The Old Bridge - When the Turks invaded Mostar, there was a wooden bridge near today's Old Bridge; it hung on chains and the Turks used it for some time. As it became worn out in the middle of the 16th century, the people of Mostar asked the authorities in Istanbul to build a new bridge from quality material.

The Old Bridge was completed and put into service in July or August 1566. It was designed by the architect Hajrudin, a pupil of the famous Sinan, the great Turkish architect of the 16th century. Its span is 28,7 meters and it has only one big stone arch. It was built from the stone "tenelija" which came from the quarry in Mukosa. the well-known masons from Dubrovnik built it. On the cornerstone on the left bank of the river, there is an inscription in Arabic - KUDRET KEMERI - meaning "Strength of Water".

Turkish house or Biscevica house is one of the most significant and most beautiful houses form the Turkish period. It is situated in Biscevica Street, on the banks of the Neretva. It was built in 1635 with a ground floor and one floor above where there was a large room for conversation.  Luckly, it was not damaged during the war so everything that you can see there is original. Today this house is a museum and is home to many visitors each year. Here you can enjoy a cup of original Turkish coffee and taste various Turkish delights. Let the kind hostess tell you a story about life in Mostar 400 years ago.

The National Monument, Biscevica House, is situated close to the Karadoz–Bey’s Mosque. 
 

The Karadoz–Bey Mosque is the most important monumental work of Islamic sacred architecture in the 16th century in the whole territory of Herzegovina. Its minaret is tall and harmonious, decorated with stalactites under the gallery. The Mosque was completed in 1557. During the Second World War it was severally damaged. It is work of the Turkish architect Kodza Mimara Sinan and probably the stone masters from Dubrovnik built it. The fountain is in the courtyard in front of the Mosque. From the courtyard, you can enter the building of the medresa which has a library. In the interior you can see 400 years old Quaran and carpet which used Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1914, before he was killed in Sarajevo.

Crossing over from the West bank to the East bank, you will also come upon the mythical point where the East and the West are said to have met. The oldest mosque in Mostar, The Cejvan Cehaj Mosque, which was built in 1552, lies on top of the stairs to the right. Later, a “Madrassa” or religious Islamic school was built in the same complex. Kujundziluk in the Old Bazaar is named after the goldsmiths who conventionally crafted and sold their merchandise on this street. This is the best place in town to find authentic paintings and carvings of the “Stari Most” in copper and bronze. It is also the best place to find pomegranates, the symbol of Herzegovina, and the famous “stecaks” or medieval tombstones.

The Koski Mohammed Pasha Mosque was built in 1617 and is also open to visitors. Visitors are allowed to take photos for free here in this mosque. The top of the minaret is also accessible for visitors and spirals up from within the mosque, for those of you who are willing to bear the dizziness on the way up! However, the view is worth the way to the top! As you leave the mosque, just around the corner is the Tepa market. From Ottoman times this market has been a busy place. It now mostly sells products freshly grown in Herzegovina. You just can’t beat the quality of fruits like figs and pomegranates when in season. Look out for the local honey, which is organically produced in the villages all around Herzegovina, which receive ample sunshine.

The Catholic Church - There was a Franciscan monastery at Zahum in Mostar in 1533, which was destroyed by the Turks at the end of the 16th century. Fromm that year until 1847, Catholic did not have their own church in Mostar. Then they built the Church of St. Peter and Paul. Mostar became the seat of the Catholic bishops in the middle of the 19th century. The old diocese building was built at Vukodol surrounded by a high wall above which there is a stone tablet with an inscription showing the year of building, 1847. The bishops and the Franciscan school had their headquarters there. The first Bishop of Herzegovina Rafo Barišić separated Herzegovina from Bosna Srebrena.

The Old Orthodox Church - An even older church has been built at the place of the present Old Orhodox Church; this was destroyed in order to build this beautiful church in 1883. There is a very valuable icon of Our Lady in the interior of the church, together with numerous icon of Russian, Venetian and local production from the 15th to the 19th century.

The New Orthodox Church - The building of this church in the immediate vicinity of the old one began in 1863 and it was completed in the autumn of 1873. Most of the money for its building was given by the Mostar Orthodox Christians, while Sultan Abdul-Aziz gave 10 000 groschens.

The Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery - The believers in Judaism built a synagogue, which was destroyed and rebuilt, and which was donated to the Puppet Theater by the Sephardis and Ashkenazis. There are three hundred graves at Zalik with sarcophagi of limestone and the Hebrew star and letters. A small monument fenced in by steel bars holds the body of the beautiful girl Simha who died from tuberculosis when she was twenty years old. Some of the tombstones are written in German.

Zitomislici is an old settlement on the left bank of the Neretva, 15 km away from Mostar on the road towards Ploce. At one time there was a Roman settlement here. On the location of Crkvina, a basilica of late antiquity from the 5th and 6th century A.D. was found. Within the complex of the Orthodox cemetery, there is a group of upright tombstones. On the left bank, there is an Orthodox monastery with a church from 1566 built by the Miloradovic-Hrabrena family.

The Church of St. Nicolas was situated on its place before the Turkish invasions. The present church of the Holy Annunciation was built and later renovated in 1566 on the foundations of an old church. It is a two-aisled church with an apse and bell-tower. It was painted with frescoes in 1609 but unfortunately time has destroyed them. Two columns have the capitals with carved figures of animals, scenes depicting wars and an inscription from 1603. An iconostasis with wooden carving  is of high artistic value; there are around 40 old icons mostly painted by Master Mihajlo in 1718. Especially valuable are throne icons of Jesus and Our Lady from the 16th century and an iconostasis from the 17th century.

Due to the favourable Mediterranean climate, the fertile Vidovo polje and the vicinity of the Adriatic Sea, Stolac and its surrounding area have been inhabited since ancient times.

The remains of old cultures have been preserved until the present day. The remnants of the engravings in the half-cave Badanj in the Bregava canyon, in the immediate vicinity of Stolac, were drawn by ancient Palaeolithic cavemen.

Stolac is only 45 km away from Mostar.

Pocitelj is an old medieval town with a fortified tower, situated on the left bank of the Neretva River, on a steep limestone elevation. It is only three km away from the Capljina on the road connecting the Adriatic Sea, Mostar and Sarajevo.

The town belonged to the Dubrava County in the Middle Ages, which spread from the Neretva to Maslina near Stolac. It was mentioned in documents for the first time in 1444, but this small fortified town presumably existed even before, perhaps even in the 12th century. The Turks occupied Bosnia and part of Herzegovina in 1463.

The Turks continued to penetrate and to tighten the grip around Pocitelj so that they occupied the town in September of 1471 and thus became the masters of that strategic point in the lower Neretva.

Pocitelj has become a town-museum, a unique harmony of medieval Christian and Oriental architecture with Mediterranean influences.

Blagaj is a medieval town that lies twelve kilometers to the south of Mostar. It was called Boba by the Romans, but today locals know it as Stjepa-grad, as it is referred to in literature. A hill-fort of the Illyrian tribe Daorsi is supposed to have been there. Later it was a Roman fort. A new fortification was built in the 6th century on the ruins of the Roman one. This was mentioned by the Byzantine Emperor and chronicler Constantine Porhyrogenitus under the name of Buna.

The Bosnian feudal family Kosaca renovated the town in the 15th century, building four well-fortified towers and numerous embrasures. The last local master of Hum, Herceg Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca resided here. This fortification received its name from him whilst Herzegovina was named after Hum. The Turks occupied the town in 1466 and kept their garrison there until 1835, when the captaincies were abolished.

Stjepan-grad is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Croatia. It has its noble court with a granary, prison and two cisterns. The village of Blagaj, where the Franciscan monastery existed until 1563, was extended below Stjepan-grad, not far from the source of the Buna. Its source, one of the strongest in Europe, is a typical karst source.  Water gushes out from a large cave opening, above which numerous birds nest on a steep rock more than 25 m high - from golden eagles to cave pigeons.

Under the very rock, there is an old dervish tekke (Islamic spiritual home), an attractive cultural monument built at the end of 15th or the beginning of the 16th century. This house, built in the so called Turkish Baroque style, has a house mill, a Turkish bath and installed heating appliances. Tekke is open to visitors as a museum demonstrating the older way of life.