Mostar — a bridge between East and West
Located on the banks of the Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city of Mostar is a place I like to visit often, even if it’s only for one day.
The symbol of the city is the well-known Stari Most (Old Bridge).
Suleiman the Magnificent, a 16th-century ruler of the Ottoman Empire, ordered this stone bridge to be built in place of an older wooden one. Almost ten years and 456 heavy stone blocks later, the bridge was finished. It remained intact from 1566 until 1993, when it was destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence. It took slightly more than ten years to rebuild the bridge; when completed in 2004, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
There is a local custom of diving off the bridge in order to prove your courage. I have seen people do it, but I have not tried it myself. It looks magnificent, I must say. I find it is best not to be on the bridge when the diver is getting ready for their jump, but rather to go down to the riverbank to observe. There you can see them dive from 20 meters above and splash into the fast-moving mountain river. Talk about courage.
Here on the riverbank, I like to have my lunch as well. With a couple of traditional-cuisine restaurants called taverna nearby, a place in the shade and a portion of ćevapi are quite easy to find. I get sugar cravings after, which is why I love the small pastry shops found all around. I usually can’t decide which of the traditional cakes to get, but I always have my eyes on tufahija, hurmašica, and tulumba. It’s hard to choose between them, trust me!
Now is time to hit the cobbled streets of Kujundžiluk, an old bazar. Here you can find local artisans selling traditional handicrafts from little shops on the side of the street. What I love most are the pashmina scarves found in various colors.
The choices are endless. You can also find beautiful clothes and jewelry, copper coffee and tea sets, carpets, narghiles, lanterns, and much more. The streets are crowded with street vendors and tourists, different languages, odors, and music. I love this mixture, which creates a perfect blend of joy and happiness that I feel whenever in Mostar.
Written by Vanja Nedić, an Eastern Europe travel enthusiast.
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We have also written about Prague, Viscri, Košice, the unique cave bath of Miskolctapolca, Kraków, Plitvice Lakes Natural Park, Lake Bled, Veliko Tarnovo, Novi Sad, Stari Bar, Bánffy Castle, Hunyadi Castle, Gyula, Kaunas, Gauja National Park, Kuressaare, Ruhnu, Zadar, Tartu, Wigry National Park, Krk Island, Budva, Mileştii Mici Winery, Ljubljana and Rupea Fortress.
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