Herzegovina 2006 BW

Vrelo Bune (Serbian Cyrillic: Врело Буне) is the natural and architectural ensemble at the Buna river spring near Blagaj kasaba, southeast of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH). Buna is a very short river and after mere 9 km it makes a left bank tributary of Neretva. The source of the Buna river is the finest example of an underground karst river, where a strong spring emergescfrom a huge cavern beneath a high vertical cliff. This is one of the largest and most beautiful springs in Europe, producing approx. 30 m3/s with extremely cold, pristine water.

I met these lovely kids on my way back from the castle, and they started to pose asking for a photo. After those 15 years I decided to track them down, and thanks to social networks I found Rusmira (2nd from left). She wrote: Hey!! I'm the one of children from your photo that you took in Blagaj. Heard you were searching for us haha. Huge thanks for photo you shared. It's so satisfing you found us 15years have been passed it wakes up memories. If you have more photos of us or of Blagaj feel free to share it.

I regret to admit that I forgot the name of this sympathetic local young lady with whom we accidentally met. She spoke good english and would navigate me on the way to the fort. If there's anyone from Mostar or Blagaj itself, they might know her - and forward her the picture.

The Fortress Stjepan grad was placed under state protection. The historic site of the Old Fort in Blagaj (Stjepan grad) is also on the Provisional List of National Monuments.

Until the Bosnian war of 1992-95, Mostar was probably the most ethnically integrated city in all of former Yugoslavia. But the city became a laboratory for experiments in extreme ethnic engineering. The result is that Mostar mutated into the most divided town in Bosnia, a triumph for the Croatian nationalists who, with their Serbian counterparts, sought to destroy the city and to erase Bosnia-Herzegovina from the map of Europe. The most vivid symbol of that Croatian triumph came just over 10 years ago, when a couple of well-aimed Croatian artillery shells brought the city's world-famous Old Bridge, the gravity-defying masterpiece of Ottoman Turk architecture erected in 1566, tumbling into the fast green waters of the Neretva. The bridge defined Mostar. Its destruction seemed to augur the city's death. But today, after years of painstaking work and at a cost of £5m, the Old Bridge stands again, a perfect replica built of the same creamy local limestone, a single graceful span stretching 90ft (27 metres) across the ravine and suspended 60ft (18 metres) above the river. www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jul/23/iantraynor

credits (c) Bonjour Matthieu