Počitelj
Počitelj is such an authentic beautiful small place at the Neretva river, a short drive south from Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We missed Počitelj
during our travels to Istanbul in 2004, but the summer after we corrected that. It is a must stop!! We went back in 2015 with the boys but at both occasions we did not try to rephotograph Kurt Hielscher's photos so these are accidental similar shots. Kurt Hielscher published a third photo from here, but I'll keep that one till I will be back and have rephotographed that one before putting it here on the website. It is unlikely that I will visit Počitelj the summer of 2023, but I will be patient.
Počitelj, 1926. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.
Počitelj, summer of 2005, with our old Peugeot J9 Campervan. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
For me this is a very special photo withe the old campervan. With the van, Kim and I have travelled the Balkans during several summers in between 2004 and 2009 all the way to Istanbul and everything in between. In the spring of 2010, our youngest was born and we went to France to the place where Kim and I met in 1994. Before the summer of 2011 the van was checked in a garage. The advise was not to drive with this car to the Balkans again. The man said: "Are you crazy, with this car, with children?" We decided to sell the van, and now I think that was one of the worst decisions in my life. We should have restored the van and kept it for the rest of our lives.
Počitelj from above, 1926. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.
Počitelj with its Mosque and the Neretvan river from above, summer of 2005. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
In March 2020 I had to cancel my trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would have flown on Friday the 13th, but I went in full isolation with my family on the 11th because of pandemic. I had planned to go to Počitelj among other places like Jajce, Mostar and ofcourse Sarajevo.
Interior of the Šišman Ibrahim-immersed Mosque in Počitelj, 10th of August 2015.
Počitelj, 10th of August 2015.
Počitelj, 10th of August 2015.
Počitelj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10th of August 2015.
Kim and the boys checking out the souvenirs.
Počitelj, 10th of August 2015.
The Stećci of Radimlje
A 20 minutes drive east from Počitelj close to Stolac, one can find the the Stećci of Radimlje, a mysterious place, but the tombs were remarkably white in 2015 in contrast to a previous visit 10 years earlier when they werent cleaned yet. At that time there was no entrance fee yet and just to be visited out in the open.
Below: view on the authentic houses of Počitelj.
