Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 August 2013, to Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina show the signs of war. Abandoned buildings and service stations
are all along the road. Some, not many, have bullet holes. The scenery once again
consists of green hills and valleys. Muslims, a third of the population, are not
prominent. Muslim men dress like other men, including with no shirt. The women have
scarves, long dresses and long pants. Non Muslim women sometimes wear very skimpy
clothing.
We found it exceptionally difficult to get coffee without sugar. The first cup of
coffee not only had sugar but 2 extra sachets. With the help of other English speaking
customers we did manage to obtain sugarless coffee and had the words written down
for us. This was at the first castle we stopped at. At the next castle we knew to
make sure they understood - no sugar. Well, there was maybe only 1 spoon of sugar
in the coffee and no extra sachets. At least it was drinkable. The castle ruins had
been mentioned in the LP and we went by them to have a look. They were small and
not very impressive but the scenery was worth the drive.
Visoko was the reason we came to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the site of the
Bosnian Pyramids. There are apparently five of them. They are covered in top soil,
trees and plants. People are also living on the sides. They were discovered in 2005
by a Bosnian anthropologist Sam Osmanagich. Two International Conferences in 2008
and 2011 concluded that they were not natural phenomena and their existence will
change history books. Apparently they were finally internationally recognised as
pyramids a month ago. Specialists have been brought in from many disciplines. Tests
have been carried out on the materials used in building the pyramids by geo-radar
and thermal analysts, radio-carbon dating analysts, geologists and many others. The
result is that the structures are 12,000 years old which makes them older than the
accepted dating for the Giza Pyramids. (Quite a few experts put the Giza Pyramids
at a much earlier date). The Pyramid of the Sun is larger than any at Giza. The pyramids
are orientated to cosmic north and have other mathematical and astrological relation
ships. In common with many pyramids the Pyramid of the Sun has an energy beam coming
from the top. For more information go to www.bosnianpyramids.org.
We first visited the outside of the Pyramid of the Sun. This is quite a steep climb.
Volunteers were busy removing top soil. They want to remove some all the way to the
top to show that it is clad entirely by concrete blocks. The concrete is superior
to modern concrete. Before we went up we had coffee without sugar. Obviously there
are many European visitors so they understand that no sugar literally means NO sugar.
Next came the visit to the tunnels. These start about 3 K from the Pyramid of the
Sun. They had been filled in with river mud for quite some distance. They are not
yet cleaned through to underneath the pyramid. The air inside is very good for human
health. It is fresh because the height of the tunnels varies causing differences
in air pressure which keeps the air moving. Modern miners should study this. The
air is 24% oxygen, much more than normal. There are many more negative ions than
normal as well. The number increases the further you go from the entrance. There
are underground streams. When there is a change in flow, e.g. a stream dividing into
two or two streams joining, there is a ceramic monolith. These are considered good
places to meditate. It was a very interesting visit.
Friday 16 to Sunday 18 August 2013, Konjic
Two days relaxing by the river near Jablanica Lake were good for our souls. The river
provided a great way to cool off.
Monday 19 to Tuesday 20 August 2013, Blagai
Mostar has an Old Bridge that was destroyed in 1993 during the civil war. It has
since been completely rebuilt and is a great tourist attraction. The GPS naturally
expected us to drive over itThe coffee was good. At least with so many tourists sugar
is not automatically added.
Blagaj has such a lovely campsite with good facilities that we decided to stay for
a day. The owner gave us plenty of information on local sites and was extremely
helpful.
Details are: Camping Aganovac, GPS N 43° 15.452’ E 017° 53.290’, www.camping-blagaj.com
A visit to Velagic House, built in 1766, was interesting. It is a complex of 3 houses,
a guest house, a mill, a granary and artificial water channels from the Buna River.
The water channels ran the mill and provided cooling for the cold store room. This
room had channels for the water on two sides. Since the temperature of the water
is 7 degrees so close to the source, the room was cold even at the height of summer.
There is very little open to the public as it is still a residence and used as a
hotel. There is a guide though who is full of information.
The other easily reachable sight is the Tekke or Dervish House situated at the entrance
to the cave from where the source of the Buna River flows. It is one of the most
powerful sources in Europe at 43,000 l/s.