Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tour—but since it's on the way between Mostar and Dubrovnik (on the back-roads route),
consider stopping off if you have a little time to spare.
About 15,000 to 16,000 years ago—long before the Greeks or Romans arrived in this
region—the Illyrians (ancestors of today's Albanians) lived in this area's caves, where they
left behind some drawings. On a hill above the modern town are the overgrown remains
of the once-fearsome dry-stone Illyrian fortress that watched over this strategic road in the
thirdandfourthcenturies
B.C.
TheRomanswerelatersupplantedbythelocalBogomilcivil-
ization, an indigenous Christian society. Stolac's most impressive attraction dates from this
era: On the outskirts of town (on the road toward Mostar), you'll find a
necropolis
with a
bonanza of giant tombstones called
ste
ć
ak
s (from the 13th-15th centuries), engraved with
evocative reliefs. Soon after these were erected, the Ottomans arrived, and conversions to
Islam followed.
Archaeological treasures aside, today's Stolac is a workaday village with little tour-
ism—it trudges along, largely oblivious to the ancient treasures embedded all around. The
townwasparticularlyhard-hitduringtherecentwar,whenitwastakenoverbyCroatforces
and its majority Muslim residents forced to flee to Mostar. Today the war crimes tribunal
in The Hague has an entire division devoted to “Stolac Crimes”—at least 80 civilians were
killedhere.Themosqueandsurroundingareawerecompletelyleveled;it'snowrebuilt,and
