Novi Pazar

Novi Pazar is a city located in southwest Serbia. It is a multicultural area of Muslims and Orthodox Christians and many monuments of both religions, like the Altun-Alem Mosque and the Church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul, are found in the region. It is a cultural centre of the Bosniaks in Serbia and the historical region of Sandžak.

The name Novi Pazar means new marketplace, It is derived from Serbian place name Novo Trgovište, via Turkish place name Yeni Pazar (meaning new market)

According to the last official census done in 2011, the Municipality of Novi Pazar has 100,410 inhabitants, while the city itself has 68,749 inhabitants. Most of Novi Pazar’s population are Bosniaks while 68.47% of the municipality’s population is urban. 

The total area of the municipality is 742 km². It contains over 100 settlements, mostly small and spread over hills and mountains surrounding the city. The largest surrounding village is Mur with over 3000 residents.

One of the oldest monuments of the area is the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul first built in the Roman era. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the next centuries, the region of modern Novi Pazar served as the principal province of the Serbian realm.

Novi Pazar was formally founded as a city in its own right in 1461 by Ottoman general Isa-Beg Isaković, the Bosnian governor of the district and founder of Sarajevo.  Isa-Beg Isaković decided to establish a new town on the area as an urban centre. First he built a mosque, a public bath, a marketplace, a hostel, and a compound.

ESN Belgrade

I got introduced to ESN BelUPgrade during my second year living here. They are a non-profit international student organisation, whose mission is to represent international students in Belgrade

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ESN stands for Erasmus Student Network and it is the biggest student association in Europe. It began on October 16, 1989 and legally registered in 1990 for supporting and developing student exchange.

ESN is currently established in more than 430 Higher Education Institutions in 37 countries. The network is constantly developing and expanding. With around 13,500 active members that are, in many sections, supported by a 'buddies system'. Making a total of around 29,000 young people and offering its services to around 180,000 international students every year.
The organization works for the creation of a more flexible education environment by supporting and developing the student exchange from different levels, and providing an intercultural experience also to those students studying locally and are unable to travel.

The main focus of ESN is placed on current exchange students, who often face problems in their new environments. ESN offers help in the academic, social and practical integration process of international students in Belgrade. . This is mainly done through activities in the local sections, which include cultural and social events such as trips to various places within the country, film nights, language projects, international food festivals and last, but not least, parties.

Valjevo

On one of my many class excursions, I got the opportunity to visit the city of Valjevo. It is a city located in western Serbia. is situated along the river Kolubara, a tributary of the Sava river. It is the centre of the Kolubara District, which includes five other, smaller municipalities with a total population of almost 175,000.

Birth Place of Živojin Mišić

Valjevo is known by the battle of Kolubara, led by legendary Serbian commander Živojin Mišić.  He was the most successful Serbian commander who participated in all of Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918.  On November 19, 1917, he received title sir from King George V and even in present day his military tactic is studied at military colleges all over the world.

Vrujci Spa

Banja Vrujci spa is located in the municipality of Mionica, Vrujci Spa has mud baths for rheumatic diseases, as well as a hotel and sports complex with swimming pools,

Brankovina

Brankovina is located about ten kilometers from Valjevo, it belongs among the oldest villages of Valjevo region, it entered Serbian history during XVIII century. It represents a significant tourist destination with a historical ambient content, which is primarily visited by tourists because of the tombs of the family Nenadovic (1984). Besides family Nenadović, the fame of Brankovina was also spread all over the world by the famous poetess Desanka Maksimović, who grew up in this village and later she very often and gladly returned to it. The museum department of Valjevo National Museum was established first in the old Pre-school and then in the Desanka’s school.

Petnica Cave

As spectacular as it is Petnica Cave is also archaeological site. The cave and its immediate surroundings are the oldest evidence of the life of people in western Serbia. Archaeological research of the site began in the 19th century when the first research was performed by Josif Pančić and Jovan Cvijić. In addition to archaeological value, the cave has great speleological and paleontological value. The cave consists of a nearly 600-metre-long channel and a number of chambers. It is divided into two parts – Upper and Lower cave.

Car Museum

The Museum of Automobile in Belgrade is Located at Majke Jevrosime 30. It was founded by Bratislav Petkovic owner of the Museum and collector of about 100 vehicles in Belgrade. The collection entails a list of historical cars and archival materials on the advance of the car industry.

