Visoko recently became very popular due to its evidence of the first traces of life dating back to the 5th millennium BC. As a matter of fact, archaeological excavations of Okolište are one of the biggest neolithic settlements of the Butmir culture in southeastern Europe. Therefore, it is no strange that the small community of this area has been known wide across the country as the guardians of traditional arts and crafts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This Full Day Experience will take you to a Neolithic area of Visoko and a charming small village where only 6 families live nowadays. You will meet one of the best pottery artist in the country and wider, enter his home, meet his beautiful family, share food, learn about their life and work and, finally, with a little help from the expert, make your very own pottery souvenir to bring home. Meeting a local community while putting yourself out there as an artist and discovering a deep connection between your mind, your body and the clay.
Departure Times Daily at 8 AM.
Pickup Locations If you are staying in the old town of Sarajevo meet us at our office. If you are bit away from us, please let us know and we can organise advance pickup.
Activity Note: The tour is adapted to all ages and is not physically demanding. Due to the distance of the locations, we use vehicles during the tour.
We will arrive to Visoko around 10 AM and leave our car in the city centre. Once in Visoko, we shall take a stroll through the town, explore it’s small narrow streets and learn how does it look like to live in a small Bosnian town. Whether you are sceptic or not, we should also discuss the phenomena of Bosnian Pyramids and take you to the most beautiful view point for taking some amazing photos.
*Due to the complexcity of the itinerary, we will not include a guided tour of the Pyramids but all of you enthusiasts who would like to learn or see more, feel free to contact us, we are always open to your suggestions and preferences and each of our tours can easily be customised.
We will arrive to charming little village of Ljesevo just on a time for some refreshments. We will meet our wonderful hosts Vahid and Hava, have a drink at their home and learn more about how does it looks like to be young couple deciding to spend their lives at the rural side of the country.
Our next goal will be helping Vahid in finding the perfect clay for the souvenir we will be making.We will take a short ride from their home to the place where we will leave a car and do a short hike through a beautifully dense but completely serene forest which has been a safe haven and a treasure trove for many pottery artists.
During a short, half an hour walk and exploring the forest, we will be able to hear a lot of interesting stories as, besides an incredible artist, Vahid is also an amazing local story teller and a person perfect to ask about anything you might be interested in when it comes to not only arts and crafts but the ancient history as well. Once we find our perfect peace of clay, we will return to Vahid’s home. On the way, we will make a short stop and visit a local mountain lodge, place so serene and scenic that is an absolute must for taking some amazing photos.
If you were missing a home cooked meal, or ever wondered how does it looks like to have a true Bosnian locally prepared lunch, this is a perfect time of a day for you.
Prepare your tastebuds for one of the tastiest meals you will ever have. Serving only from the ingredients she finds in vicinity of her home, Hava will put hear skills and heart in making you the finest lunch that will make you feel a lot less of an outsider and more as a family member. Depending on the time of the year, lunch menu will be a small surprise but do feel free to contact us with any possible dietary restrictions so we could keep that in mind.
After the lunch Vahid will show you his small museum where he proudly collects artefacts he finds during his extensive walks and explorins. Over the year, Vahid has managed to turn this place into a small museum which will surprise you with the fascinating amount of the ancient pottery tools and artefacts.
Once we are done with a short ” history class” Vahid will show you his skills and teach you basics about the art of clay modelling. It is your time now to sit on a small chair and connect yourself with the old, hand-made, potter’s wheel-machine which is used in the modelling of round ceramic wares. Despite being impossible to master any art or craft within just a day, rest assured that Vahid’s calming voice and smiling face will make you believe you can create a shape you will be proud off.
We will return to Sarajevo in late afternoon.
What Do I Need to Bring?
