Ottoman architectural treasures

Throughout the 16th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina was subject to Ottoman rule. However, this ushered in a new era in Bosnia and Herzegovina art: the era of Islamic art, which flourished until the nineteenth century. Bosnia's architectural heritage is a fascinating mix of medieval Ottoman and later Central European styles where it has survived or been painstakingly rebuilt. Mostar and Sarajevo's old city centers are prime examples, but Travnik has a fine sprinkling of its own, including two old clock towers, a'many-colored mosque,' a fortress, and an array of Ottoman graves.

Travnik was the setting for one of Nobel Prize-winning Bosnian author Ivo Andri's great novels. Meanwhile, the author is honored in a new pseudo-antique town core built as a kind of historic theme park in Višegrad. Bridge on the Drina, Andri's masterwork, was set in Višegrad, and its main 'character' is a real-life 1571 stone bridge. The Mehmet Paa Sokolović Bridge still stands and appears to float in the misty canyon in front of town.