Day 42: The Old Bridge at Mostar

If you think back to the Balkans Wars of the 1990’s, you’ll probably recall the story of Mostar as a shining example of its futility…

The town is to this day split down the middle into Croatian (Catholic) and Bosnian (Muslim) halves, which fought each other during the war – real neighbour vs. neighbour close quarter stuff.  The old front line is still clearly visible by the blocks of gutted buildings that line it.   Another giveaway are the churches on one side of town (including the most ridiculous “f#ck you mine’s bigger than yours” bell tower I’ve ever seen) and the mosques and minarets on the other.

   
The front line – lots of bullet holes!       The muslim side of the river.

The Muslims definitely have the better/nicer part of the town, including the stretch along the river with its cobbled streets and old architecture, and the Croats tried their best to pound it into rubble during the war.  The town’s famous 16th century Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the river is also on the Muslim side of town, and it was repeatedly shelled by the Croatian forces until it collapsed in late 1993 after about 18 months of hits.  It’s since been rebuilt and looks pretty damn good!  The same can’t be said for the famous “bridge divers” who were a bit of a disappointment.  I was expecting something pretty extravagant and acrobatic, but all they did was drop off the 21m height feet first into the river below – “bridge jumper” is a more apt title.

Impressive!

    
Sunset and twilight on the Stari Most…