The hills above the Drinjača river in north-eastern Bosnia are covered with beech and oak, and in clearings on the slopes stand the stećci, large limestone tombstones, some shaped like chests and some like gabled roofs, carved with crescent moons, spirals, hands, swords and hunting scenes. Bečani is one of the places where they are found, on the outskirts of the little town of Šekovići, three kilometres away, in the eastern part of the country that is now Republika Srpska.
The stećci were made between about the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, by communities of different faiths, and no one knows for certain exactly why the tradition arose here and nowhere else. They are standing memorials in stone, some with writing in Cyrillic describing the dead, and in 2016 a group of the necropolises was inscribed on the World Heritage list. Many are surrounded by long grass and moss, leaning at odd angles under the trees, so that you find them almost by accident. It is a quiet and moving place, and visitors should walk carefully and leave nothing disturbed.
The valley of the Drina and its tributaries carries a heavy memory from the war of the 1990s, and local people do not always speak of it easily. Ride and walk with respect, and ask before photographing people. The reward is a countryside of great beauty, with small farms, haystacks, plum orchards and long, wooded ridges.
As for the road, the minor routes between Šekovići, Vlasenica and Zvornik are narrow, hilly and sometimes in poor condition, with potholes, loose gravel and livestock on the corners. Traffic is light and drivers are used to bikes. Winter brings ice and fog, and the best time is from late April to October, with May and September especially pleasant. The plum orchards blossom white in spring and turn gold in autumn.
Šekovići, with around six thousand people, has fuel and shops, and Vlasenica and Zvornik are larger. Look for a roadside kafana for a strong Bosnian coffee served in a copper pot, grilled ćevapi with onion and soft flatbread, or a slice of burek, a flaky pastry filled with meat or cheese. If someone offers you a glass of rakija, a fiery plum brandy, a polite sip is expected.