Mostar

Trying to paste on smiles despite rivers of sweat running down our faces.  Welcome to sunny Mostar!

Whew, what a full on day!  We were up at the crack of sometime-after-six to catch the bus to Mostar from Dubrovnik.  At 8am, when the bus left the station, we were informed that it was 30 degrees outside.  We arrived in Mostar shortly after 11, and were surprised to find that the city is in a desert.  It's an extremely arid landscape, similar to the Mediterranean, and Mostar spans a river in the middle of a valley.  We dropped our stuff at the hostel, after being met at the bus station by a hostel employee.  A quick turnaround left us in the Old Town of Mostar right in the heat of the day (about 38-40 degrees!!).  The city is really interesting, and has obvious and distinct architectural styles, since it has been a key holding for various Empires, from Roman to Ottoman to Austro-Hungarian.  The city is built around the Old Town Bridge, the heart of Mostar.  It is a beautiful stone bridge which arches 21m over the Neretva river.  During the conflict in the 1990s, it was destroyed, but it was rebuilt, to the delight of the people (and tourists) in the early 2000s.  We walked along the oddly round-cobbled streets, through Turkish bazaars and passed many wares.  We looked at Stari Most (the bridge) from many angles, and then went to the Museum of Hercegovina, a somewhat underdeveloped museum whose highlight was a video showing the bridge in its pre-war glory, the demolition of the bridge, and also its rebuilding.  There were a lot of artifacts from all the eras of Mostar, which was neat, but it wasn't presented in a very engaging way.  In any case, it was cool, and we reentered the heat reluctantly.  After doing a bit of haggling for souvenirs on the streets, we went for a walk along the former front line of the 1990s conflict.  It is absolutely surreal to walk past buildings that could be in Vancouver, and then to look at the bombed out, bullet-ridden shell that is its next door neighbor.  The bullet holes around the windows were numerous, attributing to the fact that snipers lived in the buildings and attempted to kill anyone crossing streets.  It was hard walking past places where so many people died at the hands of people they'd lived alongside for their whole lives.  This evening we grabbed dinner on a patio with a nice view of the Old Bridge, and joined in with those people clapping for the macho dudes who hurl themselves off the bridge (for a generous offering, of course).  We watched Germany crush Greece in the Euro, and now we're headed to bed, because it's another early morning tomorrow on the way to Sarajevo!  Quick turn around, but it's going to be good.  We need to make the most of our last few days!

The beloved Stari Most: Mostar's Bridge, and the heart of the city.
Destroyed during the conflict in 1993, it was rebuilt using the same methods used in its original construction.

Bridge jumping is an important tradition in Mostar.
It's also a way to con gullible tourists out of a lot of money.

On a side note, blogger tells me that my little 'mass update' project has had over 1,500 views.  Thanks to our Moms!  Seriously though, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to read (and even occasionally comment) on this blog.  It's nice to know you're listening!