Our tour guide Dino told us the story of the building of the old bridge in the 1500s, and how the architect first built a small single arch over the tributary in town before taking on the larger bridge.
The sultan gave him five years to complete it. It took him nine and he disappeared after it was done.
We then visited the museum and learned about Mostar in the Ottoman period, the Austro-Hungarians, Yugoslavia and Tito, and about the 1990’s civil war that destroyed the town and how it has slowly recovered.
After a rest at the hotel, we went to Hindin Han for lunch - delicious Bosnian fare.
After lunch we climbed the hill to the Orthodox Church which had been dynamited during the war and is being rebuilt - the exterior is complete but the interior is not.
We also visited the old chapel next to the church which survived.
We the visited the old town mosque which was damaged in the war and has been repaired.
The group spent the next hour shopping in the old town markets before heading back to the hotel to debrief the day, est dinner, and get to bed early. Busy day tomorrow touring the area around Blagaj south of Mostar.
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