Our man Bills gets to Bosnia

04/06/2012 @ 11:27

MyWelshpool’s John Bills has finally made it to Bosnia following an eventful trip. He’ll be keeping us in touch with regular details of his Bosnian adventure.

So, after a pretty fantastic six weeks in Belgrade I have finally made it to Bosnia.

A single solitary night in Sarajevo was never going to suffice, but I have a city to get to, and a hostel to work in, and a bridge to look at.

That's right, I am in Mostar. Work has begun, and I've a walking tour to put together, so here's a short introduction to the town, Mostar in a nutshell.

More often than not, tourists flock to Mostar for one main reason of many, and this main reason is where a lot of people wrongly assume the name comes from.

The Bosnian word for bridge is most, and the Bosnian word for old is star, and lo and behold the centre of the Mostar tourist cake is indeed, the old bridge.

The town itself is named after the keepers of the wooden bridge that stood before the building of the Stari Most. The bridge was originally built in the 16^th century during the Ottoman times, and was indeed the widest man made arch in the world at the time.

It stood for 427 years before being destroyed during the war. It's destruction had no military purpose at all, it was merely bombed for the psychological affect it would have on the citizens of the the town.

This is no ordinary bridge, this is the towns spiritual grandfather, the spine that links the two banks of the town together. But more on that another time, as it clearly deserves its own piece.

Mostar is the fifth biggest town in Bosnia Herzegovina today, with a population of around 125,000. Historically, spiritually and without doubt tourism wise however, Mostar is rivalled only by Sarajevo in importance.

This place is a veritable super box of awesome. Even without the Old Bridge, you have enough history and sights here to fill an entire country, let alone a small region.

Going back centuries, Mostar has always been a very important town in the region, especially as a trading town during the Ottoman years.

It was also of great importance throughout the Yugoslav years, as a major economic and tourism hub, as well as being one of the most ethnically diverse towns in the entire country.

Entirely surrounded by hills with the emerald Neretva running through its middle, it is also undeniably beautiful. In many ways, it is almost a living museum for Bosnia Herzegovina, with unimaginable beauty sitting next to the horrors of war.

It suffered dreadfully throughout the war, with the old town itself being completely flattened, flattened to a degree that is just unfathomable.

The war is still visible throughout the town today, with stunning modern architecture plonked next to the shell of a former hotel or bank. The town was the most heavily bombed in Bosnia during the war, and it shows.

There's a lot more to the town than a war though, as I am often at pains to say. Over the next few months we'll look at pilgrimage sites, medieval villages, incredible hospitality, wonderful food and a load more. And that bridge of course. For the meantime however, I should really get back to work.