Historic Mostar bridge being rebuilt

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Historic Mostar bridge being rebuilt

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Unread post by Guest » Tue Dec 11, 2001 1:22 pm

BBC<br>Thursday, 7 June, 2001, 20:49 GMT 21:49 UK <br>Historic Mostar bridge being rebuilt<p>The reconstruction is meant to symbolise reunification<p>The famous 16th-century bridge of Mostar, a historical heritage site blown up by Bosnian Croat forces in November 1993, is being <br>reconstructed. <p>Eleven other historical buildings surrounding the Ottoman-era bridge, <br>also destroyed during the 1992-1995 conflict between the Croats and the Muslims, are included in the project. <p>We want to link peoples in Mostar, which after the conflict remained one of the most destroyed cities in Europe<p>Rusmir Cisic <br>Hundreds of residents and scores of dignitaries flocked to the banks of the Neretva River on Thursday morning to attend the ceremony marking the launch of the project. <p>More than half the sum needed to complete the reconstruction, estimated at $15.5m, has already been raised, with the World Bank <br>extending a $4m loan, and the governments of Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands contributing $4m more. <p>A healing step <p>The Bosnian authorities, the United Nations cultural agency (Unesco), the World Monument Fund and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture are also involved in the project. <p>The rebuilding of the structures is meant to symbolise reunification and is a crucial step in the healing process of the ethnically-divided town of Mostar, which was devastated in the war. <p>The intention is to match the original stone span<p>Project head Rusmir Cisic told the news agency Reuters: "We do not want [the bridge] only to link two sides of a river like bridges usually do." <p>"We want to link peoples in Mostar, which after the conflict remained one of the most destroyed cities in Europe." <p>Unesco heritage <p>The 20m-high, 30m-long, single-span bridge was built in 1566 by Ottoman architect Mimar Hajrudin. It was included in Unesco's world <br>heritage list <p>Workers with the Turkish company Yapi Merkezi have begun reconstructing and reinforcing the foundations of the monument. <p>Parts of the bridge rescued from the river after its destruction will be used in the reconstruction. The intention is to rebuild the stone span to match the original. <p>In the next stage, the project coordinators will choose a company that will reconstruct the arch. <p>Mr Cisic said: "By the end of the year we shall sign a contract with a company that will complete the reconstruction within 12 months."
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