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Mostar Bridge
WHERE : BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA image : alamy
Arching elegantly over the Neretva River in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina , Mostar ’ s Stari Most or ‘ Old Bridge ’ is an incredible feat of Ottoman engineering and a symbol of reconciliation .
The humpback stone bridge spans 98 feet and soars 66 feet above the river ’ s summer water level . Completed in 1566 at the end of the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent , the original structure stood until November 9 , 1993 , when , during the Balkan Wars , it came under fire and collapsed . In 2004 , it was rebuilt according to architect Mimar Hayruddin ’ s original plans , a process catalogued at the Old Bridge Museum .
Stari Most is the soul of Mostar : the city is named after the bridge-keepers or ‘ mostari ’ who defended it from twin fortified towers , Kula Halebija and Kula Tara . Today , it has different stewards — the daredevil members of the Diving Club , who wow crowds by ceremoniously leaping off the bridge ’ s apex and plunging feet-first into the water in a tradition that dates back to 1664 . spring 2024 • 9