Life in Bosnia: In the Old Town of Mostar

Life in Bosnia: In the Old Town of Mostar

By ISA BELLE

The Old Town, or Stari Most as the locals say, is the pride of Mostar. It was inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list in 2005. The showpiece is the famous Old Bridge (Stari Most), built by the Ottomans in the 15th century and characterized by cobblestones, truly a beautiful place. The bridge, however, is not as old as you may suspect. It was destroyed during the Bosnian war and has been rebuilt since and opened just in 2004.

During the summer the old quarter is hot and overcrowded by tourists from all over the world, most of whom are packed on buses arriving from Croatian coastal cities like Split and Dubrovnik. You can forget about walking at your own speed as your pace depends on everyone else, many of whom are the elderly who have no intention to rush. So there you are, under the relentless summer heat, leisurely “strolling” (having no other choice) while looking into every souvenir shop, and gosh, they are all open and sell the same things.

It is in the winter that the Old Town slowly reveals its secret. Those souvenir shops which entertain your eyes in the summer are now closed. There is hardly anyone around including the elderly who walk in front of you at a speed of one meter per hour. Winter is the time when I love the Old Town the most. Who wouldn’t if you have the entire place for yourself? I can absorb every little detail and stand there as long as I want without being walked over. The sky is gray and gloomy, but when fog rises from the river, the surrounding is simply magical. Snow rarely falls in Mostar, but once it does, it completes the image of a fairy-tale landscape.

Regardless of the season, summer, winter or all year round, the Old Town of Mostar oozes magic and patiently awaits tourist crowds from the Dalmatia or quietly watches a lone creature embracing the whole area for herself.