Stari Most (Old Bridge) - oh and another country!

Trip Start Aug 11, 2008
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Trip End ??? ??, 2010


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Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina  ,
Friday, July 3, 2009

The long awaited and anticipated trip to Mostar was finally here! As mentioned before, ever since I saw an episode of Michael Palin's New Europe series, where he makes a trip to Mostar to see the Stari Most, I have felt compelled to go. The Stari Most or "Old Bridge', where the name Mostar is derived from, is in the Bosnia & Herzegovina city of Mostar. I wanted to see the bridge because it was built in the Ottoman period in the 16th century and stood for over 400 years before it was destroyed during the Bosnian war in 1993. It was then rebuilt using the original stones recovered from the Neretva river bed below, using the same methods applied by the Ottomans. I was just intrigued by the whole story and history and wanted to go. The bridge was subsequently reopened in 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stari_Most

We stayed for two nights in Mostar and we also walked around the main city which still looks like a war torn city in many areas -  many buildings are empty shells and there are bullet holes EVERYWHERE. The people were lovely though and we felt safe, they just don't have the resources to knock all the destroyed buildings down and rebuild, as there is a lot of damage from the war.

We made a half day trip too to the town of Medugorje where the virgin Mary appeared to 4 children in 1981. No apparitions for me this time, but might be lucky next time when we visit Fatima in Portugal ;p

Oh, something else to note too, the locals like you to call the country by its full name i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina... you get big trouble if you just call it Bosnia!

Enjoy!

Megan & Trent
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