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In pre-Roman times, the area now known as Bosnia-Herzegovina, formed part of Illyria, within the larger Roman province of Illyricum. In 1000 A.D., the Balkans were part of the Roman Empire. The Romans introduced Christianity and constructed beautiful buildings.

Later, the empire split in two with separate Christian traditions: Bosnia, Slovenia, and Croatia (ruled by the Western Empire) were Roman Catholic; Serbia (part of the Byzantine Empire) followed the Orthodox faith. This early religious division helps us understand the differences today between Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Goths conquered the territory.

Later, Slavic speaking tribes filtered into the region and over time they evolved into a series of independent duchies and kingdoms. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Goths conquered the territory. Next came the Ottomans. Mostar was founded in the 1400's and flourished during the next 400 years of Ottoman rule. It lies on the emerald Neretva River at the center of a plateau surrounded by high rugged mountains. It is approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Sarajevo.

The very first bridge across the Neretva River was a wooden suspension bridge which was unstable and of fragile construction. Remains of this bridge are still visible on the left (east) bank, on the south side of the river. The next development along the Neretva, in the 15th century, involved the construction of the Hercegusa tower, built during the reign of Herceg Stjepan. Its purpose was to guard the old wooden bridge.

Mostar's most famous landmark became a single-arch stone bridge over the Neretva River. It was designed in 1566 by the Turkish architect Mimar Hairedin, who studied under the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Sinan. The bridge was a masterpiece of Ottoman baroque architecture, and is one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. Known as the "Old Bridge" or "Stari Most", it is the city's namesake.

It's rumored that Hairedin was not present when the scaffolding was removed. He feared that the bridge and all the guests would plunge into the Neretva River! On either side of the bridge are towers which guard the bridge. On the right bank is the Halebija tower, with its dungeons and garrisons, was built in the 17th century to defend from the west. The Tara tower, with thick walls and no windows, located on the left (east) bank was also built in the 17th century and used to store ammunition.

A little further south of the "Old Bridge", and on the west bank of the Neretva River, is a small bridge straddling the Radobolja. Some historians believe that this small bridge was the inspiration and archetype for the "Old Bridge".

Mostar, and the area now known as Bosnia and Herzegovina, has had a difficult past. It was occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1878 and by 1918, Mostar was included in the newly established Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia.

The main city of the Bosnia Herzegovina, Mostar, is located in the southwest part of the republic, and has traditionally been the republic's capital.

In the early 1990's, shortly after Bosnia Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia, Bosnian Serbs launched an offensive in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This war, as all wars do, spread. It spread into the Mostar area, where Bosnian Croats and Muslims fought against the Serbs. In July 1992, after the Serbs were defeated in Mostar, the Croats proclaimed their own state in the area calling it the Republic of Herceg-Bosna, and then announced their intention to annex it to Croatia.

Mostar was established as their capital and a parliament formed. During the spring of 1993 fighting broke out between Muslims and Croats in the Mostar area. The fighting was fierce. By year end the Croats had asserted control of the city.

An agreement was made between Bosnian Croats and Muslims in March of 1994, thus ending the hostilities between the two parties. As a result of the war, Mostar suffered and its population declined. By 1995, Mostar was experiencing tense peace under the European Union, which had administered the city since June 1994. In December 1995 the presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia signed a treaty to end Bosnia and Herzegovina's civil war. A month had not passed when the Croats and Muslims where fighting with each other again in Mostar, exchanging gunfire and grenades. It was during talks in February 1996 that the Bosnian Muslims and Croats agreed to a division of land and governing roles in the city. To the east, land was assigned for Serbian occupation. Mostar was under control of a fragile coalition Croat-Muslim government. A joint Muslim-Croat police force patrolled Mostar, but gunfire was exchanged by the two sides the same day.

Mostar, a frequent battleground in the war, is rebuilding but the enthusiasm over reconstruction is tempered by the continuing tension between Croat and Muslim forces. Before the war, Mostar was a mixed city of Muslims, Croats and Serbs, one of the most multi-ethnic in the region. At a cost of many lives, the city was split in two: Muslims on the east, and Croats on the west bank of the Neretva River. In 1993, a group of Croat extremists took two days to knock the "Old Bridge" down. They claimed that the bridge was being used to supply soldiers defending Muslim-held neighborhoods. Others in Mostar, throughout Bosnia and the world, saw the ruin of the beautiful old arch as an act of barbarism. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs its heritage, especially the bridge.

Today the challenge is this: how to reassemble a pile of 16th-century old rocks and block fragments into a bridge? Fortunately, it is estimated that 60 per cent of the stones can be used. That should be sufficient to guarantee the bridge's continuity. But workers will need more than old stones; they will need old craftsmanship as well. The "Old Bridge" once again will be the symbol of a multi-ethnic Bosnia-Herzegovina. Its existence and rich history enhances the affection of Muslims and others who have been entranced by the "Old Bridge".

The "Old Bridge" is much more than a connection between two sides of the Neretva river. At times it has served as a place of execution. Local muezzins called Muslims to prayer from the top of the arch. Poets compared the bridge to the new moon or a rainbow arch soaring to the heavens. Lovers wooed in the narrow crooked streets joined by the bridge. Tourists who have walked it imagined living in the past. The single arch of stone was the pride of Mostar.

The "Old Bridge" has valiantly withstood centuries of floods and earthquakes. But it could not survive the nationalist passions that racked Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For Bosnia's Muslims, raising the "Old Bridge" is an act as deeply symbolic as its destruction. However, putting Bosnia-Herzegovina back together will take more than rebuilding a bridge. In Mostar, Croats have shown little willingness to reunite the city, remaining stubbornly separate from Muslims.

Since the war, organized crime is on the rise. The anarchy of war can provide new opportunities for criminals to thrive and profit. In Mostar men who were in and out of prison before the war now drive through the city streets in modern cars and sedans. They have little use for peace agreements or the return of law.

Mostar had a population of 130,000 before the war. The devastating fighting left approximately 60,000 people, split between Muslim and Croat. From the devastation of shelling a few short years ago, the good life is starting to re-emerge in Mostar, shops are opening with displays of Levis and Italian shirts. An ABC Sweet Shop is open, located in the old town. The situation is improving slowly as some factories reopen and start to hire people. The city's previous economy was based on textile, tobacco, food-processing and bauxite mining and all these industries have survived.

On the west side of the Neretva River, cafes, boutiques and restaurants are in abundance as well as two discos full of young people. Remarkably, in some places in Mostar it is now possible to believe there never was a war. More and more people are beginning to cross the border of hate.

The western bank of the Neretva River is the modern, predominately Croatian side of the city. During the war, after uniting to fight off the Serbs, the Muslims and Croats turned their guns on each other. The western portion of the city Croat area, was not as severely damaged as the eastern bank of the Neretva River in which Muslims predominate.

"Stari Most" is not the only historic feature affected by the war. When the Austrians took hold of the city in 1878, they preserved many of the other Ottoman buildings and symbols of their culture. On Musala Square (named for the place Ottoman soldiers prayed prior to battle) the Austrians constructed the Hotel Neretva, decorated in the primary colours of red and yellow. This hotel, with its terrace overhanging the river, was also destroyed in the war. It is currently being reconstructed along with the Turkish Bath, also built by the Austrians.

Soon, Mostar will regain its stature and world prominence as an old historical city.

Pictures

You can find pictures of Mostar at my Yahoo! Photo Album.

Websites

www.mostar.ba Official Mostar website