Welcome to Namaste Tourism

Balkans You Beauty

The Balkan Peninsula and the word Balkan itself had always pricked my curiosity. Balkan in ancient Turkish means MOUNTAINS and the peninsula certainly has a few mountain ranges running across in all directions. East to west across Bulgaria are the Rhodope mountains extending across the Greek Bulgarian border. The Dinaric mountains run down the Adriatic sea coast to Albania. The Carpathian mountains run in north Romania. But this piece is not about mountains.

A casual chat with good friend Subhash of Namaste Tourism about this region and my wish to cover it, put me onto this hectic two week tour of Europa Mundo a Spanish company sourced out by his ever efficient staff member and my dear friend Amruta. So off I was to see this very charming and beautiful necklace of south eastern Europe, the Balkan peninsula.

Zagreb, the Croatian capital, was my first stop and my second time in this lovely city, right at the top of the western side of the Balkans. A walking tour of the old town which is on a hillock and one reaches there via a ride on the world’s smallest Funicular only 66metres.The town has a watch tower where the bugler would blow his bugle from a window everyday at sunset and the tradition is carried out even today. The town also has a very unique museum called the museum of Broken Relationships in which one of the affected parties would place a remembrance of his/her relationship. Walking down various old buildings on a narrow cobblestone path, brings you to the main town square, a bustling busy area with statues, trams, restaurants and tourists.

The next morning off we were to the second country Bosnia and in between is a very small country, an independent republic called Srpska whose capital is a scenic town called Bania Luka. The drive from Zagreb took us through breathtaking scenery. A walk in the town again through the cobbled alleys threw up modern shops in old buildings. Again continuing down the road got us to the town of Jajce which is in Bosnia where we saw an adorable lake and a very peppy waterfall.

The countries in these Balkan regions were ruled by the Ottomans from Turkey for 500years and their influence is omnipresent even today, with a large percentage of the population being followers of Islam. The end of the day after traversing 400 odd kms got us to the town of Sarajevo the largest town and the capital of Bosnia.

There were six Balkan countries which came under the socialist umbrella of President of Yugoslavia Josip Franz Tito whose socialist policies kept them under his control for 35years till his death in 1980. The countries were Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia now known as North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. These countries one by one broke away from Yugoslavia and declared their own independence fighting wars in the 1990’s which cost them dear. But that’s all water under the bridge now.

Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia has a very dominant Islamic influence, with names like Ahmedovic, Hasanovic, Ibrahimovic etc. the OVIC means son of Djokovic is an exception… hahaha. The ancient market with the main mosque makes you feel like you’re in a Turkish town. Another very interesting incident which sparked off the start of the first world war also happened in Sarajevo. The Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were crossing the famous Latin Bridge of Sarajevo in a motorcade when a fanatic teenager belonging to a secret Serbian society called the Black Hand murdered them in cold blood. The wife was pregnant then. This incident made Austria declare war on Serbia and the rest of the countries joined in.

After Sarajevo we drove on to Mostar to see the highlight of the trip, the Stari Most -meaning Ancient Bridge. Built in the shape of a stone arch this bridge is one of the main attractions in Europe for tourists. Unfortunately during the Serbian Bosnian war the original bridge was destroyed but the replica as it stands today is absolutely magnificent and it’s a UNESCO world heritage site. The streets of Mostar are very lively and typically touristic. We later drove on to Dubrovnik, another major highlight of the tour.

Dubrovnik- This was again my second time in this very very beautiful and well preserved walled town. The entry into the town is through a gate and till date it’s the only way to enter it. This gate would be locked up in the night and opened the following morning. This city has around it a walkway on the top of the walls two kms in diameter. Time didn’t permit me to walk it. The main attractions are the cathedral, the old pharmacy and a thriving market of local goods, all homemade. No trip to the Balkans can be completed without Dubrovnik on your itinerary.

We stayed an additional night in Dubrovnik and the next day moved onto Montenegro driving through some truly stunning and mouth gaping scenery across the Adriatic coast. First stop being Kotor, a beautiful walled town with strong Venetian influence. Next halt was in Budva which is a rocky islet in the sea and we crossed over in a row on row off boat.

Travelling further down the coast we entered Albania and its capital Tirana. Located in Central Albania, Tirana is a blend of Italian, Ottoman and Soviet architectural influence. For us Indians the most interesting part of Tirana is its city in which our very own Mother Teresa was born, although her parents were Macedonians she was born in Albania. There’s a charming church and a statue erected outside it. The highlight of the city are its magnificent colourful buildings painted in bright colours and very well maintained. I would highly recommend a visit.

As we reach the bottom of the western side of the Peninsula, may I continue my article in the following week.