Beauty after strife

Mostar sparkles anew after the terrible years of the Bosnian War, writes Sheila Kumar

You will find a reflective mood settling upon you at Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a lovely little town through which the Neretva River flows swiftly, steadily, a deep teal-blue in colour. At the designated times, the melodious sounds of azaan float in the air, hang suspended for a minute, and then vaporise. This thoughtful air doesn’t descend all of a sudden, when you first take in the loveliness of Mostar. It comes when you spot the buildings that stand as pock-marked attestations to the terrible tumult this town has faced, in the not-too-distant past.

I look at the buildings and a thought runs through my mind: is this strife tourism? In that case, this is not my first experience, given my trips to Kashmir; a trip to Amritsar in the immediate wake of Operation Bluestar; to Belfast, or even a recent trip to Christchurch which didn’t look like it had picked itself up
after the devastating earthquake of 2011. Trips to such places are invariably disturbing for anyone who knows something about their history and their troubled times.

Rising from the past

The gradual secession of countries from the Yugoslav federation in 1990 was the bell tolling for a prolonged period of conflict in the region, and the violence that Mostar, indeed all of Bosnia-Herzegovina has seen, has been both heartbreaking and savage. Mostar United (2008), Mostar Round-trip (2011) and A Stranger (2013) are only three of several Bosnian war films/documentaries that tell of Mostar’s bloody past.
Mostar is not full of shelled buildings any longer but the few structures that stand riddled with bullet-holes, punched by mortar shells, stand as if in deliberate testimony to what they had faced during the Bosnian War between 1992-95 after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. The city was repeatedly under siege and the most heavily bombed of any Bosnian city during the war; around 2,000 people died during the conflict.

Today, the townspeople are clearly attempting to get on with their lives, and the steady inflow of tourists helps Mostar’s coffers. The Old Town has Mostar’s most visited tourist attraction, the Stari Most (Old
Bridge); the town gets its name from the bridge-keepers, the mostari, who in medieval times guarded the Stari Most. The bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, was originally a wooden one, then rebuilt in stone. It is 28 metres (92 feet) long and 20 metres (66 feet) high, arching beautifully over the
river below.

The limestone that paves the Old Bridge has been worn to a deadly marble-like slippery smoothness by hundreds of feet, though not over the centuries because the medieval bridge was rebuilt, as was most of the town, after the war. In fact, the reconstructed bridge was completed
as recently as 2004. There are vertical stone bars placed across the bridge to stop horses from sliding backwards back in the day…so, it wasn’t only me who found the bridge a slippery one! Locals, though, I notice, were moving with balletic grace across the bridge.

There’s more...

Traversing the Old Town is not much easier, given that the pathways are cobblestoned. This area holds historical markets selling pottery, beaten copperware, exquisitely embroidered linen, pomegranates (the natural symbol of Herzegovina and found as motifs everywhere) and restaurants galore. Lunch
is a meat-heavy but delicious Bosnian meal with ćevapčići, burek, sarma, dolma, all washed down with Bosnian coffee dark as sin and of industrial strength.

After lunch, I walk down to the river’s edge and get a great view of the Old Bridge, as well as the divers standing on its rim, ready to jump. As I watch, their henchman does the rounds, both of the bridge and down below to where we are, holding an upturned hat and asking for money. When they finally get
whatever sum they have fixed on, one of the men jump, a graceful, straight plunge into the icy waters of the Neretva River.

Mostar has other attractions besides the bridge. The Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque, built in 1617, has a minaret which offers lovely city views. The Turkish House is a well-preserved 16th-century Ottoman mansion, with a garden full of fountains. There is the Hamam Museum in what was a bathhouse, the picturesque Crooked Bridge, the Mostar Peace Bell Tower, with a Franciscan church standing in its shadow. While browsing through one of the handmade linen stalls, the owner, a sweet-faced woman in hijab, comes up and asks if I am from India. The moment I say yes, she says she is a big fan of ‘Khaaan’. It doesn’t take me long to figure she is talking about SRK who had shot extensively for Fan next door in Dubrovnik. When I tell Ayesha I am an SRK fan too, she immediately gives me a hefty discount on my purchases. Long live Khaaan!

However, the reflective mood is back in full force as I make my way to the coach for our return to Croatia. There is something utterly desolate about buildings that stand shelled, unoccupied, forlorn. Fittingly enough, I spot a stone to one side of the Old Bridge on which is written simply, starkly: Don’t forget. Mostar has suffered more than its share of conflict, death, and devastation. One can only hope the current peace will hold, and prevent another round of misery.