Mostar, Bosnia Hertzegovina

Bosnia Hertzegovina was never on my list of countries I wanted to visit until I started planning this trip and discovered Turkish airlines flies out of Sarejevo. The flights were considerably cheaper and there was only a small lay over in Istanbul in comparison to leaving from Zagreb. And of course I remember Sarajevo watching the Winter Olympics, Torville and Dean ice dancing,  so with a small interest in the war and things historic, it became a question of why not?

The good guidebooks talked about Mostar and the Starigrad bridge which had been destroyed in the bombing and then completely rebuilt in the old style by the local population. A renown tourist attraction. To break the journey to Sarejavo we decided to stop off like many others, in Mostar over night. As we drove into town on the bus I had that sinking feeling and almost a desire to stay on the bus. Mostar is very different from any where we have been in war damaged Croatia and Slovenia too for that matter. All around are left overs and stark reminders of the wars. Abandoned  and damaged buildings every where, even down the main street. There are buildings riddled with bullet holes, signs on many buildings permitting entry due to  war damage, people using the fronts of small decrepit damaged buildings as stalls, and the rubbish. Rubbish is every where, spewing out of the bins on the road, with people openly fossicking in the bins. of course coming hand and hand with a depressed area are the poor asking for money. 

Mostar is built of the banks of the Malar? River in a gorge, so surrounding the township are the unforgiving stark rock ranges. The cemeteries are huge, new and crowded with crosses and plaques. While Croatia is fuelled by the benefits of tourism along their 1200 km coast, and assistance from UNESCO to rebuild Dubrovnik old town, Croatia as a whole has quickly rebuilt itself. First Slovenia and then Croatia were regarded as wealthy states of Yugoslavia, the other countries were not in that financial stratosphere, instead very poor. Mostar and Bosnia Hertzegovina on first impression are just that, a stark contact to Croatia and Slovenia. I'm looking forward to getting out there, exploring this township and walking in daylight over the very famous Starigrad Bridge along with the other new bridges joining old town, to the newer parts of the town.