
Key words	pećina, cave, caves at stamps, stamps, Duman, vrelo Bistrice, Bistrica, Livno,Dizdareva pećina, Mali Dum, Veliki Dum, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Author	Jasminko Mulaomerović

The stamp worth 0,20 KM (Convertible Marks) was issued in a series of (regular) stamps picturing scenes from cities and regions from Bosnia-Hercegovina. Because most of the publications of BH Pošta (one of the three Bosnian postal services) are done by artists, instead of actual designers, the stamps mostly represent the physical or mental state of the artist and not so much the beauty or the interesting part of a city or region. This is also the case with this series.

The old bridge across the river Bistrica, dating from the time of the Turkish rule in Bosnia, is unmistakably telling us that, in that very characteristic graphic black, a massif is located containing a very strong karst spring in its foothill.The spring was formed when the lime of the lower chalk (and trijaskih dolomite) and eocenskog flisa came in contact with each other. This spring is not the only karst occurrence in the area. In the immediate vicinity there are also some caves. The biggest cave is Dizdareva cave, with a length of 90 meters.

Figure 1: Duman - spring of river Bistrice

Figure 2: Duman - river Bistrica

The Mali Dum cave is 75 meters long and houses the biggest source of the river Bistrica. This source is used for supplying the city Livno with water. In the Veliki Dum cave, located next to the Mali Dum cave, there is another source of the Bistrica to be found. A further three caves are located above these, probably as fossil channels, in the dry canyon of the river Bistrica. This area is named Duman, after the names of the caves. In Turkish Duman means smoke, fog, dust, and also source, because of the mist that arises in the cave. In Bosnia-Hercegovina (Stolac) Duman is also a last name.

From a purely philatelist point of view, the designer and the printing firm have done their best to make sure that the same stamp looks different because of the position


Figure 3: Map of cave Mali Dum	Figure 4: Old postcard depicting the waterfall Duman

References

Božičević, S., & Papeš, S.: Pećine izvorišta Bistrice u Livnu.- Speleolog, XII-XIII: 3-10, 1964-1965