MOSTAR AND NEARBY - Croatia and Slovenia - page 640

Mostarisstillrebuilding,andthebulletholesanddestroyedbuildingsareuglyreminders
that the last time you saw this place, it was probably on the nightly news. Western visitors
may also be struck by the immediacy of the Muslim culture that permeates Mostar—at this
crossroads of civilizations, minarets share the horizon with church steeples. During the Ot-
tomans' 400-year control of this region, many Slavic subjects converted to Islam (see side-
bar on here ) . And, although they retreated in the late 19th century, the Ottomans left behind
aricharchitectural, cultural,andreligiouslegacythathasforevershapedMostar.Fivetimes
eachday,loudspeakersonminaretscrackletolife,andthecalltoprayerwarblesthroughthe
streets. In many parts of the city, you'd swear you were in Turkey.