In the centre of the city, you can admire one of the oldest parts of Mostar, the Kujundžiluk, which winds along a small, pretty, cobbled street, dating back to the middle of the 16th century, where characteristic crafts shops and traditional restaurants are found. In the past, it was the pulsing heart of the business world in the whole of the region with more than 500 workshops in the Ottoman era. Even with the changes due to the passing of time, this road has maintained its ancient outward appearance, characterized by its ever-present mosques and small inns – and has maintained, up till now, some of its most characteristic crafts, such as the working of copper and the weaving of carpets. Together with the Old Bridge, undoubtedly the chief attraction of the whole district, the Old Bazaar represents a characteristic example of the architecture and, at the same time, of the daily life of Mostar, as seen in the vitality of the workshops, in the little restaurants (where you can taste excellent traditional dishes) and in the crowded cafes which characterize the local atmosphere.

The two towers, standing on opposite sides of the Old Bridge, soar as architectural buttresses of the bridge itself, and seem to be stone guardians controlling the way. On the east bank rises the semi-circular Tara Tower, a deposit for ammunitions in the Ottoman era and, today, seat of the Museum of the Old Bridge.h e Halebija, on the west side, was once the prison on its lower floors, and small barracks on its upper fl oors, also used as a look-out post. Behind the Tara, on the left bank of the Neretva River, is the Herceguša Tower, built in the fi rst half of the 15th century during the reign of Herceg Stjepan Vukčić Kosača.

Opening times:  every day (except on Mondays) from 10.00 am. to 6.00 pm.

An almost instinctive image comes to mind when one thinks of Mostar and that is that of its splendid Old Bridge; it thereby follows that this stone masterpiece is the monument that has given its name to the city and which symbolizes its many significances.It was built during the Ottoman period by the Turkish architect Hajrudin and commissioned by the sultan Soliman the Magnificent; it was completed in 1566 after nine years’ work. Right from the start, the bridge became part of various local legends, one of which narrates the stubbornness of Hajrudin who stopped underneath it for three days and three nights in order to demonstrate its absolute solidity. And it remained so for 427 years, until 1993, the tragic year when the bombing of the bridge became not only a strategic, political and military objective but also the most vicious way to strike the heart of the town’s unity and beauty.The reconstruction of the Bridge lasted almost ten years and it was truly a notable enterprise for it was decided to use the same antique building techniques, dating back to the 16th century, as well as its original method of assembling the parts and with the stones cut in an approximate manner in order to recreate the imperfections and the uniqueness of the prior structure. The Tenelija stone, with its crystal clear and ever-changing tonalities according to the intensity of the sunrays, was extracted from the same quarry as the fi rst time and some of the surviving pieces from the old bridge were used again in its reconstruction.The Stari Most joins the two banks of the Neretva River together and is situated between the Herceguša and Tara Towers, on the left bank, and the Halebija on the right: it is 28.7 metre long, 4.49 metre wide and is characterized by a single stone arch which, in summer, stands 21 metres above the water. Something not to be missed is the exciting diving competition which, since 1968 every year in July, takes place from the bridge.

And, some historic sources confirm that this has been common practice since the very construction of the bridge. Youngsters coming from all over the world meet here to participate in an impressive athletic event.The meeting takes its inspiration from a local ritual that has always taken place during summer, when the youth of the Diving Club (which has its headquarters nearby the Halebija Tower) show off their own virility by leaping into the icy waters of the Neretva River: a unique spectacle with a complex and all-embracing ritual. Amidst the frenetic applauses of the crowd, these young men reach the highest point of the bridge; then, in the typical silence that precedes a tough trial, they jump off in an exciting thrill, and this continues constantly all day long.The new Old Bridge of Mostar was officially inaugurated in July 2004 to symbolize, once again, the city of Mostar and its wish for its rebirth, based on its glorious past and around its most beloved monument. In July 2005, the Old Bridge and the entire old city became offi cially a part of the Cultural Heritage of the UNESCO.