River, developed in the 15th and 16th centuries as an Ottoman frontier town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mostar has long been known for its old Turkish houses and Old Bridge, Stari Most, after which it is named. In the 1990 conflict, however, most of the historic town and the Old Bridge, designed by the renowned architect Sinan, were destroyed.

The Old Bridge was recently rebuilt and many of the edifices in the Old Town have been restored or rebuilt with the contribution of an international scientific committee established by UNESCO.

After the guided tour of the town, you will have some free time for strolling around, browsing among the many old craft shops.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Depends on package purchased

Day 3: Splendid Royal Herzegovina

Stop At: Blagaj tekija, Blagaj village Localita Blagaj, Blagaj 88201 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Breakfast at the hotel. After a 15-minute drive, you will arrive in Blagaj. The earliest reference to Podblagaj dates from 1447. The settlement was located at the foot of the Blagaj fort, where the road runs down from the fort and intersects with the Nevesinje road. There was too little trade for a commercial centre to emerge.

The mediaeval fortress of Blagaj (Stjepan grad) is constantly referred to in the sources as a distinct territorial entity. It was during the Ottoman period that building activity began to develop in the outskirts of the fortress, with the erection of houses and of public edifices, with the most important buildings located along the three watercourses.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: The historic urban site of Pocitelj, Pocitelj BB on the left bank of the river Neretva, Pocitelj 88300 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Continue towards the historic urban site of Počitelj, located on the left bank of the river Neretva, on the main Mostar to Metković Road, to the south of Mostar, in the territory of Čapljina Municipality.

In the middle ages, Počitelj was the administrative centre and centre of governance of Dubrava župa (county), and its westernmost point, which gave it major strategic importance. It is supposed that the fortified town and its attendant settlements were built by Bosnia's King Stjepan Tvrtko I in 1383.

The walled town of Počitelj evolved over the period from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Architecturally, the surviving stone-built parts of the town are a fortified complex.
Duration: 2 minutes

Stop At: Kravice Falls, Neretva valley, Studenci 88300 Bosnia and Herzegovina
There's a slightly unreal Disney-esque quality to this outstanding natural attraction, where the Trebižat River plummets in a broad 25m-high arc into an emerald pool. In spring, this gorgeous mini-Niagara pounds itself into a dramatic, steamy fury. In summer it's a more gentle cascade, but the basin offers an idyllic respite from the sweltering heat for hundreds of locals and tourists.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Depends on package purchased

Day 4: Departure Day

Pass By: Sarajevo City Center, Vrbanja 1, Sarajevo 71000 Bosnia and Herzegovina
After breakfast at your hotel, we will transfer you to the Sarajevo International Airport.

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.