Making Venetian Carnival Masks in Albania

Next country on our Balkans tour was Albania, where the surprising first stop was the Venice Art Mask Factory in Shkodër. An unexpected treat!

Kotor Church

In contrast with the previous post, here are some scenes from an Orthodox church in Kotor, Montenegro ... scenes of quiet beauty and dignity.

Cheek to Jowl in Montenegro

Montenegro, especially around the Bay of Kotor, is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the beauty draws more tourists than the place can comfortably accommodate, leading to scenes like the first two. Which led me to connect with the third picture, of a smoking house for pieces of pork.

Dubrovnik Tourists

Walking the walls, enjoying a gelato, or just getting ready for the next sight.

Dubrovnik Roof Tiles

The old town of Dubrovnik is striking for the colorful tile roofs of its white stucco buildings. The tiles of roofs that were not damaged by shelling in the Bosniak-Croat War show their considerable age. The damaged roofs have had the tiles replaced by bright red new ones.

Dubrovnik Heads

Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the Mediterranean. Not only does it have a beautiful setting and the striking architecture of the old town, it also has attractive historical details such as the first two heads, from a museum and a church.  However, to accommodate the tourists, it also has a gelato head.

Mostar Tourism

We had spent a day in Mostar seven years ago, and very much enjoyed the scenic beauty and historical resonance of the city. This time, however, the place was overrun with tourists, mostly bused from the huge cruise ships that also overwhelm Dubrovnik. It was hard even to walk in the Old Bridge area, the major attraction. (The tourists pay brave young men to dive or jump from the bridge.)

It's hard to criticize the tourist overcrowding, since we were contributing to it, but a number of the attractive cities in this part of the world (e.g. Dubrovnik, Venice, Prague) are considering limiting tourism so that both visitors and locals have a better experience.

Moslem Mostar

On the "Moslem side" of Mostar are a mosque and a house that are open to tourists. Both are elegant, reflecting the rich Ottoman heritage of this city and country.

Mostar Old Bridge

From Sarajevo we went to Mostar, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is notable for its beautiful 16th C Stari Most (Old Bridge) which crosses the Neretva River.  The bridge was bombed by the Croatians in 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War, and was rebuilt in 2001-2004. Moslems tend to live on one side of the bridge, and Christians on the other.

Sarajevo Scenes

We leave Sarajevo with a few scenes around the city.

Colorful banners celebrating the tourism that is now the city's main economic engine.

View of rooftops from our hotel window

Another narrow old street, this view showing the close-in, thickly wooded, surrounding mountains which enabled the Serbian siege from those mountains to be so effective and prolonged.

A few Moslem gravestones, of the thousands that resulted from the siege.

Sarajevo Tunnel Museum

From 1992 to 1996, most of Sarajevo was under siege by Serbian forces holding the hills surrounding the city, which was essentially totally cut off from the outside world. (See the first photo below, with our guide explaining a map of the terrain.) To bring in food and other necessary supplies, a tunnel was built beginning in 1993, connecting the Sarajevo airport, supposedly neutral and controlled by UN forces, with a safe neighborhood. Our tour visited the Sarajevo Tunnel Museum, which chronicles the stupendous effort and difficulties of planning, constructing, and using the tunnel.

Souks and Cafes in Sarajevo

As befits its Ottoman and Central European roots, Sarajevo has colorful, lively markets and cafes.