Mostar is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina home to a famous bridge that gives the city it’s name “most” meaning “bridge” in Bosnian. The historic city and its iconic bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th Century came to the world’s attention during the Croat–Bosniak War in 1993. The bridge that had spanned the River Neretva for 427 years finally succumbed to repeated shelling on the 9th November 1993 – it was reportedly hit by over 60 shells before crashing to the river bed below. Mostar was the most destroyed city in the former Yugoslavia with most of the old town buildings suffering the same fate as the bridge.
We took a day trip from Dubrovnik, a bit of a trek but definitely worth the effort. There are a few daily buses to Mostar; the 8am bus we took got us into Mostar before Midday. The journey itself was interesting as we passed through areas where the war had raged. At one point we stopped for a comfort break and were advised not to wander into any fields in case of mines. Our route also took us past the beautiful Neretva Delta as the road wound above the lush vegetation described as the ‘Green Pearl’ of coastal Croatia. The border crossing from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina was quick and painless.
On arrival, be warned the temperature can rise into the 40s celsius, which is exactly what met us as we disembarked our air-conditioned coach. The city still bears the scars of the conflict with many of the buildings pockmarked with bullet holes. The reconstructed Stari Most (Old Bridge), opened on 23 July 2004, forms a majestic stone arc between the rebuilt fortified medieval towers that guard each end. The city was alive with visitors pouring over all manner of bric-a-brac on the stalls that line the cobbled streets.
The highlight is undoubtedly the bridge itself, which when we were there still offered the spectacle of local bridge divers. At certain times of the day the bridge suddenly became packed with people flocking to see a young man (in red speedos in our case) throw himself off. As he prepared himself without any sign of nerves his friends passed a hat around before he stood tall on the side and plunged the 30ft into the icy cold river Nerevta below. Bridge diving has been a rite of passage for hundreds of years and is now also part of Red Bull’s Cliff Diving World Series.
Featured image iStock/nightman1965
