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Be Green to Be Seen, Mostar (2026)

15/06/2022

🙌 Did you know that Bosnia & Herzegovina is home to 17 national minorities? It has been a sanctuary for many nations over the centuries!

✡️ Sephardic Jews were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal) as much as 500 years ago, which scattered them all over the world, but also led to the soil of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

🕎 After 1491 the whole peninsula was ruled by Christian rulers and many Muslims and Jews had to convert or face an exile from the country.

🇧🇦 The Jews came to Sarajevo first time at the end of the 15th century. These Jews came mostly from Spain and are called Sephardim. They speak the so-called language Ladino which is a combination of Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, and many others. Sephardim played important roles in Bosnian society. Of the few thousand, only a few hundred remain today, and their Ladino language is on the verge of extinction.

🎵 Traditional Sephardic songs are part of the Bosnian cultural heritage. Nostalgic longing for the homeland, a reunion with their families, or longing for a loved one, and the unrequited love is the main narrative. To confirm this thesis of Bosnian Sephardim – being the true gem of interculturality, let’s analyze traditional Sephardic songs in more depth to show the connection with the traditional Bosnian music sevdalinka.
The Ladino Romances used to be sung mostly by Sephardic women while doing household chores. These songs were back in the early days sung a ca****la (without instrumental accompaniment), just like Bosnian sevdalinka.
If there was any instrumental accompaniment, it was some kind of a plucked eastern instrument (like Arabic oud or Turkish saz).

🏙 This music is a city song, which means you could hear it only throughout Bosnian cities’ streets.

12/06/2022

✍️ STEĆAK - BOSNIAN TOMBSTONE - A SOURCE OF WISDOM!

🤝 Did you know that Stećak is a common heritage of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, and is part of the protected UNESCO World heritage?

✝️ ☪️ Stećak is more than just a huge, cold stone. These are carved with pagan or Christian symbols from the middle ages, that represent customs, social status, or biography of the person buried.

📚 Besides these symbols, what we find intriguing and especially linguistically important, are the epitaphs, which are prose and poetry in themselves. There’s great folk wisdom in it to be studied for generations to come, and we can learn the ancient version of local languages spoken in the Balkans (primarily in countries that share this common heritage).

👩‍🏫 May you find wisdom in one of these Stećak’s epitaphs:

"And lies Beloved in Vrhbosna born in Vrhbosna buried on the property of the noble."
"I was the one who stood at the crossroads all my life, thinking, hesitating."
"I was the one who wondered how it is that the sky doesn't age and new and new seasons are constantly born from it."
"And in the room where I was, there was a window, and behind the window there was infinity. But I kept looking at the floor. "
"And I thought my death would finally stop it all. But not, as I am getting older and it is getting closer. "
"Stone put by Dražeta and the record written by Husan, not to show that I was alive but that I am no longer. In the year of Our Lord 1258. ”

✅ There are Stećak tombstones exposed in the backyards of the Bosnian cultural institutions like the Center for Culture in Mostar, and you have the authentic heritage within arm’s reach!

08/06/2022

🇧🇦 BOSNIA&HERZEGOVINA - CULTURE, IDENTITY, AND A LANGUAGE MELTING POT

🙌 Mašallah, vidi ga što je lip insan! (Mashallah, look at him, such a beautiful man!)

✝️ I used to hear this phrase a number of times when I was a kid from my grandmother. She was a Catholic, and a Croat from western Herzegovina and spoke a dialect of the Croatian language called “ikavica”, in which you change each “ije/je” sound from the standard Shtokavian version of Croatian, to “i” of “ikavica” dialect pronunciation. (e.g. lijep - lip, eng. beautiful).

☪️ Now, we can see the interesting mix of the Turkish word “insan” (meaning human) and Croatian ikavica “lip” (meaning beautiful). When you add to it “Mašallah” used commonly by Muslims, this example shows us not multiculturalism, but interculturalism that exists for centuries in Bosnia and Herzegovina among its peoples.

🇷🇸 You’ll be able to find another interesting example of this when walking through “Fejićeva” street in Mostar. A tombstone of Mostarian poet Osman Đikić is written in Cyrillic script, commonly used when writing in Serbian.

