Where is this bridge, by the way? It looks way cool! Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!
I was in Mostar in 1985, and walked across this bridge. It was chock-full of tourists, and for athletic local boys, a great source of income was Western tourists paying for them to jump from the bridge into the river. When they did it, three-four at a time. It was done like, every half an hour.
BTW, the valley of the Neretva upriver from Mostar was an extremely beautiful canyon, with mountains rising above 2000 m on its sides. Both the railroad and the road to Sarajevo went through it. Both were destroyed at several places by the ethnic fronts, today rebuilt in much worse hape, and a lot of rubbish and litter was dumped along the river... *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
The bridge has been there for almost 500 years, I think, with goldsmiths/jewellers occupying the shops on the bridge for much of that time. I think the corridor on the top was added to connect the Uffizi on one side with a palace on the other: it is now a gallery.
The story goes that late in WWII, the retreating German commander was ordered to blow up all five Arno bridges, but decided that he could not destroy Ponte Vecchio. A victory for civilisation?
Here you can see it via webcam.
