Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Blagaj

Lamia Boric

The picture on the right is of a "Green Cave" located in a small town called Blagaj 12 km south of Mostar.  This is a largest karst spring in Europe and it gives rise to Buna river.  The river emerges from an underground stream after it carved its way through the irregular limestone commonly found in this part of Europe.  The sight is breathtaking with the cold green river rushing out of a cave under a towering cliff. Interestingly, perhaps because of its southern facing location or because it is in the wind shadow the temperature here is always mild, even in the midst of winter.

The town of Blagaj is built on the site of the Roman town of Bona, most likely named for it's mild weather patterns. ("blaga" in Bosnian stands for "mild"). Today it is a pilgrimage site as it holds a maquam (a shrine) sacred to the Sufis around the world.  Legend says that a fourteenth century Baktashi saint Sari Saltik visited Blagaj decades prior to the Ottoman armies arrival. His shrines can also be found in Romania (Babadağ), Macedonia (near Ohrid) and the most famous in Albania (Kruja).