Roman ruins are everywhere in the Balkans. The Romans, after the Batonnian Uprising, repopulated the province of Illyricum with their own people. The region was first pagan, and St Paul himself preached through Illyricum. By the year 300, 10% of the Roman empire was Christian. In the last gasps of a pagan majority, the …
It would probably straighten up a few things in popular culture if the Balkan contribution to ruling the Roman Empire were more well known. Obviously the Romans were in the Balkans and they ruled the Balkans; they left tons of evidence. But for more than two hundred years the Balkans also ruled the Romans, …
If a church is corrupt enough and gives little enough care to its adherents, at some point its followers will be tempted to follow something else. This was the case in tenth century Bulgaria, where the Orthodox Church provided a breathtakingly rich pageantry full of jewel encrusted costumes, but gave little care to the …
Apartheid in South Africa began its long, slow fall on 16 June 1976 when students in Soweto took to the street to protest being forced to study school subjects in Afrikaans. June 16 is now celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa, a day when the courage of students resulted in the horrible deaths …
School children the world over returned from their Christmas break 1989/1990 with a new and difficult name to pronounce – Ceaușescu. The Romanian communist and his wife had been ousted and executed in the only violent revolution in the democratizing Eastern Bloc. A new political party had been organized to lead Romania in the …
Josip Broz Tito loved dogs. Although people may not have known that before World War II, they certainly realized it after as photos of him with his omnipresent canine companions circulated throughout Yugoslavia and the world. And if it weren’t for a dog, Yugoslavia may never have existed. Or, at least, not the Yugoslavia that …
This morning, in the middle of summer, the snow fell, heavy and wet Weeping astonished gardens, I record it and keep quiet because I’m used to miracles. I see, through the shop windows, worried passages of faces, and mute Where will he end up, God, who knows everything? I am not blaspheming, I received this …
This traditional poem from the Shona people of Zimbabwe is quite erotic! It is sung in private – from a husband to a wife – in praise of her sensual abilities. Thank you very much, Madam Nyemba! The single mother of one, Chivazve’s daughter,The Chivazves, who hunt elephants.Thank you, you of the girdle at the delicate …
Vampires are from Serbia. They aren’t attractive, either. The question is – are vampires real? That is the question addressed in Kiss of the Butterfly by James Lyon. With the action taking place back and forth between centuries, the story follows grad student Stephen Roberts as he researches ancient folklore in a war-ravaged former Yugoslavia. …
The Lascaux Caves of France may be the most famous prehistoric cave paintings in the world – even inspiring a popular book series- but the oldest cave art in the world is actually over 7600 miles away in the much less famous site of Blombos Cave, South Africa. The stone art in Blombos is estimated …