 The building was designed by a Russian architect Valerij Staševski, it was built in the city centre in 1929 as a public garage with capacity of about 40 cars.

The collection includes cars from the 50s to the 70s of the twentieth century. The first car in the collection is; the Ford Model T from 1925, while the oldest car is a Marot – Gardon, France, from 1897. Popular cars such as the Mercedes C 300 – D convertible, the first luxury sports car Jaguar MK2 (1963), and Cadillac de Ville convertible (1957 are also included I the collection.

The museum also contains a collection of photographs, documents, old tools and equipment, as well as a library with thousands of titles; it has become the meeting place for the legendary riders, museum car collectors and lovers.

 The museum organizes shows and races of museum cars.

Zlatibor

Zlatibor is a mountainous region in the western part of Serbia. It is abundant with vast highlands, rich pastures, cut across with numerous rivers and streams.

All villages of Zlatibor are scenic and beautiful, which makes it extremely suitable for development of the village tourism. These villages are well equipped with comfortable accommodation places for guests. Zlatibor is an important tourist area of Serbia, with resources for health, skiing and hiking tourism.

 The main city of the region is Užice, located at the foothills of the mountain, and most of the area belongs to the municipality of Čajetina. Town of Zlatibor emerged from a group of vacation homes into a full-fledged urban location.

There are numerous possibilities of tourist attractions from walking, sport, recreation, excursions to nearby caves, springs and waterfalls, hunting and fishing, riding, climbing, mountain biking to simply collecting wild herbs and forest fruit.

This area is famous for its mystical stories, myths and legends. Traditional feature are represented in buildings architecture which is a product of ancient trade and handicraft. Exhibits of local artistry, performances, folk dances and native creative work are all events that enlighten the traditional customs of the village life. 

The Residence of Princess Ljubica

The Residence of Princess Ljubica is one of few buildings surviving from the first reign of Prince Miloš Obrenović. It is located in one of the oldest parts of Belgrade, on street kneza Sime Markovica 8, on the corner of the streets Sima Markovic and Kralja Petra.

The construction of the residence of princess ljubica was carried out under the supervision of one of Serbian pioneers of architecture, Haji Nikola Zivkovic and lasted from 1829 to 1830. It started by orders of prince Miloš Obrenović, who wanted to have a residence built in the vicinity of the Ottoman masters stationed at Kalemegdam. It was built for his wife Ljubica and their children, the future rulers Milan and Mihailo, and represents combination of Turkish and European style of building.

Due to the dynasty overturn and the rise of the Karadordevic dynasty to the throne, the residence of princess Ljubica lost its residential function in 1842 and over the following 130 years it housed various state institutions. It was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and is protected by the Republic of Serbia.

Due to its Historical and cultural significance the residence became part of the Belgrade’s city Museum in 1980. The building is used for exhibitions which depict the historical change and the social development in the 19th century.

The exhibition includes a representative selection of fine and applied art objects. One section of the interior is furniture with sofas, low dining tables, Braziers and various Turkish vessels, while another section display a more urban interior as Belgrade went through the process of Europeanization.

Guests can experience a show called "A coffee with Princess Ljubica" where actors dress as Princess Ljubica, and greets the guests.

Serbian Slava

The slava is a Serbian Orthodox Christian tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the saint's feast day. It is an annual social event in which the family gathers together at the house of the patriarch (head of the household). Friends are also invited to the house for slava, regardless if they have the same Saint.

There are 4 basic elements that have to be present on Slava table, candle, slava cake, red wine and cooked wheat. Slava cake is ritually cut either by a priest in the church on the morning service or by the man of the house and first guest that comes. Slava cake represents Christ’s body, wine is his blood, cooked wheat is a symbol of resurrection while candle proclaims Christ as the light of the world. Usually families prepare large feasts for their guests and entire roasted pigs and lambs can be found on the table followed with many side dishes, salads and desserts.

The family saint is inherited to the patriarch, from father to son, while women do inherit the patron saint of their husbands upon leaving their families. As several patron saints are venerated twice a year, the main day is the Slava, while the secondary one is called preslava.

The most common patron Saints and Slava days are:

St. Nikola, 19th of December

St. Archangel Michael, 21st of November

St. John the Baptist, 20th of January

St. George, 16th of November and 6st of May

St. Dimitrije, 8th of November

St. Luka, 31st of October.