Isiting Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an eyeopening and humbling experience. When we traveled to Croatia， we took a day trip to Mostar.

While we were prepared to see signs of the war， actually seeing them in person was very startling. We had been in Dubrovnik， which had also been directly hit by war， but everything there has been rebuilt. So Mostar was our first sighting of bullet hole ridden and gutted buildings in ruins. Living in a country where home-based wars are in our far past and current wars are an ocean away， it was very sobering to see physical manifestations of war everywhere and realize that the people of Mostar， and many other areas of the former Yugoslavia， lived with war raging around them daily.

After our day in Mostar， I can say it is very touristy， but not in a way that should be a turnoff to visitors. The streets were lined with shops selling trinkets，

We reached our first site， the famous Stari Most， the Old Bridge. This striking single-arch stone bridge was built from 1557 to 1566. There are large towers on either side of the bridge， one of which houses a museum. The sad history of the bridge is that while it was able to stand for over 400 years， and even withstood the weight of Nazi tanks， in 1993 the bridge was shelled and collapsed into the river below. Amazingly， after the war ended， the bridge was rebuilt with stone from the original quarry in the exact way it was built so long ago. Nowadays， local young men hang out on the bridge in speedos waiting for someone to pay them to jump into the chilly Neretva River below.

After taking in the view from atop the bridge and touring the bridges museum， we visited our first mosque， Koski MehmedPasha Mosque. The nice thing about visiting the mosques in the more touristy part of Mostar is that they are a little more lenient with visitors. You can still wear modest clothing （which can be difficult when it is so hot）， but women are not required to wear scarves and it is not necessary to remove your shoes.

The grounds of Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque offer a beautiful view of Stari Most. You can also climb to the top of the minaret for another stunning view. Muslims do not make images of living creatures in mosques， so the colors of the mosques interior were created from colorful rugs and bright painted forms on the white walls and ceilings.

After visiting the mosque we veered away from the main tourist drag one street over to the New Muslim Cemetery. Before the war， it was a park. But during the war， the more exposed cemeteries were unusable because visitors were visible to snipers， so this tree protected park became a cemetery. Visiting the cemetery was moving and heartwrenching. Every single tombstone is dated 1993， 1994， or 1995. I think this hit me even more than the structures riddled with bullet holes and the completely gutted buildings with full-grown trees growing up the middle. Ive always been a fan of cemeteries because I like to feel the people buried there had long fulfilling lives， surrounded by people that loved them enough to build memorials to them. The occupants of these tombs had their lives stolen away from them far too soon.

Being outside of the main tourist street kind of took me out of my comfort zone. I didnt feel unsafe， but I did feel like an outsider. The residents stared at us， and I couldnt tell what they were thinking.

Another reason we strayed from the main street was to visit the Museum of Herzegovina. Unfortunately， this wish was denied. Something that also happened to us frequently in Dubrovnik was that the museum did not have change for our money. I have never encountered this elsewhere. I felt like Pretty Woman， except instead of being denied the opportunity to shop， I was denied the opportunity to visit a museum. Seriously， does it get any nerdier than that？ If at all possible， acquire small change to pay entrance fees， though in my experience， this is easier said than done.

Our next stop was the Biscevic Turkish House， one of Mostars traditional Turkish-style homes that are open to visitors. The house was built in the 1600s and has beautiful woodwork on the inside and intricate river stone work on the outside. There is even a box of traditional costumes that can be tried on for pictures.

Our last stop was Karadozbeg Mosque. This mosque was built just before Stari Most was started. It was simpler and not as colorful as the first we visited， but was still beautiful and has retained some of its original decorations. There is a cemetery adjacent to this mosque， also filled with tombstones from the war.

On the way back we did a little souvenir shopping. There are many different types of articles to choose from， including hammered-copper items， rugs， scarves， and war remnant paraphernalia. Also be sure to try borek （or burek）， a traditional street food made with spiraled crispy phyllo dough filled with cheese and meat.

I felt Mostar was a little different from the typical day trip destination. Later in our trip we encountered some travelers who were deciding whether or not to go to Mostar， and when I responded to their question of if it was worth it， I hesitated. Mostar is beautiful and has very different sites with its bridge， mosques， and Turkish-style homes. However， for me， it had more to do with learning a little about a culture I am very unfamiliar with and reflecting on a difficult notso-distant war-torn past， something I hope I will never have to experience personally.

到波斯尼亞和黑塞哥維那的莫斯塔爾市觀光是一次令人大開眼界又教人謙虛的經(jīng)歷。我們?nèi)タ肆_地亞旅行的時(shí)候，去莫斯塔爾游覽了一天。

盡管我們做好了要看戰(zhàn)爭遺跡的心理準(zhǔn)備，但親眼看到時(shí)還是十分驚詫的。杜布羅夫尼克也是個(gè)被戰(zhàn)火直接侵襲過的城市，之前我們已經(jīng)到過那里，但是那里的一切都經(jīng)過了重建。所以在莫斯塔爾，我們才第一次見到彈孔累累、被毀劫一空的樓房廢墟。生活在我們自己的國家，在本土開戰(zhàn)的戰(zhàn)爭已然是久遠(yuǎn)的歷史，而如今的戰(zhàn)爭又在大洋的另一邊爆發(fā)，當(dāng)看到隨處皆是實(shí)實(shí)在在的戰(zhàn)爭痕跡，意識到莫斯塔爾和其他原南斯拉夫地區(qū)的人民每日與狂暴的戰(zhàn)爭共眠，讓人從麻木中幡然醒悟。

