I arrived in Mostar around noon. We came into the city, and I was less than impressed at first. It looked rundown and I didn’t see many other foreigners – quite the change from Dubrovnik. Upon arriving at the bus station, I said goodbye to my four hour friends and then headed south towards my hostel. Again, I had an idea of where it was, but didn’t have directions.
I walked what seemed like too far, so I stopped by a small coffee bar/pastry shop. I showed the guy behind the counter the address about where it was located and he pointed me in the right dierction. I know I could have printed out directions, but sometimes it’s fun to get lost and then have to ask for help (while getting responses in broken English).
I found my hostel about 10 minutes later. The woman running it was very welcoming and after she drew out the highlights of the city on a map, I ventured out.
I walked towards the Old Town – it seems like every European city had one of these, but each of them are different. I found a restaurant to eat lunch in that offered a terrace view of the Old Bridge.
I was 8 KM for the Ćevapi, 12 for the four cheese pasta, and 3 for the beer. In total, ~$16 for two main courses and a beer with table service and a fantastic view – a great deal.
After lunch I followed the self guided tour in Rick Steves book. I walked down near the river and stopped in a mosque that is open for visitors. That’s a first for me.
After viewing the inside, I climbed the narrow minaret for a view of the bridge.
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| Looking towards the old bridge |
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| and away from it |
I then walked over the Old Bridge and then walked up the Boulevard. This street was one of the main fighting lines during the war in 1993.
Continuing up the road, I found the building they call the Sniper’s Tower.
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| Ground floor |
It’s a 9 story building that used to be a bank. During the war, mercenaries would camp out at the top and shoot anything that moved. I walked up past some Bosnians sitting on the bottom steps. A woman was giving me a hard time, but I knew this place was open to travelers, so I kept walking when she tried to talk to me.
Like most abandoned buildings, it had it’s share of graffiti.
I kept exploring the top floor, and then saw there was a fire ladder to the roof. ‘Absolutely’ I thought to the myself.
Climbing the ladder was a bit challenging with a tripod attached to my backpack, but I made it up alright. My camera stuff is getting beat up on this trip, especially my tripod, but it’s worth lugging around.
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| Boulevard from the top of the sniper tower |
One of the things that is neat about the Sniper Tower is that there are still bullet shells up there from 20 years ago – I grabbed a few to take home.
On my way home, I passed by the same Bosnians at the bottom of the stairs, drinking. They asked me where I was from, then if I could give them any money. I said ‘No, sorry’ and walked away. They weren’t too happy about that, but I’m sure they’re used to people saying no.
After the sniper tower, I went back to my hostel and downloaded my pictures. As the sun was getting lower in the sky, I set back towards the Old Bridge.
This bridge was a symbolic link between the East and the West and was standing for 427 years before the war. On November 9th, 1993, it was shelled by Bosnian-Croat forces and fell into the river below.
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| Tires were hung from it to absorb the shock of the shells and reduce damage – 1993 |
I overhead a Bosnian tour guide saying, “I could talk for an hour and not tell you 1/10th of what that bridge meant to us”.
On July 23, 2004, they finished reconstruction on the bridge using the same material and techniques almost half a century before. As the sun began to set, I set up my tripod next to the river to capture it. Some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken so far on this trip.
