The bridge defines Mostar, and the bridge was rebuilt. The Stari Most, the Old Bridge, was designed by the Ottoman architect Hayreddin and finished in 1566, a single high arch of pale stone crossing the green Neretva. The town takes its name from the bridge keepers, the mostari, who watched it. For more than four centuries it stood, until in November 1993, during the Bosnian war, it was destroyed by shelling and fell into the river. A faithful reconstruction opened in 2004, using local stone and traditional methods, and the old town around it is now listed by UNESCO.
Today, the cobbled lanes of Kujundžiluk lead from the bridge past coppersmiths and café tables, and young men from the local diving club leap from the span into the cold river below, collecting tips before they do. It is a spectacle, and a slightly nerve-racking one, and it is easy to feel more than a tourist here. Walls and apartment blocks outside the centre still carry bullet scars, and the city's division between Bosniak and Croat communities remains visible. Be curious and kind, and ask questions rather than assuming.
The route north to Sarajevo is among the great rides of the Balkans. The road follows the Neretva upstream through a deep canyon, past the turquoise reservoir at Jablanica and into the mountains, where tunnels, bridges and long bends carry you toward the Bosnian highlands. At Jablanica a ruined railway bridge recalls the Battle of the Neretva in 1943, a famous episode of the Second World War in Yugoslavia. The surface is generally good but patched, and trucks slow the way in places, so take care before overtaking. Summer afternoons are hot, and thunderstorms can roll through the canyon.
Mostar has fuel, repair shops and a long list of grill restaurants. Ćevapi in soft bread, burek and strong Bosnian coffee, served in a copper pot with sugar cubes, are the local fare. Hot weather is the rule from June to August, and spring and autumn are more comfortable. Park the bike outside the old town, and leave time to walk across the bridge twice.