Porto Narenta

“The next day, the Praetor and the Narentan going on business to Metcovich, the bazaar on the Turkish frontier, I accompanied them thither. […]. Metcovich, the last place on the frontier, is situated on a steep hill, stretching out into the plain, and is very badly built, the houses being roofed with unhewn flagstones, placed on each other like slates; while the streets connecting the different parts of the village are cut into staircases, in consequence of the steepness of the hill: but, from its position, it is healthier than Fort Opus, and a small part of the plain being drained and planted, shews what a magnificent region this might be, if it were all systematically rendered fit for cultivation. The best house of the place was that of the Syndic, who had merried the sister of my host of Fort Opus. […]. We now embarked in a boat, and rowed up the river to the bazaar. A ditch of about ten feet wide, crossing the valley from hill to hill, formed the boundary between the two empires that for so many years had battled every inch of ground from the Julian Alps to the plains of Wallachia. On the Austrian side of the boundary were the offices, and on the Turkish a wall, with slides like coffins for the exchange of commodities. The Sirdar, a tall, wiry old soldier, naw marshalled up the frontier-guard in a row, while the Praetor inspected them; and they looked just like Turkish irregulars, all wearing frieze robes, with the fez, and a belt of pistols and dirks. […]. Metcovich is seven hours distant from Mostar, the capital of Herzegovina, the principal item of sale to the Turks being salt; but it is evident that if the climate were better, it is well situated for trade, having easy access to the sea, and a valley road to Mostar, instead of one up hill and down dale, as from Ragusa (pp. 213-215)”.