🤝 Osman was a Muslim man who married a Serbian/Christian Orthodox woman Zora, which was quite brave, and unorthodox during the times he lived (under the Austria-Hungarian rule of Bosnia). Nevertheless, he advocated the brotherhood of all the nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the right to national self-declaration.

🤝 The lesson to learn from examples throughout Bosnian history is that each person is an individual with self-awareness and identity that he creates by himself, especially in this melting pot of cultures and identities such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that is our richness worth of respect, cherishing and preservation!

P.S. These are the authentic stories told by locals.

05/06/2022

✍ EMINA AND ALEKSA - MOSTARIAN LOVE STORY!

👩‍❤️‍👨 If you didn’t know, Mostar is the most multicultural city in Bosnia and Herzegovina! During the ex-Yugoslavia state, it was the city with the most interethnic marriages. However, some love stories go further into the past.

✍ Aleksa Šantić, a famous Serbian poet from Mostar, wrote lyrics that became a famous Bosnian traditional Sevdalinka song, in the name of Emina, a beautiful Bosniak-Muslim girl. The young poet was inspired and intrigued by Emina’s beauty, who lived near the Old Bridge in Mostar and was Aleksa’s neighbor.

💔 Nevertheless, the poem tells us about unrequited love and is written in the language style of oriental influences.

The wind blew through the branches, all over her chestnut
The wind untied her thick braids.
Her hair smells like blue hyacinth,
And suddenly I got dizzy!

I almost stumbled, oh mine!
But beautiful Emina didn't come to me.
She just glared at me once,
And I am dying for her, but she doesn’t care!

The old poet died, Emina died
Only a desolate jasmine garden remains.
The ibrik was broken, the flowers withered.
But the song about Emina will never die.

❤️ An eternal reminder of this love story is embodied in the statues of Emina, and Aleksa, in the Mostarian quarter called Luka, where these two lived. Whenever you pass by, you’ll be reminded that love knows no race, nationality, ethnicity, or religion!

01/06/2022

👩‍❤️‍👨 AŠIKOVANJE - COURTSHIP THE BOSNIAN WAY!

🏘 Whenever you walk the streets of Bosnia, and look at the windows of houses, know that each window symbolizes a love story. Now, how come?

❤️ In the past, flirting meant the arrival of boys under the windows of girls’ rooms, for conversation, because men were not allowed to enter the girl's house. Those who were lucky enough to be liked by the girl they liked, could see the girl appear at the window to show her face, answering calls from under the window. If by any chance she wasn't happy with the suitor, she would always have some decent excuse why she had to back off from the window and end the romantic conversation.

❤️ Ašikovanje (comes from the Arabic word ashik, meaning love) is part of the Bosnian tradition and is the theme of many traditional Bosnian songs - Sevdalinka. Sevdah comes from the Turkish word Sevda / Arabic Sawda - which means black bile, melancholy, longing… Which perfectly describes the lovers being so close to each other, yet so far away, or simply said - falling into sevdah (longing for love).

🎵 We can best learn about the tradition, customs and culture of a nation through a song, so let's read the verses of one of the Sevdalinkas inspired by flirting, some of which were humorous:

✍️ Early on, I stood under the window of my darling,
to give her a ring and pearls,
but she doesn't open the door for me,
the bride is just watching me from the hayat (backyard).

Come on, you're so mean to me,
here's your ring and necklace,
wedding guests are waiting for you in the alley,
everyone will give you gifts my dear.

“What do I need pearls for, necklaces,
when you left me last year,
I will marry your friend,
because he didn’t hurt me young as you did!”

29/05/2022

☕️ KAHVA/KAFA/KAVA - FAVORITE BOSNIAN PASTIME!

🇧🇦 Did you know that drinking coffee in Bosnia and Herzegovina is more than just that? It is almost a national recreation!

🇹🇷 Homemade (Bosnian) coffee is a special ritual of Bosnia and Herzegovina that has become commonplace with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in the country, and which includes 3 cups a day (morning, afternoon and evening).

