We spent our last two nights in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the city of Mostar mostly known by tourists for its Stari Most (Old Bridge) that was built by the Ottomans during the 16th century. Now the bridge has locals diving off of it into the Neretva river for tips from tourists.

Mostar is a beautiful city though noticeably divided by the Neretva river, you’re either from the east of the river or west. The Muslim side or the Croat side. Our hostel was in Old Town, the east side of the river, only a few minutes from the Old Bridge, but once you cross the bridge you begin to head towards a more modern Mostar, with newer buildings, a university and luxury cars.

The new buildings are actually the ones that the city leaders chose to repair because of damage from the war in the 1990’s. Every year, the local government, which the is majority Croat, decides which damaged structures in Mostar should be repaired. They end up repairing buildings west of the river, which is where the Serb and Croat population live.

East of the bridge, continues to look like a war zone…

Though between the two areas, there is peculiar eye sore, a concrete skeleton of a building several stories high with art work along the first floor’s walls and broken glass all over the floor.

This building was the sniper tower taken over by Croats and Serbs during the war aiming at Bosniaks walking, driving or simply in their homes. It was once a bank building, but during the war it was used as the sniper base because it was one of the tallest buildings in the area and was also positioned in a way that separated the city.

It felt incredibly eerie walking through the floors with blown out glass, old bank receipts and graffiti, knowing that this location was essentially used as a weapon of war. I couldn’t help but to think how many lives were taken by a sniper standing where I was standing. It still gives me chills thinking about it.

This apartment is right next to the sniper tower and this scene bothered me so much. Just look how close the sniper shots are to where this family is sitting.

Don’t let the cheery, brightly artwork on the sniper building fool you. If you look closely, you will notice that most of the art is symbolic of the brutality and politics of war.

If you decide to explore the sniper tower, be prepared because you might have a rush of different emotions standing in there. After all, this is a building that a group of people used to kill people for merely being a Muslim Bosniak even though they’ve lived together as neighbors for hundreds of years.

A Few Tips about Exploring the Tower

Only go to the Sniper Tower during the day because you want to be able to see where you are walking and you also want to be aware of who is there.

There is so much debris, shattered glass and old office equipment. I don’t recommend exploring the building alone, so if you are traveling alone and are staying at a hostel, find out if the hostel managers will arrange a tour for you that includes the sniper tower.  The owner of our hostel, Rooms Deny,  gave us the background of the sniper tower and its use, and why it’s still standing. It’s so sad to see people divided in this world over whatever it is that gets them so ticked off to the point of destroying human life.

Have you been to the Sniper Tower in Mostar or plan to go? Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below.

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