At any rate too much reliance must not be placed in them, as the Turks have been frequently convicted of removing Roman inscriptions and substituting Turkish ones in their place.  The beauty of the bridge itself is heightened by the glimpse to be obtained of the mosques and minarets of Mostar, washed by the turbid waters of the Narenta, and backed by the rugged hills which hem it in.  ’It is of a single arch, 95 ft. 3 in. in span, and when the Narenta is low, about 70 feet from the water, or, to the top of the parapet, 76 feet.’[L]

There is a second tower at the extremity of the bridge on the left bank, which is said to be of more modern construction.

Mostar is not a fortified city, nor is it important in a strategical point of view.  The only traces of defensive works which exist are portions of a crenellated wall of insignificant construction.  This accounts for the ease with which the Venetians were enabled to take possession of and burn its suburbs by a sudden raid in 1717.  ’The town was built,’ says Luccari, ’in 1440, by Radigost, Major-Domo of Stefano Cosaccia;’ but in asserting this, he overlooks the existence of the Roman road to Trebigne, which is very superior to anything built by either Slaves or Turks, and places its Roman origin beyond a doubt.  Some suppose it to be the ancient Sarsenterum.  That it was selected by the Turks as the capital of the province immediately after the conquest, and considerably enlarged, appears very probable, and the towers which flank the bridge were probably built at that period or a little earlier, though the eastern one is said to be raised upon a Roman basement.

Continuing our ramble we pass through another gate, and come to an uncomfortable looking hill.  We have not to mount far, however, before we approach an archway, with two sentries, rather more alert than the others whom we have seen.  Officers are passing backwards and forwards, looking fussy and important, as Turks always do when they get rid of their habitual apathy.  In their small waisted coats a la Francaise, surmounted by the inevitable fez, they present a strange combination of the Eastern and Western soldier.

The house in the interior of the court-yard is the palace, usually occupied by the Mulisarif, but devoted, during his stay in these parts, to Omer Pacha, the Serdar Ekrem and Rumili Valessi, or Governor-General of European Turkey.  In the vicinity of the palace may be seen the flagstaffs of the Prussian and Austrian Consulates, while that of Great Britain appears at no great distance, and in the rear of the clock-tower, which distinguishes Mostar from most other Turkish towns.  Let us now return to the main street, which continues in unbroken monotony for something less than half a mile.  If gifted with sufficient patience to continue our stroll out of the town, we come upon the principal burial-ground.  On the E. high hills hem us in, while the tiny stream of the Narenta comes winding from the N.