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THE BALKANS 2008

SERBIA. BELGRADE, SMEDEREVO FORTRESS AND SOPOĈANI MONASTERY (Sept 2008)   photos

We crossed the border from Romania early in the morning, without any trouble. A young officer wanted us to get out and said "casting control", but the older one let us go. I have no idea what he meant by "casting control". We went to Belgrade although we knew it was an ugly city. Walking along the river Sava was nice, but overall there was not much to see. Serbia surprised us with very good roads, especially after Romania it was a big improvement. On the other hand, the country looks poor because of old buildings and cars. We visited Smederevo, where the ruins of the biggest fortress on flat land can be found right by the river Danube. The size is quite impressive and worth a visit. Next we went south towards Montenegro. We wanted to see at least 1 monastery, because there are so many of them in Serbia. We took a detour to visit Sopoĉani Monastery near Novi Pazar. It was founded in XIII century and it's story of survival is remarkable.

Novi Pazar was a town we would expect to see in nearby Kosovo. A lot of muslims fill the streets and mosques. It's a reminder that the Turks were not ousted from this region until 1912. Driving south the country become more and more beautiful. The mountains were changing colors and we couldn't wait to see Montenegro.