#55 The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 🇧🇦 波黑的明星老桥

This hump-backed stone arch bridge here is Stari Most in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is connecting the two parts of the pretty town Mostar. Stari Most literally means "Old Bridge", it is an iconic landmark in the country, usually seen as one of the most significant Balkan Islamic architectures. I enjoyed visiting these distinctive architectures here as well as in other Balkans such as Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Kosovo...

When I was traveling in this region, whenever I read a travel map of sights, there had always been this bridge on it. So I talked to some Bosnians, and they told me that the bridge is seen as a symbol of peace nowadays, as it was destroyed in 1993 by Croat military forces during the Croat–Bosniak War.

It's said that among local people, there is an old tradition that 16-year-old boys are encouraged to plummet 24m off the bridge, into the Neretva river down below. And this cruelly(to me) brave act has become more and more popular among tourists. There is even a diving club charging tourists if they want to jump. It's a pity that I didn't get to see any people taking this challenge to jump into that chilly abyss, otherwise I might have clicked some more appealing shots with a diving figure in them. ;)

Stari Most was first built in 16th century by a well-known architect Mimar Sinan who built many major Ottoman Sultan’s buildings in Istanbul. It stood there for over 4 centuries until the Croat–Bosniak War. The reconstruction was finished in 2004 when the bridge was reopen to the public.

My first 2 photos are entries for the B & W photo contest by @daveks. I used my old camera Canon Kiss X3.

So what do you think of these shots and the bridge? Have you been to this beautiful place? Will you take the plunge off the bridge? Tell me what you think in the comments below! See you next time. :D

你去过这个地方吗？敢不敢像当地人和一些疯狂的游客一样，从这座桥上跳进河里？我反正是不敢的。ヽ(*。>Д<)o゜你对这座象征和平的波黑老桥和我拍的这三张照片有什么看法？欢迎留言评论。谢谢！=）