Resava Valley and the Manasija Monastery |
Kraljevo, Žiča Monastery, Ljubostinja Monastery and Mileševa Monastery |
Studenica Monastery | Novi Pazar, Sopoćani and Stari Ras |
Serbian music | Back to Travel home
I visited Serbia in summer 2002 and I make no apologies for the slightly "travel guide" tone of this page. At the time of writing there is no travel guide to Yugoslavia dating from after the break-up of the country (the best is a breif sketch in the Lonely Planet Guide to Mediterranean Europe or Eastern Europe and the very good guide to Belgrade published online by InYourPocket Guides. The hope is that this page might prove useful for people intending to visit the country until such time arrives when the information is supplanted by a generally available guide. All information was accurate as of summer 2002, but may be subject to change thereafter.
Some more updated material was passed to me by Alan Grant from his trip to Serbia and Montenegro in spring 2004. There are some spectacularly lovely photos on his website.
If you are looking for a guidebook, you will have to make do with one of the excellent pre-war ones. You could try The Rough Guide to Yugoslavia, or The Blue Guide: Yugoslavia. This last is particularly fine for detailed information about historical sites throughout the country. Failing these, which are not easy to obtain, there is a small but useful section inside the excellent 1989 Bradt Guide Yugoslavia: Mountain Walks and Historic Sites by Piers Letcher (see the Montenegro page for more on this).
We arrived in Serbia on the night train from Romania. After crossing the border, the train pulled into the Serbian border station, when customs police performed their normal checks. I was advised that I must get off the train to purchase the "tourist pass". I left and was shown a police office on the platform, where I was sold a tourist pass (a small blue piece of card) for 6 Euros. This scheme replaced the former restrictive visa requirements, but it has been changed from 1st May 2003:
NOTE: After a few years of a special "tourist pass" scheme, and a month or two of total chaos when the prices of tourist passes skyrocketed in spring 2003, as of June 2003 visa requirements have been abolished for visitors of most nationalities, who therefore no longer have any special restrictions or procedures to enter Serbia or Montenegro. To check that your nationaility is exempt from visa requirements see the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Serbia and Montenegro.
The train pulled into Belgrade and the first thing that struck me was the Cyrillic alphabet used everywhere. I have a small amount of Serbo-Croat language at my disposal, but quickly deciphering the new alphabet proved a little daunting and it took a week or so to get up to any speed. I was not intending to stay in Belgrade. I know it's been well received by tourists but it is manifestly not the equal of Sarajevo, and there were - if not bigger - more interesting fish to fry elsewhere in the country. The city is built around a river and a fine view is had of the hilltop citadel from the train entering the station. We walked straight to the money-changing office at the station and then walked to the bus station (a few minutes out of the station towards the left).
The bus system serving Belgrade is surprisingly extensive. A full timetable (which appears to be correct) is found here.
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We were heading generally south to the coast, I had wanted to visit some of Serbia's medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries on the way, but more of them require private transport to get to. However, the Manasija monastery was accessible around halfway between Belgrade and Montenegro. We took the bus to Despotovac (final destination Resavica), which took around 3 hours. There is no information currently published about Despotovac in English, but the city website has a forum where you could post queries in English, as well as extensive information about the city and region in Serbian. The website Proštinac.com used to be extremely useful, and was supposed to be in the process of being translated into French, followed by English at a later date. However, the domain name appears to have been taken over by someone else, and is no longer anything to do with Serbia whatsoever. Keep your eyes open on google for any signs of a rebirth. The town of Resavica has a website here, and another site for the Resava valley used to be under construction at www.resavac.com, but this apears to have vanished as well (2004). If you don't speak any Serbian you won't find any of these very enlightening though!
The Resava valley breaks off from the main Belgrade-Niš highway at the town of Svilajnac. Svilajnac has a hotel beside the bus station and is a pleasant middle-sized town, complete with open air water park for the hot summer. A few motels are found here outside of the centre of town. About 25km further east along the valley (one hour by bus) is the small town of Despotovac, where we stayed. Despotovac is situated in wooded and hilly countryside of very great beauty and tranquillity. The landscape is incredibly green and fertile and bees and flowers abound. Very few people drive the roads here, but those that do can be a bit maniacal about it! Anyway, here's a map of the town from a sketch I made one evening there:
The walk to the Manasija Monastery is along a quite narrow road without footpath, so be careful of crazy Balkan drivers. It only takes about 20 minutes to reach from the bridge. If you want to walk in the undergrowth beside the road, be very careful you don't disturb any snakes - some give a dangerous bite - maybe just stick to the road after all. However you choose to negotiate any traffic, as you pass beside a rock face to your left you are confronted with tantalising glimpses of the monastic fortifications through the bushes by the river. In a few more minutes you will be walking up to the massive exterior walls and in through the door into a kind of "secret-garden" atmosphere. The walls are partially ruined but still encircle the complex completely and impressively. They must be some 30 or more feet high with bastions punctuating them. The fortifications were built after the main monastic church to defend it from the attacks from the Ottoman Turks in the middle ages. The church itself dates from 1406-18 and belongs to the so-called Morava school. This school of architecture dates from after the Serbian defeat at the battle of Kosovo in 1389, when the Serbian people retreated north from the conquering Turks. The frescoes inside the church are quite badly damaged and most are incomplete to a large degree. What remains is sufficient to illustrate the incredible sophistication of artistry present at the time, foreshadowing the Italian Renaissance clearly in it's virtuoso use of realism, colour and detail, and the frescoes - despite their condition - are amongst the most important works of medieval Serbian art extant. The finest painting, almost completely intact, is that of the Warrior Saints on the north wall. If it doesn't compromise your religious sensibilities, do go and peek behind the iconostasis to look at the paintings on the apse walls, which are much better preserved than those in the main body of the church. The medieval Manasija monks also established a school of manuscript copying, unrivalled in medieval Serbia, and a small exhibition concerning this is housed in the narthex along with the postcard and trinket kiosk. If you speak Serbian, you might ask if there is anyone available to explain the frescoes and monastery to you.
There is one other extremely important monastery which can be visited by taxi from the Resava valley. The Ravanica Monastery around 20km to the south dates from the 1380s and is also a product of the Morava School. Unfortunately, the important frescoes here are in a very bad state of repair, due to a poor plaster mix used in their original creation. The frescoes in the narthex date from the eighteenth century. Ravanica can better be visited from the town of Ćuprija (buses from Belgrade) which is only around 6km away from the monastery.
The best of the Morava School monasteries is Kalenić, but it's impossible to visit by public tranport. You can get a bus to Svetozarevo (final destination Ćuprija) and change there for a bus to Oparić, but from there it's still a further 10km to walk or try to hitch. The monastery dates from 1413 and is the most elaborate externally, with stripes of different colours running horizontally and some carving of mythological creatures. The interior extremely fine paintings were rennovated in the 1950s.
Aside from the Monastery at Despotovac, there is not much else to do. Heading east towards Resavica a road on the left soon heads away to the Resavska Pećina (Resava cave), which is full of stalagtites and exciting formations. Taxis will take you there from Resavica or Despotovac... for a price. If I had had my own transport, I would have liked to visit it, and the upper reaches of the river Resava past Resavica pass through some amazing gorges and more mountainous scenery. Alas, I only bear witness to this via the fronts of postcards on display in my hotel! Resavica also features a historic narrow-guage steam railway, a few caves from a disused coalmine and a museum of coal.
To get away from the Resava valley, you have two options: either catch a bus straight to Belgrade from anywhere along the valley (the bus doesn't stop anywhere useful for picking up a connecting bus between Svilajnac and Belgrade), or get off it at Svilajnac (one hour from Despotovac) and pick up a bus southwards to Kraljevo which leaves Svilajnac at 14.00. Other destinations are served, but only small and local ones, of no use to a tourist. Buses leave Despotovac for Beograd (stopping at Svilajnac) at 05.00, 08.00, 11.45 and 15.00 daily.
Click here for some pictures taken in the Resava Valley | Back to top
At the important transport hub of Kraljevo, the Žiča monastery is one of the more historically-important monasteries, and the church was the site of the coronations of Serbian kings. It is situated a walkable 4km outside Kraljevo (the city's name is derived from the Serbian word for 'king'). Kraljevo is a possible place to spend the night, but I have not done so (there is a hotel on the main square, the "Hotel Turist", described in 2004 as no-frills, probably unrefurbished since before the break-up of Yugoslavia, but with clean decent-sized rooms which are perfectly acceptable. Price for a single room was less than 1000 dinar in 2004). The Žiča monastery is painted a rusty red outside in imitation of the monasteries of Mount Athos in Greece. However, the inside of the church has suffered numerous heavy-handed restorations, and the bulk of the original frescoes have now vanished.
In central Serbia a couple of other monasteries are accessible fairly easily. The following information was sent to me by Alan Grant in spring 2004: "Ljubostinja is very easy to get to without private transport. The town of Trstenik can be reached on any of the very frequent buses between Kraljevo and Kruševac, as well as the odd slow train. From there it's an easy 4km walk on an almost flat road with hardly any traffic. Although probably not one of the most important for frescoes, the exterior of the church and the fine trees in the monastery gardens are very appealing. Mileševa (or Mileševo, usage seems to vary, due to case confusion I think) is also quite accessible, as the town of Prijepolje is on the main western road and rail route through Serbia. From there it's 6km to the monastery, again walkable along a quiet road, although in retrospect a taxi might have been a better idea for the uphill leg."
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An hour south of Kraljevo, after passing the Maglić Fortress on a hilltop to the left of the main road, is the tiny village of Ušće. At Ušće a bus heads up a mountain road to the monastery of Studenica, probably the most impressive of the Serbian monasteries in the Republic. The bus timetable departures list at Ušće to main destinations in summer 2002 was as follows:
| Kraljevo | 05.20 05.50 07.30 08.10 10.30 11.45 13.40 14.10 17.15 18.30 22.00 |
| Kragujevac | 17.15 |
| Beograd | 08.10 |
| Studenica | 07.00 11.45 14.30 19.30 22.15 |
As well as these, all buses passing through Ušće will stop if hailed from the appropriate places on the main through-road. Ušće is on the main route from Beograd, Kragujevac and Kraljevo southwards to Novi Pazar and Kosovo and beyond (including places such as Podgorica and Skopje). I don't know when buses return from Studenica to Ušće (I hitch-hiked back), but I was told there was a bus leaving Studenica at about 18.15. Here is a sketched map of Ušće:
Ušće has poor facilities for tourists. The main road is lined by overpriced grill restaurants taking advantage of the captive audience waiting for connecting buses to various places. There is nowhere to stay in the town itself, but a couple of miles south from town on the main road there is a small motel where buses often pull in for a break. It was full up when I enquired there. Novi Pazar, an hour further south, makes a better base for this area. See below for Novi Pazar.
Studenica Monastery comprises three churces within the peaceful walled complex high in the wooded mountains. The largest and most important church is Sveti Bogorodica (church of Our Lady), which was finished in 1191. The noble but somewhat austere exonarthex is an ill-conceived addition of 1230, which unfortunately obscures the marvellous marble walls and monumental portal to the original church. The polished white marble exterior of the church is unique amongst the Serbian monasteries. On entering the exonarthex you can have a quick look into the chapel to the right, where are found frescoes dating from 1235. The monumental portal to the main church is decorated above by a sculpture of the virgin flanked by mythological beasts. First you pass through the narthex with frescoes from 1569. The main naos is through another doorway. In the naos the chipped frescoes date from 1208-09. The upper set have a gilded background, the middle ones have a yellow background, and the lower ones have a blue background. Little is left of the original paintings, but the crucifixion above the main door is stunningly vivid. Most of the other paintings were re-done in 1569 during a restoration.
Next to the Church of Our Lady is a smaller white church called the Kraljeva Crkva (King's Church) dating from 1314. The frescoes inside are stunningly well-preserved and are some of the most important works of medieval art in the country, being of superlative execution, design, colour and detail. Portraits of saints are seen beneath a Life of the Virgin cycle, the whole lot topped by a Life of Christ cycle. The third church in Studenica is the Sveti Nicholas Church (13th century). It was locked when I was there, and apparrently it is very rare to be able to see inside, where there are scant, battered traces of some 13th century frescoes.
Click here for some pictures taken at Studenica | Back to top
South from Ušće you pass into the region known as the Sandžak (from the Turkish term for the regions the country was split into under the Ottoman Empire). The town of Jošanička Banja has a Turkish haman (bath house) with water from the springs at 70C. just after here a small road leads off to the right to the important monastery of Gradac (13th century), 12km away. 32km beyond Ušće is the town of Raška, which is not worth stopping at, and Novi Pazar is 21km further on, situated on the banks of the river Raška.
Practicalities first: when arriving at the bus station of Novi Pazar, leave (with the platforms to behind you to the right) and turn left at the traffic lights on the main road (20 meters from the bus station). This road takes you to the main square at the centre of the town - about a 10 minute walk. On the main square you will see the large Hotel Vrbak on the edge of the main square, built over the river itself. Look behind this and you will see the sign for another hotel on the top of a tall block (illuminated in green at night). However, by far the best place to stay in Novi Pazar is the Pension Kan (Cannes) [Tel: 020/315-300, 314-300], on the right of the square if you have your back towards the bus station. The proprietor speaks a little German, and some staff sometimes know some English. A double room costs 25 Euros per night payable in Euros or Dinars (including breakfast), and a single room is 20 Euros.
In summer 2002, this was an approximate bus timetable for Novi Pazar (but some of the buses did not, in fact, exist!); bear in mind that this only shows buses final destination, so for instance you could get to Podgorica by taking a bus to Podgorica or to, amongst others, Herceg Novi (which also serves places like Budva and Kotor). Please check the buses before relying on this timetable - things are always subject to change (although aparrently the timetable was more or less identical in spring 2004):
| Destination | Departures | Arrivals | Notes |
| Flensburg (Germany) | 08.30 | 24.00 | Wed & Sat |
| Istanbul (Turkey) | 11.00 14.00 | 7.00 9.00 | Tues, Wed & Sun |
| Beograd | 01.30 02.18 05.00 05.30 05.55 06.30 07.00 08.00 10.00 11.35 11.45 12.30 13.00 13.30 14.30 17.30 18.15 19.00 22.20 23.30 24.00 00.30 | 01.00 02.15 04.00 04.30 04.50 05.00 11.30 12.00 12.30 15.15 16.00 17.30 17.45 18.00 18.15 19.00 19.45 20.15 22.00 22.30 23.00 24.00 | - |
| Sarajevo (Bosnia-Hercegovina) | 07.00 10.15 11.00 18.00 22.00 | 04.30 05.00 06.30 14.15 22.15 | - |
| Podgorica | 13.00 | 17.00 | - |
| Skoplje/Skopje (Macedonia) | 09.00 12.45 | 13.00 15.00 | - |
| Novi Sad | 15.15 18.15 | 12.00 20.45 | - |
| Subotica | 09.00 | 23.00 | - |
| Herceg Novi | 13.30 22.15 | 14.45 21.45 | - |
| Leskovac | 21.40 | 22.15 | - |
| Niš | 05.30 07.30 13.30 17.00 | 10.00 13.00 19.00 21.00 | - |
| Priština | 05.00 09.00 12.40 | 13.00 13.15 17.00 | - |
| Ulcinj | 12.00 21.00 24.00 | 06.00 19.15 | - |
| Bijelo Polje | 07.30 13.30 | 16.45 18.30 | - |
| Prijepolje | 16.30 | 09.00 | - |
| Kruševac | 13.00 | 09.25 | Tues & Sun |
| Kragujevac | 07.00 09.30 11.30 16.15 17.30 | 09.30 11.30 12.30 16.15 17.50 | - |
| Kraljevo | 05.00 10.00 10.40 13.30 17.30 21.00 24.00 | 05.00 10.30 12.20 15.00 18.00 20.15 22.00 | - |
| Rozaje | 07.00 09.30 11.00 13.00 19.00 | 09.00 12.20 16.10 19.00 21.00 | - |
| Sjenica | 03.00 09.00 09.30 11.00 12.00 13.00 16.00 16.40 17.20 19.00 | 02.15 07.30 10.30 12.00 14.15 15.00 15.15 16.00 17.15 18.30 | - |
| Ribariće | 05.30 07.00 11.00 15.00 19.00 | 06.40 09.15 12.30 13.00 | - |
| Karajukiće Bunari | 08.00 14.00 | 09.30 17.00 | - |
| Raška | 05.45 06.15 06.45 07.15 08.45 09.30 10.30 11.30 13.00 13.15 14.00 14.15 14.45 15.15 16.15 17.15 18.15 19.25 19.30 20.15 22.00 | 05.45 06.45 07.30 08.30 09.30 10.40 11.45 12.30 13.30 13.40 14.45 15.40 15.45 16.00 17.00 19.00 20.00 22.00 | - |
