Mostar city visit

The bridge keepers

However, like all of the destinations we try to describe here, this is another one not to miss. And one city in particular, if we don’t speak of the capital, the city of Sarajevo. This small city, but actually the fifth largest in the country, is situated on the Neretva river and got its name after the bridge keepers (mostari) who have been guarding the Old Bridge over Neretva in the medieval times.

The Old Bridge itself is still standing there as one of the most recognizable pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. Built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, the bridge has become an attraction for the visitors nowadays. Actually, not so much the bridge itself as much as people jumping off the bridge. A truly interesting experience it is when a person in their swimwear approaches you and offers you to jump off the bridge for some money. They all survive, worry not.

No matter which part of the city you like the most, you will definitely find something there worth of you becoming the city’s storyteller. The surrounding mountains, the fresh air coming from the sea no matter how far inland you actually are, the people, the culture, the architecture or the residues of past times that you can still feel in the air.