Bullet holes

Mostar

Coming into Bosnia and Herzegovina offered a complete contrast to the scrubbed up streets of Croatia and Montenegro. The country is still heavily scarred from the war. Even from the bus window, whilst driving through the south of Bosnia you could see shelled out houses and bullet hole ridden walls. That didn't compare to the emotion that was stirred when you walked around the town and could literally touch the bullet holes.

We met a hostel owner at the bus station in Mostar. She drove us back to her hostel and told us about the town. Driving down the old front line you were surrounded by shelled in buildings and cracked pavements. Through some of the empty building you could see bathroom fittings and evidence of someone's life that could have suddenly been taken away. There is an old shopping centre that remains in a heap. The design of it is reasonably modern, no older than the eighties. This brings the reality of the recent events into vivid imagination. There was a moving atmosphere.

However there was a also a feeling of strength and recovery. The scars merely presented a reminder, something that you shouldn't forget. The main attraction in Mostar is the bridge. The original was destroyed by the Serbs during the war but a new one has since been built and is drawing tourists from all over.