☕️ Authentic Bosnian coffee also means good company - family, friends and colleagues. In Bosnia, it is an opportunity for long conversations, when people meet and run business, and when even private problems are solved (it comes as temporary psychotherapy). Its duration can therefore be several hours. Whether at home, at work or in a cafe, a cup of coffee is always there for you, with the inevitable homemade dessert - lokum, and quite large amounts of water.

☕️ In the past, housewives used to put a vessel of water on the stove to boil as soon as they heard someone approach the backyard. The door to the home was always open for the neighbors, for all the good people that had to be treated with a cup of coffee!

☕️ In Mostar, coffee is really something special - this warm Mediterranean, Herzegovinian city due to its mild climate all year round, is able to lure coffee drinkers to city streets, squares, courtyards and terraces of cafes, even with the first rays of winter sun.

☕️ Therefore, if you want to truly get to know the spirit of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, take a few hours for coffee with the locals!

25/05/2022

💚 HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE AND ECO-FRIENDLY TRAVELER?

👨‍👩‍👧 By traveling responsibly, you will be able to contribute to the well-being of the local community, its inhabitants, and the environment.

🌍 While the means of doing this seem irrelevant and not strong enough to make a stronger, bigger impact, be aware that each person’s small steps can contribute a lot when it all adds up.

✅ Pack and take with you only the essentials
- this means less money you will spend on luggage costs and the means of transport will be more fuel efficient
-it is advisable to bring clothes that are easy to wash and dry quickly and that you will be able to wear for several days

✅ Save on water consumption
- try to spend less time in the shower
- every time when it is not necessary for water to run - close the tap
- use a towel several times

✅ Save energy
- when you are not in the room turn off the lights, turn off the heating/cooling and other electrical appliances

✅ Recycle
- use the accessories multiple times when possible
- dispose of waste appropriately and correctly, sort it
- take a bag with you as you walk to destinations to pick up any trash you may find

✅ Buy products made from local small producers
- buy original souvenirs from local craftsmen; especially buy products from those green producers who return part of the profit to the community
- interactively participate in and learn about local traditions

✅ Check the origin of the products you buy
- some products can be made from banned materials and you have the ability and moral responsibility to refuse to buy them

22/05/2022

♻️ HOW TO BE A GREEN HOST, TRAVELER, AND TOUR OPERATOR? - TIPS AND TRICKS!

📚 There are several general principles on which ecotourism is based, and which we should follow in order to be green. The list of environmental standards for tour operators, i.e. hotels, agencies, and tourist destinations, has been set by the Global Council for Sustainable Tourism.

✅ Raise awareness of the importance of preserving the natural and cultural heritage of your place

1. Education is the most important and best tool for the development of ecotourism, both for travelers and locals

2. One of the appropriate activities can be educational programs, seminars, and lectures for schools and universities on ecotourism

3. Transformative form of tourism in the form of direct interaction of visitors with locals is perhaps the best way to learn

✅ Make eco-sustainable tours

1. Use means of transport that do not cause environmental pollution by carbon dioxide

2. Use alternative energy sources and naturally degradable materials

3. Set the maximum number of visitors to the tourist attraction and participants in the tourist arrangement

✅ Make a social enterprise

1. Invest part of the profit you make through your eco-friendly agency in socially beneficial projects such as green educational programs or green infrastructure

2. Support the local economy and local producers;
find partners who are already green or want to become one

3. Pay taxes and participate in advocating for policies to support budget support for eco-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises

4. Be an advocate for human rights
especially in the field of preserving the rights and culture of minorities in the area where you live and work, especially those whose rights and culture are endangered in any way

18/05/2022

♻️ THE HISTORY OF ECOTOURISM

👩‍🏫 The term ecotourism first appeared in 1982, but its origins go back even further before that.

📚 In the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, the term ecotour appears in 1973, which means a trip to natural areas with the aim of preserving the natural and animal world.

🌲 The beginning of ecotourism is marked by activities at Sierra Club’s excursion program that was launched in 1901. These are annual trips to the Sierra Nevada hinterland to showcase the natural wealth and develop an awareness of the need to preserve forests and encourage visitors to work actively in the field.