在莫斯塔爾游覽了一天之后，我會說這里游客非常爆滿，但這種擁擠倒不至于令游客討厭。街道兩旁小飾品店林立。

我們到達(dá)了第一個(gè)景點(diǎn)，著名的莫斯塔爾古橋。這座引人注目的單拱石橋建于公元1557年至1566年。橋的兩邊矗立著高大的塔樓，其中一座塔樓里設(shè)有博物館。此橋有一段令人嘆惋的歷史，那就是雖然它能夠屹立四百多年不倒，甚至連納粹坦克的重量都經(jīng)受住了，卻在1993年遭遇炮擊，倒塌在了下方的河流里。令人驚詫的是，戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，人們按照最初建造的方式重建了這座橋，采用的石頭和原來的石頭也來自同一個(gè)采石場。如今，當(dāng)?shù)氐哪贻p人們穿著泳衣在橋上閑逛，等著有人付錢看他們跳進(jìn)下面冰冷的內(nèi)雷特瓦河里。

在古橋上欣賞完風(fēng)景，游覽了一圈古橋的博物館以后，我們參觀了第一座清真寺，科斯基·穆罕默德·帕夏清真寺。在莫斯塔爾較熱門的區(qū)域參觀清真寺的好處是對游客的要求沒那么苛刻。你還是要衣著端莊（天氣很熱時(shí)會很難受），但不要求女士戴頭巾，進(jìn)門也不需要脫鞋。

從科斯基·穆罕默德·帕夏清真寺的角度剛好能欣賞到莫斯塔爾古橋的美景。你還可以爬到宣禮塔頂欣賞另一番美景。清真寺里不會有任何生靈的形象出現(xiàn)，因此寺內(nèi)的色彩來自五顏六色的毯子，以及白墻和天花板上著色鮮明的窗格。

參觀完清真寺以后，我們離開主要的游覽線路，走了一條街的距離到達(dá)新穆斯林公墓。戰(zhàn)前，這里是個(gè)公園。但在戰(zhàn)爭期間，其他比較暴露的墓地不能再使用了，因?yàn)榧腊菡邥┞对诰褤羰值臉尶谙?，因此這個(gè)樹木掩映的公園就成了公墓。參觀這個(gè)公墓讓人為之動容和痛心。每一塊墓碑上刻的日期都是1993年、1994年或1995年。我覺得這比彈痕密布的建筑和被毀劫一空、中間長出大樹的樓房更打動我。我一直喜歡參觀墓地，因?yàn)槲蚁矚g感受埋葬在那里的人有過綿長而圓滿的人生，圍繞在他們墓前的人都是愿為他們立紀(jì)念碑的至親至愛。然而這些墳?zāi)沟闹魅硕歼^早地被奪走了生命。

離開了主要的觀光街道也就讓我離開了心理舒適區(qū)。我并沒有感到不安全，但我確實(shí)覺得自己像個(gè)局外人。居民們盯著我們，而我看不出來他們在想什么。

我們離開主要街道的另一個(gè)原因是為了參觀黑塞哥維那博物館。不幸的是，這個(gè)愿望落空了。在杜布羅夫尼克，我們也頻繁遭遇博物館因沒有我們的貨幣而沒法找零的情況。我還沒在其他地方遇到過這種情況。我感覺自己像《風(fēng)月俏佳人》里的女主人公，只不過被剝奪的并非購物的機(jī)會，而是參觀博物館的機(jī)會。說真的，還有比這更傻的嗎？要是可能的話，先去換小額零錢再來付門票錢，盡管根據(jù)我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這說起來容易，做起來難。

我們的下一站是比謝維奇土耳其屋，是向游客開放的莫斯塔爾傳統(tǒng)土耳其風(fēng)格民居之一。這所房子建于17世紀(jì)，內(nèi)有美麗的木制品，外有紛繁復(fù)雜的鵝卵石（鋪的地面）。甚至還有一箱子的傳統(tǒng)服裝，可供游客穿上拍照。

我們的最后一站是卡拉多茲堡清真寺。這座清真寺剛好在莫斯塔爾古橋動工前建成。它比較簡約，沒有我們參觀的第一座清真寺那么色彩繽紛，但也很美，保留了一些原始的裝飾。該寺旁邊有一個(gè)墓地，也立滿了戰(zhàn)爭死難者的墓碑。

回去的路上我們購買了一點(diǎn)紀(jì)念品。紀(jì)念品有很多不同種類的物件可以選擇，包括鍛銅制品、地毯、圍巾和戰(zhàn)爭遺留用品。還有一定得嘗嘗布列克餡餅，這是一種傳統(tǒng)的街頭小吃，螺旋狀，用酥脆的薄生面餅包裹奶酪和肉餡做成。

我感到莫斯塔爾和典型的一日游目的地有所不同。之后的旅途中，我們遇到一些在考慮要不要去莫斯塔爾的游客，當(dāng)我回答他們是否值得一去的這個(gè)問題時(shí)，我猶豫了。莫斯塔爾很美，也有著古橋、清真寺和土耳其式民居等獨(dú)特的景點(diǎn)。然而對我來說，游覽莫斯塔爾有著更重要的意義，就是去了解一點(diǎn)對我而言很陌生的文化，回顧一段晦澀的、不太久遠(yuǎn)而我永遠(yuǎn)都不想親身經(jīng)歷的戰(zhàn)爭肆虐史。