Set in the Mostar valley in Southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Blagaj is surrounded by pristine karst landscape, and underground rivers. Blagaj’s history precedes the medieval period, but it was during the Ottoman empire in the 15th century that Blagaj started to develop as a town. Today, Blagaj attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists – with the stunning beautiful Dervish monastery, Blagaj Tekke, being the primary attraction. The monastery enjoys a stunning location under a cliff, with the pristine Buna river flowing gently right next to it.

Blagaj’s long heritage

The monastery has had a tumultuous history over the 600+ years of its existence, and has seen multiple reconstructions, the last one being as recently as 2011. But one thing has remained constant over all these years – it brings together this old tradition of gathering next to a river source and praising the God through chants. Every week, Blagaj still holds Dhikr (also known as Zikr), a form of repeated spiritual chanting. The monastery transforms itself during Mawlid, when tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the monastery to celebrate the birth of the Prophet.

The monastery has had a tumultuous history over the 600+ years of its existence, and has seen multiple reconstructions, the last one being as recently as 2011

Unfortunately, I couldn’t time my visit during one of the Zikrs. Nonetheless, visiting the monastery was a quiet and peaceful experience. Visitors are allowed inside the premises for a nominal fee, and you can take a look inside the multiple prayer rooms, some of them directly overlooking river Buna.

The best day trip from Mostar

The Tekke is an hour or so away from Mostar, and it’s quite common for visitors to stay in Mostar and make a day trip here. I was on a road-trip, so got to drive on my own, but Blagaj is also well connected via public transportation. I highly recommend trying a fresh trout from the Buna river in one of the restaurants by the river side.

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About Praveen Maloo

Praveen is currently based out of Seattle, United States. He loves coffee, conversations, micro-brews, and intimate jazz music scenes. When its not raining in Seattle, he can be seen enjoying the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific North-West.

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