| Bele Vode | 04.45 06.30 11.00 13.15 14.00 19.30 | 06.15 08.00 12.00 14.45 16.00 21.00 | - |
| Baćica | 06.00 15.00 | 09.30 19.30 | - |
| Melaje | 10.30 13.30 19.30 | 07.00 13.00 15.40 | - |
| Rajetiće | 06.00 15.00 | 08.20 17.00 | Tues, Fri & Sun |
| Vranovina | 04.30 05.30 06.30 09.30 11.30 13.15 15.00 17.00 19.30 | 05.30 06.30 08.00 10.30 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.40 | - |
| Šaronje | 05.00 05.30 06.30 09.00 11.00 13.15 15.00 17.00 19.00 | 05.30 06.30 08.00 10.30 12.30 14.40 16.30 18.30 20.40 | - |
| Joše | 05.00 15.00 | 06.30 17.30 | Tues, Fri & Sun |
Novi Pazar is about the most Turkish town you can find in Serbia (except, that is, without venturing into Kosovo, which may or may not ultimately end up as remaining a part of Serbia). The town's skyline is punctuated by minarets and the whole place carries a highly 'oriental' air. Live music features heavily in the bars and cafés around the main square - usually an accordion and banjo-like instrument. Traffic chaotically pushes from lane to lane around the main square while policemen with whistles are taken or left by the car drivers. Some places that look like bars don't serve alcohol as the Muslim majority here is significantly traditional not to partake of it. Old men with Arabic skulcaps sit around outside some cafés playing backgammon or dominoes, and the bazar streets are reminiscent of those in the Middle East. The coffee everywhere is Turkish style - black, sweet and strong, and served with a glass of water and some ratluk (a kind of walnut Turkish Delight).
The town's history is connected with that of the city of Ras a few kilometers away. Ras was built in the ninth century as a Serbian outpost against the Byzantine empire. In the twelfth centruy Stefan Nemanja transferred the capital of the kingdom of Serbia to Ras (and then again to Skopje in the fourteenth century). The town of Novi Pazar (literally 'new market') was established at some time before the fifteenth century by the Turks as a base from which to commence their conquest of the north. The Turkish rulership of the town only ceased in 1912. There is not a vast amount to actually see in the town centre, as the town has suffered much at the hands first of the Serbs, trying to fight back the Turkish occupation by burning the city three times in the nineteenth century, and more recently of unsympathetic urban developers. The main square (Mestni Trg) is more of a car park than a square, but it is a bustling place, with the remains of the old fifteenth century Turkish Fortress to one side which has been converted into a peaceful shady park. It was formerly the seat of the Ottoman rulers of the sandzak. Opposite this, almost next to the Pension Kan, is an Ottoman Han, which has spent some of its life as a guesthouse (under the names of Pension Han and Pension Kosovo), but now appears to be used as a café-bar. It is comprised of a group of four buildings around a courtyard. The street leading off the square to the south in the opposite direction from the bus station is the main bazar street, which is lined by shops and eateries heading as far as the great Mosque of Altum Alem. The mosque is the most important Turkish religious building in the region. It was built in the fifteenth century and the mihrab is of particularly fine decoration.
The best places to eat in town are the small restorans in the bazaar roads serving čevapi or čevapćići. Here you will get superb value for money and a proper taste of the atmosphere of the town. The hotels have slightly more upmarket restaurants, but they are really not worth the considerable extra you have to pay.
