Mostar

This is Mostar in the south-west of Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH). The river running through the centre marks the point at which the Serbs and Croats would have divided the country for themselves had they succeeded. At the beginning of the Balkan war, the Croats and the Bosnians were allied against the attacking Serbs; however in 1993, the Croats swapped sides, acting on an agreement with Milosovic to split BiH.

The road running parallel to the left of the river was a frontline for much of the war. Buildings here are pockmarked at best and destroyed at worst, like so many buildings in Sarajevo.

The Serbs manned the mountains to the right. I took these pictures from a point where the Croat army assumed control. At the end of the war, the Croats mounted a massive Christian cross, 40 metres high, which is lit up at night and incredibly provocative to the predominantly muslim population of BiH. According to the locals, this act of provocation should have been pulled down by the international community; it wasn't and the Croats continue to encroach. West of the river, in Mostar as well as in all the towns on the way to the Croatian border, you can see the following:
- Croatian flags, and no BiH flags. There is an exception in one town, where there is a law that a BiH flag must be flown at its town hall. The flag there is tiny, and is dwarfed by the Croatian flag next to it.
- There is no Bosnian beer served, despite the fact that Sarajevsko is the best in country. Only Croatian or other foreign beers

Presently, in the city of Mostar, the town council is controlled by the Croats. The main stadium where the local Bosnian team used to play has been leased exclusively to a Croat team, and the Bosnian team isn't allowed to play there.

The feeling between the Croats and the Bosnians is much more tense than between the Serbs and the Bosnians. Interestingly, some Serbs also said they felt much safer in Sarajevo, for instance, instead of in southern Croatia.