Mostar Celebrates New "Old Bridge"

Society | July 23, 2004, Friday // 00:00
Mostar Celebrates New "Old Bridge" Britain's Prince of Wales (C) and British Ambassador to Bosnia Ian Cliff (far L) get a historical tour of the Old Town in Mostar. The town celebrates restoration of its historic Stari Most. Photo by AFP.

Bosnia's town of Mostar has come back to international focus, this time celebrating its historic Stari Most (The Old Bridge) demolished during the Bosnain war in 1992-93.

World high-profile politicians, including presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers, as well as many celebrities attended Friday night's festivities marking the reopening of the Ottoman-times built bridge.

Destroyed by Bosnian Croat artillery in 1993, the original world heritage-listed bridge has been painstakingly rebuilt with help from the UNESCO and the World Bank.

The new 30-metre span was fashioned with stones taken from the same quarry used by Ottoman architect Mimar Hajrudin, who built the original bridge in 1566 when Bosnia was under Turkish rule.

For local residents the Old Bridge is far more than a reminiscent of history, which also gives the town its name. It is a link between cultures and ethnic traditions that have coexisted in the region for centuries.

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