Bosnian bridge on World Heritage list

In addition to the Bridge on the Drina in Republika Srpska, Gamzigrad-Romuliana in Serbia has also become a UNESCO World Heritage site:
The committee added 22 new natural and cultural sites to its list during more than one week of deliberations. There are now 851 sites with world heritage status.It said the fortified palace compound of Gamzigrad-Romuliana in Serbia offered "a unique testimony of the Roman building tradition" in its "intertwining of ceremonial and memorial functions." The complex, built by Emperor Caius Galerius in the late 3rd and early 4th century, consists of fortifications, the palace in the northwestern part of the complex, basilicas, temples, hot baths, memorial complex, and a mausoleum.

During the war, we saw on television a 'patrimonial' bridge being destroyed by the Serb army, but I do not remember where it was?

Funny enough, I skated last winter on Rideau Hall!

Victor,
Let me remind you..."The most vivid symbol of that Croatian triumph came just over 10 years ago, when a couple of well-aimed Croatian artillery shells brought the city's world-famous Old Bridge, the gravity-defying masterpiece of Ottoman Turk architecture erected in 1566, tumbling into the fast green waters of the Neretva. The bridge defined Mostar".
Since the war ended, Victor, the article goes on to say..."The Croats have refused for years to countenance mixed schooling. The splendid old grammar school, sitting right on the Croat side of the war's frontline and built by the Austro-Hungarians at the turn of the century, has been closed to Bosnian Muslims. The Croats have just agreed that Muslims can join the school in September - but only on a separate, segregated floor which has still to be built, and with totally separate curriculums for both communities. "The bridge is not so important," said Amir Pasic, the diffident Mostar architect and world authority on old Islamic buildings who masterminded the reconstruction of the Old Bridge."Education is the key in this town. If you're brought up and educated to hate the other side ..."
It is quite clear to me, Victor, that you often state your uninformed opinion as fact.

Victor, you have seen destruction of The Old Bridge in Mostar, destroyed by Croatian forces (HVO) in 1993.

During the war we saw the croatian army destroying the bridge in Mostar

OK, trying to bring the comments back to the topic of the article.....

This is another great example of the "shared history" model I've been harping about:

Mehmet Sokolovic (Sokoglu), a Bosnian Serb by birth and one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest Vizirs.

Sinan, a Greek by birth and one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest architects.

And the Ottoman Empire, the ruling hegemon of the day that, like its Byzantine predecessor employed people of varying identities throughout its domain.

Mike, Mehmet Sokoglu was not "employed" by benevolent multiculturaly sensitive employer. He was forcibly taken from his parents as a child in devshirme raid and forcibly converted to Islam. Only his exceptional personal abilities helped him to survive and rise to the rank of Vizier.

Devshirme ("blood tax") was the most brutal Ottoman practice and often cause of Christian rebellions in Ottoman Empire. The claim that "the Ottoman Empire, the ruling hegemon of the day that, like its Byzantine predecessor employed people of varying identities throughout its domain." is a kind of stretch.

When speaking of historical facts, we have to be actual.

Bob, I'm fully aware of the Devshirme, and know of it's horrible implications. I also know the Ottoman Empire wasn't all sunshine lolipops and multicultural rainbows - far from it. Yet, the acumen of Sokolovic, and the flexibility of the Ottoman Empire at that time of its existence, did allow for things like the Serbian church to grow.

I'm certainly not suggesting the Devshirme was anything historically positive in the end, especially not to the people who were on the receiving end of the kidnapping!

In addition to the Bridge on the Drina in Republika Srpska, Gamzigrad-Romuliana in Serbia has also become a UNESCO World Heritage site:
The committee added 22 new natural and cultural sites to its list during more than one week of deliberations. There are now 851 sites with world heritage status.It said the fortified palace compound of Gamzigrad-Romuliana in Serbia offered "a unique testimony of the Roman building tradition" in its "intertwining of ceremonial and memorial functions." The complex, built by Emperor Caius Galerius in the late 3rd and early 4th century, consists of fortifications, the palace in the northwestern part of the complex, basilicas, temples, hot baths, memorial complex, and a mausoleum.

During the war, we saw on television a 'patrimonial' bridge being destroyed by the Serb army, but I do not remember where it was?

Funny enough, I skated last winter on Rideau Hall!

Victor,
Let me remind you..."The most vivid symbol of that Croatian triumph came just over 10 years ago, when a couple of well-aimed Croatian artillery shells brought the city's world-famous Old Bridge, the gravity-defying masterpiece of Ottoman Turk architecture erected in 1566, tumbling into the fast green waters of the Neretva. The bridge defined Mostar".
Since the war ended, Victor, the article goes on to say..."The Croats have refused for years to countenance mixed schooling. The splendid old grammar school, sitting right on the Croat side of the war's frontline and built by the Austro-Hungarians at the turn of the century, has been closed to Bosnian Muslims. The Croats have just agreed that Muslims can join the school in September - but only on a separate, segregated floor which has still to be built, and with totally separate curriculums for both communities. "The bridge is not so important," said Amir Pasic, the diffident Mostar architect and world authority on old Islamic buildings who masterminded the reconstruction of the Old Bridge."Education is the key in this town. If you're brought up and educated to hate the other side ..."
It is quite clear to me, Victor, that you often state your uninformed opinion as fact.

Victor, you have seen destruction of The Old Bridge in Mostar, destroyed by Croatian forces (HVO) in 1993.

During the war we saw the croatian army destroying the bridge in Mostar

OK, trying to bring the comments back to the topic of the article.....

This is another great example of the "shared history" model I've been harping about:

Mehmet Sokolovic (Sokoglu), a Bosnian Serb by birth and one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest Vizirs.

Sinan, a Greek by birth and one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest architects.

And the Ottoman Empire, the ruling hegemon of the day that, like its Byzantine predecessor employed people of varying identities throughout its domain.

Mike, Mehmet Sokoglu was not "employed" by benevolent multiculturaly sensitive employer. He was forcibly taken from his parents as a child in devshirme raid and forcibly converted to Islam. Only his exceptional personal abilities helped him to survive and rise to the rank of Vizier.

Devshirme ("blood tax") was the most brutal Ottoman practice and often cause of Christian rebellions in Ottoman Empire. The claim that "the Ottoman Empire, the ruling hegemon of the day that, like its Byzantine predecessor employed people of varying identities throughout its domain." is a kind of stretch.

When speaking of historical facts, we have to be actual.

Bob, I'm fully aware of the Devshirme, and know of it's horrible implications. I also know the Ottoman Empire wasn't all sunshine lolipops and multicultural rainbows - far from it. Yet, the acumen of Sokolovic, and the flexibility of the Ottoman Empire at that time of its existence, did allow for things like the Serbian church to grow.

I'm certainly not suggesting the Devshirme was anything historically positive in the end, especially not to the people who were on the receiving end of the kidnapping!