BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA

         An Interesting and Informative Visit

            Bosnia was never on my travel list, but I managed to visit Mostar, the economic, political and cultural city of Herzegovina.  Today Bosnia and Herzegovina are one, but that was not always so. I am not an avid historian, but I learned from our guide that Turks arrived in the late 14^th century and occupied the area for 400 years. In the 19^th century a national revival movement started. During 1875-76 the Austro-Hungarian Empire took over. In fact WWI started because a prince of the empire was shot in Sarajevo in 1914.  In 1941 Bosnia Herzegovina was part of Croatia. After WWII it was part of Yugoslavia. The ethnic makeup was 50% Serbs, 30% Muslim and 20% Croats.  All got along well until 1992 when the Homeland War started. Serb men and boys were rounded up and in one day 8000 were executed in a small town in Herzegovina as the international community looked on.

            From Dubrovnik and the coast we followed the Nevetva River driving east. The river divides Mostar east and west and is the river that the famous friendship bridge spans.( a previous blog post)  The city has a hot Mediterranean climate and the name  Mostar means keeper of the bridge.

            Entering the city, after-effects of the war were obvious. Many buildings were burned out and abandoned. Some building walls were pock-marked with bullet holes giving them the appearance of Swiss cheese. It’s hard to imagine the terror the shelling caused. We joined up with a sweet local guide who happened to be Muslim, so we got a lot of information on the Muslim culture. My first visit to a mosque was most interesting—details on that in a later post. We also visited the home of a well-to-do Muslim family where we had more things explained to us. After a visit to the famous bridge and a walk through and some shopping at the bazaar we had an excellent meal at a local restaurant. The pastas we had were different but very good.

            We found Bosnians to be friendly people with a big heart. People were helpful and English was widely spoken. Although long, it was a most interesting and informative day.

A FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE

A BEAUTIFUL BRIDGE

The Old Bridge at Mostar, Bosnia was conceived during the Ottoman Empire in 1566. The graceful 65-foot long, stone, arched bridge spanning the Neretva River replaced a narrow wooden foot bridge. The original stone bridge survived until the war of 1991 when it was totally destroyed. A temporary wooden bridge spanned the river from 1993 to 2004. The present bridge, an exact replica of the original, used stone from the same quarry,

Our guide said, “It is estimated that the original stone bridge would have cost 50,000 Euro to build, the replacement bridge cost 50 million Euro in 2004. The stone  is spongy and if it gets too wet it crumbles, but it can be molded when damp. The stone that fell into the river was not reusable as it had been too wet for too long. It took five years of preparation to replace the bridge but only a year to actually build it.”

 Croats live on the west side of the bridge and Muslims on the east side. The city is internationally known for its Old Town Bridge that now is a symbol of reconciliation, cooperation, and coexistence of diverse cultural, religious, and ethnic communities. There are many mixed marriages, and during the war many children had to choose between Mom or Dad.

Our guide explained, “The semi-circular Tara building on the west side of the bridge was used to store ammo and gun powder during Ottoman rule. Now it houses the divers’ co-op. The Helebija on the east bank once held dungeons on the bottom and guards on the top.

“Divers used to dive off the bridge for cigarettes. Then they dove for money. They would work in pairs, one poised to dive while the other clapped his hands to gather a crowd and collect donations. The diver would not dive until enough money had been collected.”

 Today diving is done during competitions in July, otherwise diving from the bridge is forbidden. The waters 65 feet below flow swiftly making   diving  dangerous. Today a kayak floats  under the bridge and an ambulance is on the shore to cope with mishaps and emergencies during the competition.

The bridge, now a UNESCO site is picturesque with an interesting history.