The biggest tourist attraction in Bosnia

6/3
Tracy and I railroad Drew into a side visit to Medugorje before heading to the coast. How can we just drive by the No. 1 Tourist Attraction in the Balkans?
Medugorje means region between two mountains and while it is a pretty town, it’s completely unremarkable except for this: 25 years ago the Virgin Mary appeared here to six teen-agers in a series of what is now called “apparitions.” She talked to them about peace.
Tourbooks say that more than 15 million pilgrims have visited the place since hoping Mary will favor them or at least grant them some favors. It ranks up with Lourdes and Fatima. Religious tourism is a huge business. There are more hotel rooms here, or so it is said, than in all the rest of Bosnia combined. Guide books say 10,000 rooms. Tour buses clog the roads. Daily flights come into Dubrovnik from Dublin filled with Catholics en route to Medugorje. Even during the 1990s war, pilgrims kept coming, though in decreased numbers.
The church that accommodates all these seekers is big but plain. The rest of the town seems to be largely souvenir stands and food establishments.