Mostar & The War

Mostar is a town full of mixed emotions, beautiful yet still scarred from the war. When Bosnian Serbs started trying to expand their territory and started their ethinc cleansing operation on parts of Bosnia, ethnic tensions eventually dragged Bosnian Croats into the war and the result was that the divided town of Mostar became a key focus in the war. The town divided by the lovely green Neretva river split Croats and Muslims into their on sectors. The historic and beautiful bridge built in the 16th century was a focal point of the town and gave the town its name. Mostar means 'keeper of the bridge'. Reopened in 2004, the bridge is a significant step in co-operation between both sides of the still divided town.

Along the former front line, many buildings still stand derelict, just shells of what was once there. At one corner, I stood and faced 3 completely gutted buildings, while one still standing, an imposing Austro Hungarian 'gymnasium' (school), still stands but is scarred all over with bullet and shell wounds. Meanwhile schooltrips bring their children to teh bridge and show them this emotional and historic place that has played such a major part in their families and their own lives.



The good and the bad.
Left: The beatiful 'Stari Most' (old bridge) at Mostar.
Right: Destroyed buildings still line many streets long the former front-line in Mostar

In total I stayed 3 days in Mostar, I came back after Sarajevo a I had to stay once more in this lovely town. It was nice sitting bwloe the bridge, having breakfast in the sunshine longside teh colorful river. One morning I was lucky enough to be there as some 'bridge divers' came along.
Sadly some, after much standing around, preparing, did not amke the jump off the 21m bridge (whimps), but one did and I caught it on video, for which I will add a link as soon as I can. One who pulled out after standing on the edge, preparing for some 15 minutes, disappointed the hoardes of waiting school children and received a torrent of boos and whistles as he walked away ;-)



Left: Bridge diver at Mostar (this guy never jumped.. boo)
Right: Boy amused himself throwing stones into the river.

An excellent place to visit was a small photo exhibition next to the bridge, showing the bridge from 1991 through to 1994. It was an incredibly emotional collection, first showing the and surrounding areas as they were pre-war, followed by the gradual deteriation of the bridge and streets until finally it disappeared following Croat bombing in November 1993. The streets around the bridge are now lined with tourist shops in beautiful colours and in excellent condition, most sad were the photos taking during 1993, showing these same buidlings completely wrecked and the streets round just huge piles of rubble. A really emotional sight, that makes me grateful that I have managed until now to have lived life without experiencing anything like what happend in Bosnia. As I saw teenagers and people up to my age walk around, I wonder what it must have been like for them to experience all this and how it must have affected their lives. Fortunately I have to say that everyone I met there seemed genuinely warm and friendly, so I feel that locals have come through it positively at least, which is a consolation, however small.