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 …
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 …
Werk IV, Pašino Brdo, Sarajevo When the Austro-Hungarians occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, they began a vast construction project of forts around the country, in particular around the city of Sarajevo. The forts, constructed in the typically solid Austrian style, were meant to protect from the most likely invasion – a Serb army sweeping …
Poets have the gift to speak for others, Vasko Popa had the very rare quality of hearing the others –Octavio Paz BLIND SUN Two blighted legs Holding a blind sun The morning rays – gone to work On the other side of the sky Rather than its threshold The noon is beyond the Pale Cavorting …
The only thing people really remember in the folklore about the Despotess Jerina is that she was a terrible and horrifying woman. She threw her lovers into the deep inner well of Maglič Fortress, near Kraljevo in Serbia. She threw children into the River Đetinja from the highest tower of the Užice Fortress. And she …
It’s hard to keep track of all the different names used in all the different regions of the Balkans. This makes history a bit more difficult, because when things like Thrace, Illyria, Dalmatia, Ragusa, Dubrovnik, Macedonia, North Macedonia, and all the names in between are being tossed about, keeping them straight becomes nearly impossible. And …
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