Isn’t it beautiful? I mean, the Old Bridge in Mostar, such a historical beauty, saw a lot, went through a lot, but it’s still there, today. And it is as beautiful as it ever was. I love this bridge personally because it represents some symbolic to divided community as the one I live in. And it shows that we can overcome the differences and stand together as unite. But the question is what’s the background story of this beautiful bridge?

Well you’re looking at really old bridge that dates back to 16th century, the Ottoman empire period. It crosses river of Neretva. The bridge was untouched for over 4 centuries until the civil war, when it was tore down. Over a decade later, it was rebuilt and open for the tourists and citizens. Ever since it is great attraction for tourists. Each year a lot of tourists that arrive to Međugorje, due to the religion tourism, also visit Mostar and the famous Old Bridge. But actually, it’s biggest fans are Turks who visit it throughout entire year. Fun thing is that one Turkish soap opera had scenes shot on the Old Bridge. All in all, it’s really famous and one nice peace of art, I would say.

There is also one more fun thing about the Old Bridge, and that are the jumps. Since I’m very lazy to write about that, I’ll just give you one nice quote I found on Wikipedia:

It is traditional for the young men of the town to leap from the bridge into the Neretva. As the Neretva is very cold, this is a very risky feat and only the most skilled and best trained divers will attempt it. The practice dates back to the time the bridge was built, but the first recorded instance of someone diving off the bridge is from 1664. In 1968 a formal diving competition was inaugurated and held every summer. The first person to jump from the bridge since it was re-opened was Enej Kelecija, a local who now resides in the United States.

Others writing about old bridge: