I had arranged with the host of
the apartment to drop me to the airport at 5.30 am. The bags were packed and
ready for right time departure from the apartment. It was only a 20-minute
drive to the rather small airport, designated an aerodrome.
I had to wait a while before the
check-in counter opened. Then some more to be permitted to the immigration and
security controls. That's when I met a gentleman from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, who
was leaving on his 40-day vacation to New Delhi by Turkish Airlines. He has
been working in a hotel in Budva for over two years and this was his first
vacation. He told me that Podgorica is much cheaper than the tourist towns of
Kotor, Budva, etc. He also felt that the Montenegrins are a peculiar lot.
Past the passport control and security,
I bought a cup of coffee and a sandwich, which were sold at usurious prices.
Nevertheless, the body demanded it and the wallet yielded. That's when I met
the lady doctor. I was looking for a place to set my coffee and sandwich down.
She was sitting alone with an empty chair at her table. She gesticulated that I
could occupy the empty chair. In the next 20 minutes we discussed our families,
professions, places and belief systems. Nothing ever happens by accident and
these are connects of previous and future lives, both of us believed.
The Air Serbia flight arrived
Belgrade at 9.40 am, delayed by 40 minutes. After immigration into the 78th
country of my visit and collecting the bag, I stepped out of arrivals. The bus
stop was just in front of the arrival. The most interesting part of public
transport in Belgrade is that it is completely free, except for a few select
services. In a few minutes the bus arrived and I took a seat in the comfortable
trailer bus.
In less than 20 minutes I got dropped off at a bus stop on the
highway. From there I walked about 20 minutes to the apartment.
I had spoken to the host of the apartment last evening and arranged to store the luggage prior to the check-in time. The owner and I communicated using Google Translate and he told me that I would be able to occupy the apartment by 2 pm. I had more than 3 hours to go. Therefore, I decided to complete my itinerary for the day and return to the apartment. I was told that the bus stop for local visits was just outside the complex.
Bus stops are not necessarily
identified with sheds or enclosures for passengers; they are also marked on the
road with yellow paint. I took bus number 77 from just outside the apartment
complex. After the bus had gone some distance, I realised was traveling in the
wrong direction. Fortunately, it was a loop run and very soon I was traveling
in the right direction! After a few stops, I changed buses and reached the
Church of Saint Sava, arguably the best attraction in Belgrade.
The Church of Saint Sava is a
massive Serbian Orthodox cathedral and ranks among the largest Eastern Orthodox
churches in the world. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, the founder of
the Serbian Orthodox Church and its first archbishop. It is located on the
plateau where Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha burned the relics of Saint Sava
in 1594.
Even though the groundbreaking
took place in 1935, construction was paused through World War II and the
communist era and resumed in 1984. It was only in 2020 that the church assumed
its present majestic form. The style of the church is said to have been
inspired by the Hagia Sophia.
The total area of the mosaics covering the
interior of the church is about 15,000 m2, constituting the largest mosaic
surface across the Christendom. The church, which can accommodate up to 7000
worshippers at a time, is one of the most visited sites in Belgrade.
The next target was the
Skadarlija, Belgrade's historic bohemian quarter. The bus dropped me near the
Republic Square, which is the main public square and cultural hub of Belgrade.
Key landmarks in the Republic Square are the National Museum of Serbia, National
Theatre and the 1882 bronze equestrian statue of Prince Mihailo.
Not far from the Republic Square
is Skadarlija, a 590-meter-long cobblestone street. Originally settled around
1825 by Romani people (whose origins are traced to Punjab, Rajasthan, and Sindh
regions of India. They settled in the Balkans during the 13th and 14th
centuries), the area transformed into an artisan and bohemian hub by the late
19th century. The street is famous for traditional Serbian taverns called
kaffanas.
A short walk from the Skadarlija
lay the Bajrakli Mosque, the only active mosque in Belgrade. It was funded by a
cloth merchant and built around 1575 during the Ottoman Empire. The
single-space cubic Ottoman structure with a dome and a single minaret is simple
in design and ornamentation. The complex includes a courtyard with a ritual
ablution fountain and a madrasa.
It was renamed the Bajrakli
Mosque in the late 18th century because a flag (bajrak) was raised on it to
signal the simultaneous start of prayer across the city's remaining prayer
spaces. During the Austrian occupation (1717–1739), it was temporarily converted
into a Catholic church. It was restored as a mosque in 1741.
On the way to the Kalemegdan Park
I came upon the Museum of Chocolate. Group tours run regularly to explore the
Mayan and Aztec origins of the natural cocoa fruit, how chocolate was introduced
and spread across Europe, regional and national chocolate heritage of Serbia
and Yugoslavia. The tour also includes guided tastings of candies, melted
chocolate, and ruby chocolate plus an optional hands-on workshop where you can
craft your own custom chocolate bar. I was disappointed to read the note
outside the door of the museum which said that there are no English tours for
the day.
Almost directly opposite the
museum is the statue of Rigas Feraios, an influential Greek writer, visionary,
and revolutionary of the 18th century who was imprisoned and executed in
Belgrade.
The bronze sculpture of the
Monument of Gratitude to France in front of the Kalemegdan Park features a
female figure in bronze, representing France, rushing to help Serbia,
symbolizing the alliance and friendship between the two nations during World
War I.
Kalemegdan is the largest park in
Belgrade and its most significant cultural-historical complex. Together with
the Belgrade Fortress it forms a unified whole, overlooking the confluence of
the Sava and Danube rivers. The Park is 66 hectares in area, including the
fortress and archaeological sites, and is on a 125-meter-high cliff. The
transformation of the area into a park started in the 1880s. Besides monuments
like the Gratitude to France and Victor monument, the Belgrade fortress,
Military Museum, Clock tower and Roman Well are some places to explore in the
Park.
The main entrance to the Upper
Town today is the gate with the Sahat Tower. While the clock tower was a
recognisable detail in Turkish bazaars, it rarely appeared in fortresses.
Hence, the Belgrade tower can be considered an unusual example. It was built in
the middle of the 18th century.
The ‘Victor’ monument is
certainly the most recognisable symbol of Belgrade. It was created in the years
before the First World War, but its formation took an unusually long time.
After the War, the sculpture of the Victor was placed on a high pedestal in the
form of a Doric column with a total height of 14 metres, on the highest spot of
the Belgrade Fortress — on top of the ridge above the confluence of the Sava
and the Danube. The monument was ceremoniously unveiled in 1928.
The terrace overlooking the
confluence or the Sava and Danube is an experience I will never forget easily.
The promenade has an open-air museum, numerous benches to relax, mouthwatering
views, and most importantly, serenity. From the terrace one can see the
Floating River Clubs (Splavs), Belgrade's renowned 24/7 party scene based on
barges and clubs moored along the Sava and Danube rivers.
I left the terrace near the
Embassy of France in Serbia and walked to the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael
the Archangel, a Serbian Orthodox cathedral. It was built between 1837 and 1840
on the site of an older 18th-century church. It features a gold-plated carved
Baroque iconostasis and stunning wall paintings. The church also houses the
sacred relics of Serbian saints. The churchyard contains the graves of
prominent cultural figures and the crypt holds the tombs of Serbian rulers and
patriarchs.
Opposite the Cathedral is the
Palace of the Patriarchate in Belgrade, which functions as the official
administrative seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the residence of the
Serbian Patriarch.
Not far from the Palace of the
Patriarchate is the Residence of Princess Ljubica, a historic 19th-century
palace that now operates as a branch of the Belgrade City Museum. The palace
had been home to Princess Ljubica (the wife of Milos Obrenovic I, the Prince of
Serbia) and her sons, Milan and Mihailo.
The last item in the itinerary
for the day was a leisurely stroll along Knez Mihailova Street, Belgrade's
primary pedestrian and shopping avenue, stretching roughly 1 kilometre. It is
completely pedestrianized and paved with granite blocks.
The street is lined
with 19th-century townhouses, neoclassical facades, and art nouveau buildings.
It is a bustling social hub filled with outdoor cafes, restaurants, fashion
boutiques, street musicians, vendors, money exchangers and, of course crowds by
the thousands. It is here that I had three unpalatable experiences in a matter
of 30 minutes.
Hungry and weary I wanted to have
a hot meal. I approached an Italian restaurant and scored the menu. I asked the
waiter where I could take a seat. He gruffly told me that they are fully booked
and that I would need a reservation to have a meal there. There was plenty of
vacant outdoor seating. He just didn't want me around. As if to prove that that
was not a one-off incident, the next restaurant I went into told me that they
could offer me a place the next day! It was crass racism, full blown.
The third experience was at a
money changer. I asked her what the exchange rate for Euro is and she didn't
bother to respond. After I asked her twice, she angrily responded with a figure
that was at a 50 percent discount! She just did not want me there as a
customer. There was no one else around as well. If these instances are not clear
signs of racism, what else is. I suddenly lost all appetite for Serbia as a
country. I will never set foot in this part of the world ever again.
In the Knez Mihailova Street is
located the Belgrade Milestone (also known as the Belgrade Pyramid). It serves
as a geodetic marker and spatial reference point displaying the city's exact
geographic coordinates. Its unusual shape has led to popular local urban
legends and theories claiming it is a Masonic symbol. At the time of visit, a
performer had usurped the space and ensured that one cannot get a proper photo
of the landmark.
A historic public water fountain
is also located in Knez Mihailova Street, which dates back to the Ottoman
period in the 17th century and was named after the delije (light cavalry units)
whose horses drank from it. It has been rebuilt and relocated several times
throughout Belgrade's history.
With these experiences I
concluded the tour of Belgrade. I took the bus back to the apartment and took
possession of the nice and cosy place. The apartment was aesthetically done up
and well stocked with coffee, tea, soft drinks, water and beer. The third
tour in the Balkans was soon to be over. I have a Qatar Airways flight from
Belgrade to Mumbai via Doha tomorrow.
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