the location area to be able to further reflect on their importance in the creation of histories or memories. The Stari Most is one of the bridges crossing the Neretva. It is one of the most recognizable and, after the Croat-Bosniak war and its destruction, the most discussed restauration in Bosnia. The original Ottoman bridge was constructed out of stone along with two fortified towers several hundred years ago. Before the war, the main layers of meaning were crossing the bridge to trade or to pass to the other side of the city, to gather in the cafÊ Cardak, to swim underneath or to jump off the arch of the bridge. During the war, the bridge was used to carry victims and goods to safety. The appearance of the bridge changed several times during the war due to impact of the shelling, but also due to the safety needs of the citizens. Citizens placed a cover over the bridge or wrapped car tires around the arch. The bridge became physically layered, aside from its mental layers. Divers have kept on diving off one of the shelled buildings next to the Halabija tower. The Stari Most was ultimately destroyed in 1993 but resurrected in the 2000s with foreign aid and interest. The physical layer of connection was reinstated, but the mental specificity of connecting became tainted by the ethnic separation, which became part of the city’s mental archive. The signifying of the bridge as the restored crossing between two ethnicities is reason for the lack of physical expression of the mental layers, essentially setting in stone a perpetual equilibrium, or fossilization of meaning. This narrative built further on the assumption that this bridge was the border and that with
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its destruction the citizens were on their furthest point from reconciliation. Currently, the bridge is restored in its original state and being pushed as the restored (tourist) icon of the city and at the same time the icon of peace and reconciliation. The Neretva is the main river flowing through the Bosnian city Mostar, which played an important role, before and during the Croat-Bosniak war, in the lives of Mostar citizens. Personal accounts of citizens have mentioned that the river was used for several leisure activities before the war. The connecting Radobolja River was used for drinking and sanitation. During the war the usage of the Neretva partially shifted to the Radobolja function of sanitation and drinking water. Yet, pictures show that people still used the spots near the Stari Most for leisure. The caves were used as hiding spots from the shelling from the direction of the surrounding mountains. The coasts and dams were used by armies to defend the city. After the war, the Neretva became increasingly touched by the new privatization of Bosnia due to shifting post-war politics. This has resulted into pollution of the river, usage of the river for hydroelectric dams, and disuse of the shores. Still, the mental image of the river has been one of pure natural strength and beauty albeit incongruous with its physical state. The terraces seem to dominate the landscape between Neretva, the old town, Stari Most, and the adjacent neighborhood Ograda. A post-war intervention, the terraces stem from a more naturally formed coast on which roughly the same activities of leisure and spectating were performed by visitors. The terraces topographically