Mostar, Bosnia

 

Mostar is a city that gets a lot of traffic- mostly from tourists who make it a day trip from Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We were able to stay the night, which was amazing, since the numbers of tourists decreased by a huge amount in the late evening, leaving the famous bridge nearly deserted and the streets fairly quiet.  And for good reason, this city is renowned.

Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (natively: mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over  the river. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks.  This famous bridge was one of the wonders of the world when it was built due to its huge span.  Now, tourists can pay members of the diving club to dive off of it, bask on the river under the bridge along with all the pot smokers and eat a leisurely dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river.

The Old Town Street

In 1468 Mostar came under Ottoman rule and the stone bridge was erected in 1566 on the orders of the Ottoman ruler. Later becoming the city's symbol, the bridge is one of the most important structures of the Ottoman era: 28 meters long and 20 meters high (90' by 64'), just soaring above the river.  

The Austro-Hungarian Empire absorbed Mostar in 1878 and it ruled there until the aftermath of World War I in 1918. Slowly, Mostar became divided: Muslim on one side of the river and Christian (both Orthodox and Catholic) on the other side.  The bridge for a time became a symbol of unity.

Between 1992 and 1993, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia, the town was subject to an 18 month siege. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) first bombed Mostar on April 3, 1992 and over the following week gradually established control over a large part of the town.  Amongst the monuments destroyed were a Franciscan monastery, the Catholic cathedral and the bishop's palace (with a library of 50,000 books), a number of secular institutions as well as the Karadžoz-bey mosque, and thirteen other mosques. 
After the war, the  Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia leadership  was accused of crimes against humanity and other war crimes during the war, including the destruction of the Stari Most bridge and other Bosniak sites and homes.  Now, the city seems as one: united in tourism.

The Old Bridge

 

Sitting by the river at night in Mostar.

The bridge incorporates empty space into the interior in order to make the studendous span across the river.

On the bridge.