The bridge survived over 400 years, and in one day it crumbles and crashes into the river below. Keep in mind, this was eight years before the Taliban blew up the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. I watch the video and try to get my head around the notion that someone would order the destruction of medieval history. Trapped on the east side of the river after the bridge fell, the Bosniaks could not access clean drinking water. But on the ninth of November in 1993, after being blasted by 60 shells, the medieval bridge collapsed into the river-devastating the city’s spirit and preventing residents from crossing the river. In 1993 the Croats blew up the original bridge, but the international community painfully restored it in 2004.Ĭonstructed in 1566 by architect Mimar Hajrudin, the Mostar Bridge (Stari Most) is a marvel example of Balkan Ottoman architecture, and at the time it was the largest single-arch bridge in the world. Stari Most, the legendary Mostar Bridge in its full glory. The medieval bridge gave the city its name: from Mostari, which means “bridge keepers.” Cobblestone paths wind around and cross the Neretva River with the iconic peaked arch Stari Most, or “old bridge.” It’s stunning. The old town of Mostar is a cozy and quiet pedestrian-only district teeming with cafes, boutiques, and restaurants. Today, it’s mostly Croats and Bosniaks as only about 5 percent of Serbs remain. While I still sweat at stoplights or for turning traffic, the air is crisp and when moving the flow through my jacket is refreshing.īefore the Bosnian war and when the city was under siege by Croat and Bosnian Serb forces, Mostar was the most diverse city in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with a population mixed of Croats, Serbs, and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks). Then again, will I be back in Bosnia again? This is the problem and the opportunity.įor the next hour, I follow the river and pass Jablanica Lake where adventure shops hawk rafting and mountain trekking trips. I’ve made myself open to possibilities, traveling without an itinerary which means I rarely book a room in advance. It’s one of few regrets I had so far on this trip. It’s here I notice a sign for “Tito’s Bunker.” I’m curious, but with the late start and desire to be in Mostar, I pass it by and the downtown area where the Konjic Bridge and pedestrian area offer photo ops for this picturesque city. Things get slower in the bustling city of Konjic, a beautiful town nestled in the mountains on the Neretva River. After all, I’m riding the Balkans and will be in Mostar before nightfall. The entire dance is stressful, so I take a breath, relax and just set into my space and not worry about the blocked view, or slow pace. I creep up behind a slow mover, move to the left to peer down the opposite lane, only to be shoved back into my lane by an oncoming car or calculate my risk with a pending hill, corner or fast-moving traffic. The trucks and traffic and the occasional daredevil driver passing in both directions around curves or over hills that to these eyes look like suicide or death wish moves. The ride to Mostar takes me about two-and-a-half hours. In the next ten years, the A1 should open Sarajevo and the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina with coastal Croatia to the southwest and to Serbia and continental Croatia to the north and northeast. After paying I continue my journey on twisting and traffic-congested secondary road (E78). But after just some 20 kilometers of pure traffic-free joy, somewhere around Tarcin, I’m diverted off the highway through a toll booth. I’m surprised to find a spanking new four-lane highway (A1) heading out of Sarajevo. With so many people leaving, I wonder and worry what might happen here over the next decade. Though like Sarajevo, where the population has declined some 30 percent since 1991, Mostar lost only over 20 percent. Stari Most - “old bridge” in Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina.Īfter a few days of getting poked, and jolted with blunt reminders of Sarajevo’s past, I hop on my bike and head west toward Mostar, a city with a population just over 100,000.
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