ABSTRACT
In the city of Mostar, there is a bridge that looks like Heaven's Rainbow as if it were not made by the human hand or mind. The Mostar Bridge was not only a functional object when built, a bridge used to facilitate trade and commerce. The Mostarian architect Amir Pasic, the man responsible for much of the conservation work on the bridge prior to its destruction, notes the historical importance to the Ottomans of monumental architecture, and its use in solidifying, extending and affirming control over colonial territory. An Ottoman architectural legacy has shaped the urban fabric of Bosnia's cities, instantiating a specific Bosnian-Islamic presence, but one characterized by religious pluralism. A significant local and international tourist destination in the former Yugoslavia, the Old Bridge was widely regarded as one of the most important sites of Ottoman architecture outside Turkey, and an icon of Bosnian cultural heritage.
