The Blue River - what a spa hotel for wandering bohemians and philosopher hobos looks like.

Blogger Stanislav Gorbunov writes:

The current hotel business is practically unimaginable without SPA services. Water relaxing procedures coupled with the maximum comfort level of the rooms - this pastime is an ideal for many. Nowadays, the word SPA itself is associated with wealth and respect.

Few can imagine that the prototypes of today's spa hotels can be called Muslim tekke or tekke. These were the peculiar guest houses in the Islamic world, where wandering dervishes lived and performed their religious rituals. These monks or maybe vagrants always enjoyed special respect, so shelters were built for them with special requirements for coziness and amenities.

During our trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, we visited such a shelter in the village of Blagaj. This place turned out to be very special and worthy of attention...

For many of us, dervishes are associated with some strange dancers in long skirts who can whirl in ecstasy for hours until complete exhaustion.

In reality, dervishes, or Sufis, are people who have renounced all earthly possessions and seek to find themselves through wandering and religious rituals. Dance is just one of the ways to achieve religious ecstasy.

Dervishes could be called Muslim monks, only they have few restrictions in secular life. They can have families and live in their own homes, or they can be beggars, wanderers, ascetics, and illusionists. They did not have to beg so often. Ordinary Muslims always treated them with respect, reverence, and even fear.

During their wanderings, dervishes could stay for a long time in special shelters called tekke. There, all conditions were created for a fairly comfortable and even luxurious stay for an extended period of time.

In the process of choosing a location for the future tekke and subsequent construction, seven components were taken into account - house, staircase, calm water, flowing water, rock, tomb, cave. This strange set was supposed to ensure complete harmony in the future.

The Blagaj tekke was built about five centuries ago precisely according to all these rules. A large, bright two-story house with a staircase was located near a high cliff next to the source of the karst river Buna, whose clean but turbulent streams burst outside straight through an underground cave.

This place is mesmerizing even in our day. In the summer, there is no shortage of tourists here. Bosnians have long since occupied this place with pragmatic goals. Right by the water, there are about a dozen street cafes and souvenir shops.

Moreover, the tables with chairs are placed right in the flowing water of the karst river. Its cool waters surely provide great refreshment in the summer.

They even arranged a small café in the courtyard of the tekke itself. What can you do, for Muslims, it is not at all shameful to make money even near holy places.

Anyone can enter the building for a small entrance fee.

However, non-Muslims, both men and women, will have to adhere to the dress code, take off their shoes, and wear special skirts with scarves.

The current building was completely rebuilt on the site of the previous one, which was destroyed by a landslide, in the 1880s. Inside, you can see rooms for sleeping and socializing that are full of Eastern charm.

Agree, it's cozy here!

Comfort is also top-notch here!

Right nearby was the kitchen with a hearth-stove. The latter has been preserved excellently.

You can also see where the dervishes used to relieve themselves.

By the way, in this little room there is a window with a beautiful view of the river and the cliffs.

I was not mistaken at the beginning of this story, calling the tekke a prototype of modern spa hotels. In Islam, special attention has always been paid to water procedures.

Here in the Blagaj tekke, you can find a special room for a hammam - a thermal bath.

There is also a so-called mesjid - a mosque without a minaret, in the tekke. Everything here was created for spiritual and physical harmony.

An attentive reader will recall the mentioned important component of any tekke - tombs. In the Blagaj tekke, there is not just a tomb, but a whole mausoleum right inside the house. Through a door crack inside, you can see two ancient coffins. They are worth a separate mention.

In one of them lies a certain Achik-Pasha. He was a sheikh - that's what they called the rulers of the tekke. It is also rumored that he spied for Turkey, as during his lifetime Bosnia was part of Austria-Hungary.

The other tomb is even more interesting. There is no one inside. According to legend, it was erected in honor of the legendary character Sary-Saltuk. Many legends and mysteries are associated with this strange dervish. According to one of them, he could suddenly appear and disappear anywhere. So did Blagaj, he also mysteriously disappeared at one time, leaving only a walking stick and a sword behind. According to tradition, this happened to him seven times, and in each place, an empty tomb was erected by his followers.

Yes, you understood correctly, the dervishes were indeed mystics. It is no wonder that the word "fakir" meant both dervishes and wandering ascetics in India.

I think you already understand that visiting Blagaj is definitely worth it. It is better to do so off-season and when there are no crowds of tourists, which will help appreciate this place properly. It is located just 12 kilometers from the important Bosnian city of Mostar. Don't miss out on this spa hotel for Bosniaks and fakirs if you happen to be nearby...

Photos and text — Source