Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina

As we left Bosnia today I can't help but think about so many stories our guide told us about the war. The Dayton accord ended the fighting, but just as the arms embargo only benefited one side the Dayton accord also calls for three-way governance in Bosnia. Bosnian, Croat and Serb. The Croatians are a very small majority and since Croatia has full EU membership most Croats living in Bosnia are leaving or have Croatian passports. The partitions within Bosnia closely resemble the positions held by the Serb army when the cease-fire was brokered. The Republic of Srbska is a Serb majority within Bosnia and encompasses 49% of the territory. There are hardly any Bosnians or Croats in these regions as they were either killed or fled during the war. Srbska is just outside of Sarajevo and has a distinctly different vibe and of course, wants to merge with Serbia.

As we were leaving Mostar there were more war scares on houses, there was mortar damage and tons of bullet holes. After the four-hour war tour, the day before these images were enough to have my co-pilot in tears as we left the city. (hence her post from yesterday)

Here are a few pics of Mostar and its famous Ottoman bridge.