[wzslider autoplay=”true”]These days, the water level of Rama Lake is significantly decreased, and village Kopcici can be seen again, or at least what’s left of it. There is very few saved photos of the village. Most of the details of life in this, and other parts of the sunken valley, was recorded by the famous Mostar photographer Ciril Ciro Raic, and the Franciscan monastery Rama-Scit bought some of these photos and published them in numerous publications. Today, there is also very few living witnesses who remember the life in this village with sadness.
Old pavement road is running between the remains of the former houses. While going through it, we came to the remains of the old school. Compared to other buildings, large number of stone blocks on the ground floor are still on the place. The remains of wells that residents were using are interesting as well.
The latest data on the number of inhabitants in Kopcici are in “Rama in Bosna” by ethnologist Milenko Filipovic, who said that before World War II this village had almost seventy houses. Although the water level decreased, a large number of these houses remained under the water.
Out of all buildings in the former Kopcici, most residues left after the walls of mosques and minarets in Kopcici. You can see its size and the kind of stone it was built of. At the entrance are demolished stone pillars, which used to be leaning against the roof at the entrance to the mosque. The walls are largely destroyed, except in the corners, and walls of minaret are preserved the most.
It can be seen that the stone that was used to build the minaret is much better processed and it reminds on minarets that were built together with the Herzegovinian mosques. Part of the stairs that were used to climb on the minaret, has been preserved as well.
There is no exact written information about the construction of the mosque. According to the legend, the mosque was built by one of the grandchildren of Alaj-beg Kopcic, the founder of the village, whose name is not known. The mosque has no inscription, so it is not known for sure when the mosque was first built. The only thing that is known is the last time it was renovated, back in 1840.
The water level of Rama Lake is slowly decreasing, and if this continues we will be able to see the other parts of Kopcici soon as well, especially the other sunken settlements that can be seen mostly in old photographs. Because of the mud, the access and movement is a little bit difficult, but all the lovers visit this place with a lot of satisfaction, and mud is not a problem for them.
(Source: camo.ch/ vecernjilist.ba)
