Bosnia and Herzegovina

“Pranay, wake up,” said my dad. “We are going to Mostar.”

“What monster,” I said while rubbing my eyes. I don’t see any monsters.” 

“Not monsters,” my dad said exasperatingly. “Mostar.  It’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“But that wasn’t in our plans,” I said begrudgingly.

“It is an intriguing place,” he said. You will not regret going there.”

“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes. After my family and I got ready, we set off for Mostar from Dubrovnik. “This better be as good as they say it is,” I thought. However, once I got there, I was astonished by the beauty of the place and its history.

After we arrived, we headed to the bazaar. While we were walking there, I thought these markets were unique. In the U.S. people usually only shop at big, name-brand stores. Yet, here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one strolls down forgotten alleyways and finds marvelous things. My mom always says, “Part of the fun of traveling is getting lost.” I never used to understand that saying when I was younger. However, I see what she means now 🙂

Another significant difference between life in the States and Bosnia and Herzegovina was the noticeably slower pace of life. No one was in a hustle to get anywhere. Locals were chatting with the shop owners, not worrying about getting somewhere as fast as possible. They savored each moment instead of always rushing to the next one. I admired that about the locals. The coronavirus pandemic, despite its many terrible effects, has had one silver lining. We have had an opportunity to slow down and enjoy time with our families. Walking down the alleys of Mostar taught me to live in the now and enjoy the present. Here is a picture of the bazaar.

After we had finished strolling through the bazaar, we went to the famous Old Bridge (Stari Most). It was super cool seeing the bridge. My parents told me that the bridge used to divide the Muslim side from the Christian side of Mostar. The Old Bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian war. The Croatian forces shelled the bridge. After the war, reconstruction of the bridge began in 2002. The new bridge still looks as beautiful as the old one. I felt bad for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, I was happy that they managed to pull out of those dark times and rose back up, just like the Stari Most.

After learning all about the history of the bridge, I saw something I had never seen before. People were diving off the bridge for money. It was quite a sight to behold. It was fascinating watching these people plunge into the Nervata River 25 meters below. I quickly looked it up and learned that there were actual bridge-jumping competitions in Mostar. I found that very cool.

After we watched people dive off the bridge, we headed back into the bazaar and walked to the Karađoz Bey Mosque. My dad told me that the top of this mosque had the most picturesque views of the Old Bridge. I became very excited about the mosque. Once we got to the mosque, my dad told me about the Muslim traditions. He told me that in a mosque one is not allowed to wear shoes. I also learned that Muslims put their heads against the floor to show respect for their God. I love to learn more about other cultures so this was quite interesting. This is why I love traveling so much 🙂 Then, we started to climb the stairs. After climbing up the tower for what seemed like days, we finally arrived. I was beginning to regret climbing all those stairs. However, once I saw the view, I realized all my hard work and toil was worth it. My dad was not kidding when he said the views were amazing from the top. I cannot describe it in words because it was so beautiful. Here is a picture.

After we had taken pictures of the mosque, we started walking back when I saw something unexpected. I spied bullet holes in the buildings next to us. After seeing that, I asked my parents why there were bullet holes in those buildings. They said it was due to the conflict. After looking it up I became sad. I learned that Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.  Fighting between the Yugoslavian (JNA) forces and the Croatian and Bosnia and Herzegovina forces broke out and ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina. Later, war between ethnic Croats and ethnic Bosnians broke out. The fighting added even more destruction to an already war-torn country. The war caused the bullet holes in those buildings. It also caused the Old Bridge to fall. The unthinkable suffering of this country made me sad. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to bounce back. The rebuilding of the war-torn country began in 2002. I hope Bosnia and Herzegovina can continue to grow peacefully after suffering for so long. 

Overall, I had a fun time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I saw some cool and unique things. However, I also saw so much tragedy. My experiences there helped me grow as a person. I learned to try and understand other people before jumping to stereotypical conclusions about others. I hope we can all rebuild ourselves in a better way and rise back up. Like Bosnia and Herzegovina did in 2002. I strongly recommend that each of you should go to Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina and see what I am talking about for yourselves. I hope you all enjoyed my article. See you next time for more adventures from the traveling teen 🙂