Greeting, travelers!
Lately, our travels have been more virtual than real and we all hope that our colorful world will soon get back to its normality, don't we?
Actually, few days ago I returned back from a real travel and despite the fact that the weather wasn't so great, it was cold with a lot of raining involved, it still felt great, having some change! Usually, when I get back home, I don't like downloading my memory cards straight away and jumping on the brand new photos. Instead, I let them cool off and mature for few days, sometimes weeks before I get back to them. This is intentional and not a simple procrastination, LOL. My main intention is to let the emotions fade away a bit thus letting me see the real value of the photos. :)
So, when I was checking this old album of mine, I realized I have been traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina! How could I forget that!
I started to remember how it all happened :) Do you remember my travel story from Drvengrad, the Woodentown, a project by the famous film director, producer and actor Emir Kostunica? Well, after we visited it, our next stop was another project off him, called Kamengrad or Stone town. If you check out the maps, it is also called "Andricgrad" after Ivo Andric.
Later on, when I returned home from this travel, I read more and found out Ivo Andric was a Nobel Prize winner in literature. Just so you see how talented he was, few of his competitors that same year have been Tolkien and Steinbeck!!!
Back to the trip itself now. You know how some say that "The Balkans are a barrel of gunpowder". That was true, is still true and will be true probably for ages. As I was the driver and we were traveling with my poor SUV, I clearly remember how "funky" it was to pass the border from Serbia to Bosnia & Herzegovina. First, we crossed the Serbian border, then there was few minute driving with a speed limit of like 10 or 20 km/h through a "neutral" territory and then we entered B&H. Of course, though police and customs control on both of the borders. Of course, in both of the directions! It felt like... forever :( I recall we had to buy something extra to enter B&H as the European Green Card (insurance) wasn't covering that country at the time. And everyone was treating us like we were some kind of criminals! Not a pleasant feeling. Thankfully, that was the only negative experience during this trip!
It wasn't easy to find a parking spot nearby but we managed to do it and entered the place.
Suddenly, I was wow-ed and deeply impressed. I could tell it wasn't finished completely but it was so beautiful and full of light! Huge squares with bright streets and buildings that caress the eyes...
Streets and squares named after great people who are respected locally. Well, let me put a small note here. Nothing on the Balkans has only one side. If it is very positive for some folks, it is very negative for another group of people. Everything is so complicated and charged with a lot of sentiment as so much blood had been spilt on the Balkans, unfortunately.
So, there is Ivo Andric street, square and institute, as the picture above shows.
Nicola Tesla has been honored as well:
Here, Francisco Goya:
I am sure no one can tell for sure what was in the mind of Emir Kostunica :)
I really like the architecture used at the place and how there was a lot of space and air around the church:
Entering inside it was another feast for my eyes. Not the typical Orthodox Christian church but I loved the artistism of all the icons and the amazing curves of the whitewashed ceiling...
The church door was a piece of art itself too!
Behind the church there was a great view of the neighborhood along Drina river:
As you may notice, this whole place isn't big at all, however, we spent a lot of time there.
We browsed the stone streets, enjoyed the buildings and the squares.
On the facade of one of the buildings, there was a long decoration, paintings, I am sure it is a famous fairy-tale, but a fairy-tale I don't want to find myself in :) Impressed by it, I took several photos:
I was thinking to merge them into a panorama, but the details then will be gone as it will become too big to be uploaded into the original size.
No place on the Balkans is of a big value with no pub!
Of course, this construction project has it all - a restaurant, a pub and a cafeteria!
"Pivnica" - if I translate this literally, it would mean "a place to drink". Indeed!
However, as it was too early in the afternoon and I still had to drive, we decided to take a coffee instead of few pints :D
While my friends were still having their cups of coffee slowly, as is the custom around, I played with my camera and the nearby water fountain.
A want to share with you my enjoyment from the street lamps around. When lit by the sun they were shining in a fantastic way. Generally, I liked a lot how then blended with the architectural style around. I remembered that by the several photos I took of them, hehehe:
I could tell this is a wonderful place to spend some quality time, having a drink with a view like this...
Let me put a stop to my story here with the picture above, the dreamy view towards the great beautiful Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge from XV-th century. I will try to post a separate publication about it as it is another place that deserves our special attention as travelers and explorers.
So, if you find yourself in Bosnia and Herzegovina and there is something artistic in your soul, Kamengrad/Andricgrad/Stonetown is a must see!
Thank you for your time and support, please check out below few other ways to encourage me in my difficult visual art endeavor and stay in touch!
My photo site: https://hadjiyvanov.com/
My twitter: https://twitter.com/hadjiyvanov
My single edition unique digital art NFT on Ethereum at OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/art-by-lightcaptured
You could get a license here for some of my visual works approved by the quality review team of Adobe, Inc.: https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/206416265/lightcaptured
My NFTShowroom Gallery with NFTs for art collectors: https://nftshowroom.com/lightcaptured/gallery
My Lensy.io Gallery with Photos for NFT collectors: https://lensy.io/lightcaptured
My NFT art works on EOS: https://gallery.pixeos.art/profiles/damian-hadjiyvanov
I use and recommend those services below, following my referral links is a win-win for both you and me:
- Trade on one of the biggest exchanges: https://www.binance.com/en/register?ref=L9YP0QXH
- Great exchange with staking rewards if you are in EU: https://bitvavo.com/?a=8BD90E2321
- Get 1π and join the Pi mining revolution here, all you need is a mobile device: https://minepi.com/lightcaptured Use my username (lightcaptured) as your invitation code.
- Probably the oldest and most fun Bitcoin faucet with extras: https://freebitco.in/?r=41678934
- You love playing games? Why not get rewarded with EOS for it: https://womplay.io?ref=77RVCJ3
- Enjoy flawless trading at Bittrex: https://bittrex.com/Account/Register?referralCode=EER-S3B-0BH
Copyright: Damian Hadjiyvanov, Light Captured
For licensing my photos, please drop me a message on Discord: lightcaptured#2698
Have a great day, stay safe, stay strong and let your muse be always on your shoulder!