On the edge of the town is the ancient church of Saint Peter (Petrova). This is the oldest church in Serbia, dating from the eighth century, and was the seat of the Orthodox See of Raška for nine centuries. Walk along the street past the bus station and you will see some signs pointing to it. It's about 3km out of the centre on a bluff above the road on the left hand side. The key is kept by a lady at the house near the church, and she will unlock the door for you. Inside are some restored but still badly damaged frescoes from the thirteenth century, some tombs of Serbian princes and an ancient baptismal well. During excavations in the mid-twentieth century the tomb of an Illyrian prince from the fifth century BC was discovered beneath the floor. The considerable treasures found in the tomb are held at the National Museum in Belgrade. The church is surrounded by an evocative cemetery. All in all the place is extremely atmospheric and the sense of age is palpable. When you leave, don't forget to make a donation to the key-lady for her troubles.
Just outside the church, you will see a signpost pointing up a grassy track towards the ruined monastic church of Ðurdjevi Stubovi. It's about a 3km walk uphill to get there. The site was being restored by the Serbian Orthodox church in 2002 and now houses a community of monks. The hilltop location overlooks the town and the surrounding countryside, and the faded, weatherbeaten frescoes are worth a look. The site itself has been restored with large plate-glass additions to keep out the elements, which may not be to everyone's aesthetic tastes. Apparrently another path leads up to the church from the town, somewhere on the right along the road towards Sopoćani but I was unable to find it, and it's not signposted.
The main sight to see while at Novi Pazar is the monastery of Sopoćani. No buses run to the site, but there are numerous taxis in the main square who will drive you there (about 7 Euros or equivalent each way). Be sure to make a note of the phone number for calling a taxi as you will have to pop into the motel beside the monastery and use their phone to call for a taxi to get back again.
The road leaves Novi Pazar and heads into a gorge-like valley (with superb trout fishing to be had in the river). About half way you pass the remains of the ancient city of Ras. These remains, along with the monastery, are listed amongst UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. However, despite their historical importance there is very little to see. If you ask the taxi to stop you could have a quick look around. The city stretches up the hill to the right of the road, and to the untrained eye comprises merely of lots of ruined building walls.
The Sopoćani monastery is one of the country's more thriving in terms of monastic vocations taken up there. We were greeted by one of the brethren and an English-speaking monk was located who could explain the highly-impressive frescoes to us. It was very moving to have the architecture and decoration expounded to us in roundly theological and spiritual terms, and these monks are clearly devoted to more than the mere historic building in which they are privileged to worship. As it was lunchtime we were invited to join them for food and wine. A rare treat.
The monastery was founded in 1263 but had fallen into ruins by the first half of the twentieth century, and the weather took its toll on the precious paintings within. The exonarthex was added in the fourteenth century. Most of the frescoes in the narthex are concerned with the fusion of state and church: the founding king Uros Nemanjic took up monastic orders on his leaving of the throne. He and other family members are depicted with a saintly attitude. The paintings in the nave display the greatest finesse of perhaps any in the country of the same date (1265) and are certainly unexcelled by any other medieval art in Europe. They are a stunning affirmation of Christian faith by a master painter from Constantinople, working to a traditional plan but creating works of astonishing grandeur, originalty and emotive content. Photos are not generally permitted.
Click here for some pictures taken in Novi Pazar and around | Back to top
Further to the above information, you can click below for a copy of a Word document assembled by Mr Ben Haines. Neither he nor I make any claim to the copyright of information contained within it, as it is composed largely of material drawn from the web, particularly that given by other travellers contributing to the message and discussion boards on the Lonely Planet website. The document is designed to provide information for travellers to Serbia in lieu of any sort of up to date guidebook in publication.
Serbia.doc (Last update May 2003)
All queries regarding this document should be addressed to Ben Haines direct.
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Serbian music:
Not much music from Serbia makes it to the West yet. Much of the popular Turkish-style music is similar to that from Bosnia. A few slightly more distinctive tracks follow:
Šopsko - an extract from some typical rural instrumental music
Oj Badnjace - a piece from the Serbian Orthodox Church sung by the RTV Belgrade choir
Mladi pri Sabornoj - another religious piece
Ðelem, delem - an excerpt from one of the best-known gypsy pieces in the Balkans
Savo Vodo (Water of the Sava) - a folk sung from the north
The Serbian National Anthem - in the process of being relegated to the pages of history (included for interest)