Mostar is a historic city, on the valley of the river Neretva, developed in 15th and 16th Centuries as an Ottoman town and during Austro Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mostar has long been known for its Old Turkish houses and the Old Bridge “Stari Most” built over the Neretva river in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is the beautiful stone bridge. Two fortified towers protect the bridge, located on the northeast side is the Halebija tower and the Tara tower on the southwest, called “the bridge keepers” (natively mostari). Mostar was named after the bridge keepers who guarded the Stari Most in the medieval times. The bridge was originally a wooden bridge but around 1557 Suleiman the Magnificent ordered constructions so the old bridge would be replaced with a stone bridge by the architectural work of Mimar Hayruddin. Stari Most is 13 ft (4 meters) wide, 100 ft (30 meters) long and the height around 82 (25 metres).The current bridge is a rebuilt of 16th century Ottoman bridge, whick stood for over 400 years until it was destroyed during the Bosnian war. The reconstructed bridge reopened in 2004 and was funded by The World Bank, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mostar’s Old Bazaar, stretches from the east of Stari Most Bridge along the River Neretva. We can find souvenirs, copperware and handicrafts. When we move along the cobblestone streets, appreciate how little has changed since the 16th century. Merchants and vendors filled these very stalls once under the Ottomans all those years ago.