🇲🇽 In the 1970s, ecotourism found fertile ground for development as environmental activism emerged. Mexican architect and environmental activist Hector Ceballos Lascurain, according to some, coined the term ecotourism. He also, in 1981, became the founder and first president of the Mexican Association for Nature Conservation, and in 1984 he created the first ecotourism agency ECOTOURS.

📈 Ecotourism is now considered one of the fastest-growing forms of tourism in the tourism sector of the economy, with annual growth of 5%, accounting for 6% of world GDP. UNWTO predicts the rapid growth of ecotourism in the next 10 years!

15/05/2022

🏖 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECOTOURISM AND MASS TOURISM?

🗣 Ecotourists have a rare opportunity to visit all the attractions, the natural, authentic, yet undiscovered ones, to experience the local culture and tradition in a way never seen before; in direct contact with local people and have the opportunity to hear about their life stories!

♻️ Such contents contribute to the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage: local stories, songs, dances, and other customs that have been passed down for centuries to descendants.

♻️ Such facilities are not on offer in mass tourism, because authentic tourism can only take place to the extent that it benefits the local community and does not disturb the flora and fauna; does not pollute with noise, plastic, carbon dioxide, chemical waste…

♻️ As an ecotourist, you are able to organize your time and fulfill your desires; you can organize your own travel arrangements, unlike mass tourism in which this role is mostly taken over by travel agents and tour operators.

🚵‍♀️ Green tourism is active tourism; you will be constantly on the move, in the form of active holidays, since many activities are based on walking, cycling, hiking, and nature exploration… Take just for example picking herbs on plantations!

👨‍👩‍👧 Ecotourism is the tourism of small groups, which stay longer in the destination of travel, compared to the mass tourism of large groups that short stay in a tourist destination.

11/05/2022

💚 WHY IS ECOTOURISM GOOD?

📱 The modern age connects us in various ways; both online and offline, thanks to affordable flight prices and routes that can take us to the most remote destinations on the planet we can imagine!

👩‍🍳 What makes eco-friendly tours and arrangements stand out are the activities and offerings that are very different from traditional mass tourism arrangements. Eco-tours are those that emphasize the education and direct participation of the consumer of the service. E.g. have you ever tried a traditional dish that you loved, and would like to learn how to prepare it according to a traditional recipe after you return home? If your answer is yes - keep reading!

🌍 You have a choice to buy green tourist arrangements, and you’re able to be an example of a conscious traveler who cares about the planet and all its inhabitants. You have the power in your hands (and in your pocket, of course!) to preserve all the beauties of cultural diversity and protect human rights (yes, you heard right!)

🇧🇦 E.g. by buying souvenirs of local artisans and works of local artists, you are helping to develop the local economy, especially in developing countries. Nonetheless, you contribute to the stay of young people in their homeland where the emigration trend is popular, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina!

08/05/2022

♻️ WHAT IS ECOTOURISM?

🌲 What comes to your mind first when you hear the word "ecotourism"? It would not be surprising if most people associate this term with nature and tourist arrangements that take place in a natural environment.

🎻 However, this notion represents much more than that. The prefix "eco", of course, means something that is aimed at preserving nature, but it also means preserving all that is natural, primordial, and authentic; be it our forests, rivers, traditions, food, music, our local economy…

💲 Unfortunately, the scale of damage to the natural environment and cultural and historical heritage by mass tourism, which focuses primarily on sales volume and the economic principle of profitability, is large.

🖼 Therefore, ecotourism is entering the scene as one of the great ways to combine the profitable with the eco-friendly; the focus is on offering authentic, interactive, interesting, and innovative tour arrangements for visitors to the destination, aiding the financial well-being of the local tourism industry and small craftsmen, together with doing the business in an eco-friendly manner and the preservation of the natural environment.

🚮 Such tourism is sustainable and long-term tourism that aims to have continuous progress in the future. Sustainability is based on three pillars:

✅ ecological
✅ economical
✅ social

📚 To truly understand the importance of transforming tourism from mass to ecological, it is important to be educated about ecotourism, and about the ways in which we as travelers can be eco, green, aware, and conscientious for the benefit of our planet.

Be Green to Be Seen

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