Mostar. The City of a Thousand and One Bridges

Mostar is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A city of amazing destiny. It is not for nothing that they say: “As you name the boat, so shall it sail”. This name was first mentioned back in 1468 in the documents of the Ottoman Empire. And hundreds of years later it continues to bear this name. And it became famous thanks to one of its bridges. Probably everyone who has seen pictures of the Balkan conflict has seen its photo.

Here, in this small and cozy town, I spent most of my time out of all the time I lived in Bosnia in 2013. Looking through these photos makes me want more than ever to be back on these narrow, ancient cobblestone streets. To enjoy the rushing streams of rivers that cross the city (here they were not put underground like in many other countries). Let me share some memories with you too. It was a hot March. Despite a slight cold, we went for a walk around Mostar…..

It didn’t take long to convince me to go for a walk that day. It’s rare at this time of year to have a whole day here without fog and rain. The weather here changes every half hour, so this spring weather was a joy. One only had to look out the window…..

The city is already awake. There are textured clouds in the sky. Cars and pedestrians scurry through the streets. Life is boiling as much as it can boil in a city like this. We cross the Neretva River on the Tsarinsky Bridge.

The city is divided into two parts: Muslim and Christian. It is now conventionally divided by the river. This creates a misconception that during the siege of the city by Yugoslavian troops and the civil war, the front line was located here. This is not true, the front line was located on one of the streets, which I will show you a little later.

It’s hard to look in any direction without spotting a mosque. Especially in the touristy part of town, which is where we’re headed. Signs for foreigners are appearing.

A large cross can be seen in the background. Orthodox and Muslims still coexist here. I don’t know if they have forgiven each other or not. It’s just frozen feelings for goodness sake. They’ve found the strength to shove their ambitions down deep. But still. I mean, it’s understandable.

But there are a lot of cute details. For example, these drawings on the flowerpots outside the cafe. Isn’t that cute?

There are fire hydrants. Almost like in America, but in deep blue color.

And some nice Bosnian girls. That’s just the sun blinding her, she’s actually a pretty lady :)

Trimuša Park is on a hill. It offers a good panorama of the city, and on the hill itself there is a memorial to the soldiers who fell in the First and Second World Wars.

Interesting and beautiful. It may not be aesthetically beautiful, but I liked the idea. You can wander through it by following these paths

Underfoot, you will encounter stones like these, on which are carved the names of the natives of the city whose lives were taken by these wars.

Here is an example of such a stone. This one is in memory of Zurovac Borivoje. Looking at the inscription, we learn that this apparently soldier was born in 1917, and died in 1942, at the age of 25. The place of death is Mamula, an island in the Adriatic Sea. It is an uninhabited island with a lonely old fortress. Now it is a tourist attraction, but in 1942 there was a concentration camp, organized by order of Benito Mussolini. It was famous for its sophisticated torture of prisoners and is still legendary (a Serbian horror movie of the same name was released in 2013). We can only speculate about the horrors of the boy’s fate.

The views from this monument are mesmerizing

In the distance, mountains covered in snow. This location has played a cruel joke on the city. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The Yugoslav troops kept the city under siege for 18 months, trivializing it with artillery fire from the heights.

The houses seem like toys compared to the enormous mountains… But we’re going down. We pass the “Croatian House of Herceg Stepan Kosaci”. Opposite is the monument to the Croatian victims of the Yugoslav conflict.

It is located in the Zrinjevac Park. Here mothers with children walk, here couples stroll, and beautiful girls stroll…. Here grandfathers read newspapers humbly on a bench….

New and good children’s swings and playgrounds are rarer in Mostar than in Sarajevo, but they still happen

It’s a pleasant place to spend time. The atmosphere is not tense, and the park seems to be filled with an air of genuine freedom. Why – I don’t know. But that’s exactly how I felt during the walk.

The consequences of the war are here at every turn. And don’t look at the fact that 10 years have passed! It will take many more decades to “lick” the wounds of war, and there will be scars hundreds of years later.

There was some kind of charity event going on that day. They were selling pretty flowers in the park, the money from which went to charity. Everyone was walking around with these flowers.

Naturally, similar flowers were instantly handed to our female companions :)

We come out onto one of the main streets. This is where the battlefront between Orthodox and Muslims, between supporters of independence and those who supported Yugoslavia, took place.

But there’s still more beautiful things here. There’s still a lot to see here. This city falls in love like a girl.

I love the incredible, emerald color of the water. It is mesmerizing. Anyone who gets to the Balkans for the first time can’t stop watching this rich color. But in the city, it’s almost invisible. In the city, the rivers, chained in stone channels, rush forward with tremendous force!

And here is the bridge. The quality is even worse, I never took a picture of it on purpose. I don’t know why. When you often walk past a landmark, you probably stop giving it importance. But I was personally photographed against its background.

The bridge has already been rebuilt. During the conflict, right after the NATO bombing, it looked like this:

This bridge became a symbol of that terrible war, and its rebuilding became a symbol of reconciliation.

Because this country and these people are beautiful. You can’t help but fall in love with them.

I highly recommend everyone who will have such an opportunity to visit Mostar! Enjoy a cup of coffee overlooking the restored bridge, stroll along the streets, chat with these wonderful people!