PROF SHAM @ Balkan

Travelogue Series
Mostar is by comparison a small city, split into 2 parts; the Muslim and Croats sides. This happened soon
after the war in the 1990s between the two ethnic groups. I opine that they should get to business by being
together again as a people of one nation, sooner rather than later. Like everywhere else in Bosnia, there is
not many job opportunities in the city. It has only one factory producing aluminum products that employs
about 1000 workers. As far as I know, its economy depends a lot on tourism or funds from foreign donors.
Selling souvenirs in the shops is one of the most common job opportunities for the local youth and of
course some work as tourist guides. How much money they can earn in a month is anybody’s guess. For
the Bosnians, I could really feel that they needed our help to get them back to where they were before the
war. The first order of business for anyone willing to help them is to set up educational centers in the city to
teach the Bosnia youth skills for making a living in a country with limited resources.
Mostar, for all we know, was destroyed by the war and it is slowly being built with the help of international
donation (Plate 14). The most important landmark in the city is the Old Bridge of Mostar (Plate 15), which had
been immortalized in novels and films for many years. This famous bridge, built by the Ottoman Turks in 17th
Century, was completely destroyed during the Bosnia-Croat war, but it is being restored to its original
specification with the help of international experts. On the bridge shown in Plate 15, you see some people
walking on it. To attract attention from visitors in the vicinity, a stunt jump from the bridge at regular interval
is organized. It is about 30 m fall into the greenish cool flowing water of the river.
Plate 14. At Mostar old city with the famous old bridge in the background
A Moment in Time with the Balkans
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