Visiting Zijemlje [Part 3/3]: Tombstones in the Mountains

As the day came to an end so did our stay in the foothills in the slopes of mountain Velez. But before we departed and returned home we enjoyed the sunset here. After climbing a small hill we saw this really gorgeous mountain valley. Some roads (though I using the word road is very generous here) were leading away into the forests. We stayed close by though, and to our surprise discovered tombstones scattered across the valley...

This is a multi part photo series. Other parts include:
Part 1: The Village on the Edge
Part 2: Sunset in the Valley
Part 3: Tombstones in the Mountains

Discoveries in the Mountains

Natue here is really amazing. Especially at sunset you can't really turn the camera somewhere and not get a good shot. I have been here one time before, but during the winter (and I also took those shots with my phone camera) when the mountains and ground were covered in snow. But I never really explored the plains and valley.

Searching for a Quiet Place

As you can imagine Beni had a great time here, jumping around and roaming the fields freely. Once in a while he stopped so that I could take some pictures of him. Like in the shot above, he was looking out for my sister Jasmina, who was aproaching us. So he stopped in his steps, and I got behind him and took the low angle shot, which really shows the world from his perspective. I loved the views here, especially the forest and mountains behind it.

Tombstones in the Mountains

The tombstones that can be found here are called Stećci. Stećci are monumental medieval tombstones that lie scattered across the country. An estimated 60000 are found within the borders of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest are found in Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Appearing in the mid 12th century, this type of tombstone reached its peak in the 14th and 15th century, before disappearing during the Ottoman occupation in the very early 16th century. They were a common tradition among the Bosnian Church, Catholic and Orthodox Church as well as the Bosnian Bogumil's followers. Stećci are inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 which includes 30 necropolis (sights) of which 22 are from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Wide Angels and Sunset

I took the same approach I had while we were in the valley of the actual village Zijemlje, and took most of these landscape shots with a wide angle lens. The sunset gave me some really great light which is why this time of day is so perfect for any kind of photography, but especially when you are taking landscapes images.

Cooling Off

It was actually chilly here. Though the temperatures were high in the city, up here in the mountains (and especially as the day was coming to an end) it got really chilly. This was at first a welcome change from the usual summer heat here in south Bosnia and Herzegovina, but after a while out, the chilly wind got to us. This is when we knew it was time to finish up our stay here.

A beautiful day came to an end. An hour later we were back in Mostar, and I fell into bed quickly, happily tired from the outing. I truly hope you enjoyed this three part photo series. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

The End

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