Cities to Visit in Eastern Europe: Mostar
Mostar is Not the Average Tourist Destination.
Aug 11, 2008
Mostar was the sight of battles during the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian-Croat conflict in the early 1990s. More than a decade after the war, the area is now receiving foreign tourists, making for a beautiful, yet challenging destination.
Visiting Mostar
Despite the destruction, many of the city´s landmarks remain intact or have been reconstructed. The "Stari Most", the bridge from which the town derives its name, is undoubtedly the most prominent of these. The city's emblem, a five centuries' old Turkish construction, was destroyed in 1993 as a result of armed conflict between the town´s Croat and Muslim populations. A reconstruction project resurrected the structure in July of 2004. The project, which cost 13 million dollars according the BBC, employed the original building materials. On Mostar's oppressively hot summer days, travelers can witness locals taking the 78-foot plunge into the river's icy waters. Foreigners should realize that they jump at their own risk.
In addition to the bridge itself, the market area immediately surrounding it has also been largely rebuilt. Those who have neglected to pick up knick knacks depicting the Yugoslav ruler Tito for their friends back home should stop by. Visitors can also satisfy their desire for cevapi , a sausage dish typical of the region.
Lingering Signs of Battle and Destruction
Targetted efforts at rebuilding the historical monuments of Mostar, however, have yet to impact most of the city. Unlike nearby Dubrovnik (Croatia), an UNESCO world heritage site since 1979 and major tourist destination, Mostar has been passed by on the list of wartorn cities in need of a total reconstruction overhaul. Although the carnage ceased in 1995, the city of Mostar in southern Herzegovina has yet to recuperate its structural integrity. Gutted buildings, pock-marked with bullet holes testify to the brutality of the Bosnian War and to the Croat-Bosniak conflict (1992-1995) that pitted local residents against one another along ethnic and religious lines. Perhaps the most haunting evidence of the violence is a city graveyard where all the tombstones bear the year "1992." Although today peace reigns, spatial segregation between Croats and Muslims remains an uneasy feature of life in Mostar.
What To Expect If You Go
Visitors to Herzegovina might be surprised by the warm and open atmosphere that confronts them, despite the violence and poverty. One traveler who recently visited the region commented to me that she could not understand how such an apparently kind-spirited and gregarious people could have been capable of the violence that so visibly scars the city. Exploring Mostar offers travelers a chance to contemplate uncomfortable questions about human nature, while walking a city surrounded by outgoing people, ancient beauty, and modern destruction.
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