Bosnia Herzegovina

The area that is currently the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long and complicated history. Once part of the Roman Empire, the region was taken over by the Ottoman Turks, then it became part of Austria-Hungary, then in 1908 they became their own country, then they became part of Yugoslavia (WWII). 

After WWII, Yugoslavia became a communist country led by Josip Broz Tito followed by Slobodan Milosevic in 1986. The Bosnians wanted their own country and declared their independence on April 5, 1992. They were recognized as a country by the United Nations a month later.

The country has only 12.4 miles of coastline, around the town of Neum in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.  Although surrounded by Croatian peninsulas it is possible to get to the middle of the Adriatic from Neum. By United Nations law, Bosnia has a right of passage to the outer sea.

Mostar, the area we are visiting today, is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, straddling the Neretva River. It’s known for the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), a reconstructed medieval arched bridge. The nearby alleys are full of shops and market stalls, and the Old Bridge Museum explores the bridge’s long history. A narrow staircase leads up to the Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque’s minaret for panoramic city views.

Stari Most, the Old Bridge, was built in the 16th century and the first bridge in the world to be 30 meters high (98.43 feet) and arched.  If it were 31 meters, they say it would collapse. The bridge stood for 427 years and symbolized unity until it was destroyed by the Croatian military forces during the war in 1993.  In 1998, UNESCO provided money to help rebuild the bridge but insisted it was to be reconstructed using the same stone and same design.  It took five years to pull the stones from the river, lay them out and number them like puzzle pieces and another two years to rebuild the bridge!

There are currently six young men who have trained for several years to become divers from the bridge.  The dive is extremely dangerous because of the bridge height, the depth of the water and the temperature of the water. They will sit on the peak of the bridge to generate interest.  When they get 25 Euros collected from tourists, they will put on their wet suit and dive.  They hold their arms outstretched and one leg bent at the knee to slow their descent and then pull themselves totally straight just before entering the water.  Tourists can jump but must train off a much lower platform until they perfect the dive. 

There are still buildings in Mostar that have not been rebuilt since the end of the war.  The major reason for this is that nobody knows who owns them and many property records were destroyed.  To avoid problems with claims of ownership, UNESCO has a policy of not reconstructing properties that do not have a clear title.

Everything is based on religion in Bosnia. If you are Catholic - you are Croatian.  If you are Eastern Orthodox- you are Serbian.  If you are Muslim - you are a Bosnian.  It drives what passport you have, what language you speak, where you live, where you go to school - everything.  For example, our guide was Catholic so her passport was Croatian. She has never lived in Croatia, has always lived in Bosnia but she is considered a Croatian who lives in Bosnia.

There are three of everything.  Three main ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats), three major languages including (Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian), three geographical, political and religious sections - one each for Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.  They all have their own Prime Ministers who rotate as leaders of the Country every eight months and to get something changed all three of the Ministers must agree unanimously.  

We returned to our hotel, observed a beautiful sunset and had a casual dinner.