Počitelj is located just a five-minute drive north of Čapljina, although I first visited on one of Ermin’s tours from Mostar. I must have seen the village at least 15 times in the many years since, but it still invoked the same response in me as it came into view. Many things in Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve exalted versions of positive adjectives, but none do so in as elegant a way as Počitelj. The village juts out from the side of the hill along the main road, and the element of surprise goes a long way to increasing the breathtaking element of it all.

Once upon a time, it wouldn’t have held such a unique position in the nation, but ‘once upon a time’ no longer exists. Počitelj was first mentioned in writing in the 15th century as a Hungarian possession, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the Ottomans that the village began to truly develop. Its strategically important location afforded it certain privileges, and while it lost economic relevance during the Ottoman centuries it certainly didn’t suffer in the way of architectural development and construction, as public buildings of many sorts were built. The Hajji-Alija Mosque takes centre stage, but the twin towers either side of the village really cap it off in a magical way.

As with much of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Počitelj was entirely neglected once the Habsburg Empire took control of the territory. The village didn’t do much better during the Yugoslavia years either. By the time war came to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Počitelj was in a state of deep neglect and abandonment. The population was rumoured to be as low as 15 during the winter months, with most using it as a throwaway summer spot at best. Attention was finally turned towards this architectural and cultural crime, and a period of restoration began at the beginning of this century.

I had been to Počitelj many times but decided to make the most of being there once more to explore the various staircases that run around the village. The continued restoration was working for Počitelj. It created the sort of continuity and flow that jaded visitors from the past would predictably decry as changing the character of the town, visitors who would be blissfully unaware or consciously aware that the town would have changed dramatically since it was first written about in a 1444 charter by King Alfonso V of Aragon. Souvenir stands had doubled in the years since my previous visit, and the cafe in the square was well and truly open for business, whereas before it had always felt as though it was there because someone suggested it and little else. These were all positive developments, a sign that local government was fully aware that it had something special on its hands.

Počitelj has many buildings hidden within its winding staircases, but it is the views that make it so special. From the town itself, the vista spread out to the Neretva. It looked as though the entire village was constructed with the river at its heart, each building an offering to a life-giver, each house an attempt at currying more favour from the largest river in the eastern Adriatic basin. The view from the river looking towards Počitelj was arguably better, and the village changed from provider to receiver. Počitelj resembles a mighty king on an even mightier throne, like a medieval Medusa with houses where the snakes lay. The river is little more than another humble passenger in its midst, another living, breathing body lucky enough to glimpse up towards Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most magnificent village.

Počitelj spent much of its Ottoman time as an important geographical stopping point, but when Gabela was conquered by the Venetians in 1693 it became doubly important. Gabela is as far from Čapljina to the south as Počitelj is to the north, and the name itself hints at a more difficult past. Gabela comes from the Arabic word for ‘tax’, shedding light on a historical position on the frontier between two worlds. It had been a vital trading point between Bosnian kings and the rulers of Dubrovnik for long before the Ottomans arrived, as much known for the trading of slaves as it was the buying and selling of salt, oil, wine and more.

The Dubrovnik Senate banned trade in human lives in 1400, but Gabela’s most recent claim to fame was as a place where local men were held and treated like the slaves of yesteryear. A Bosnian Croat-run concentration camp was set up in Gabela at the beginning of the war and housed over a thousand Bosniaks and Serbs during its years of activity. It was here that Swedish mercenary Jackie Arklöv made his name, one of the most infamous foreign fighters who made their way to Bosnia in search of violence and a free reign of terror. I was tempted to make a short trip to Gabela after a blissful afternoon in Počitelj, but decided against it. What would there be to see other than abandonment and memories that were not mine? It would have been black tourism gone too far, so I decided instead to head back to Čapljina and give the town another go.

How are you supposed to deal with grief? By immersing yourself in memory? Hitting the bottle? Or by packing your bags and heading out to Bosnia & Herzegovina, travelling the length and breadth of the state in the hope of coming to terms with the tragic death of a loved one? John Bills chose the latter, and ‘A Currency for the Cat’ is the story of that trip. From Mostar to Jajce via Sarajevo, Trebinje and more, Bills dives deep into the history of this famous country on a most personal level, facing his biggest fear in the face all the while. It is available in digital form from www.poshlostbooks.com.