melindabilecki

This is for my friend, Vel.  The “Old Bridge” has an amazing story.  It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557.  When it was constructed, it was the largest man-made arch in the world.  Building it was such a feat that the architect, charged with completing it on pain of death, reportedly prepared for his funeral on the day the scaffolding was finally removed!  Despite all kinds of technical mysteries associated with its construction, it stood until the early 1990′s.  During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Croat troops destroyed it to erase any sign of Ottoman influence in Bosnia. After the war ended, the bridge was rebuilt as a sign of harmony and healing for the city.