Stari Most

I've been having trouble finding internet cafes where photos can be uploaded at any reasonable speed, so I'm somewhat behind in letting you all know what I've been doing here in Sarajevo.

This is the famous bridge in Mostar, taken during a day trip one weekend. Mostar is an important center of the Herzegovina part of BiH, and this bridge is the heart of the city, its most famous monument. The original bridge was destroyed in November of 1993 after the alliance of Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats fell apart (Mostar's population was primarily divided between these two groups). Croat tank round destroyed the bridge, breaking the hearts of Mostar's residents. An exact model was constructed about three years ago with much international support (I think Jimmy Carter may have shown up for the opening celebration). Tourists again flock to Mostar to see the bridge and to gasp at the young men who jump from it. They plunge 21 meters into the river ... it's said to be about 2 seconds of free fall, which is quite a long time, and it's said that one risks castration - and death, of course - if the jump is made improperly.

The bridge has been reconstructed, but the rest of Mostar is not as it was before the war ... a lot of social tension and prejudice is said to remain, discouraging many of the refugees who fled during the war from returning. The picture below is of a ruined house near the center of the city, you can see the holes in the walls from bullets and shrapnel.


A large Catholic cross now looks down over the city - a very common sight in Italy, I am told, but unseen in BiH other than at Medugorje, a major Catholic pilgrimage destination where Mary is said to have appeared to a group of teenagers in the 1980s. The cross above Mostar is placed precisely on the spot where anti-aircraft guns were located during the war; Mostar was in a no-fly zone, however, so the guns were tragically used to kill the citizens below.