see magazine summer 2012

Summer 2012

THE SUMMER 3

the best and finest of the adriatic region

Navigate through that special shade of blue we call the Adriatic Which are the best Croatian summer festivals?

Follow the Region’s wine trail, and get more than just value for your money Who are the five 20th century inglourious Balkan basterds?

Unveil the soul of Split‌ and of Sarajevo Which are the books you cannot leave without?

Tune in to the Montenegrin travelogue Is Serbia truly home to the largest Jazz festival in the world?

Discover Macedonian monasteries and the castles of Lower Carniola

Or, quite simply, see the Adriatic summer.

year i / vol i / summer 2012 / 30 hrk

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BACK TO THE ROOTS

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content

intro

07 Back to the Roots the other side of tourism

08 A Split Zahir What do Diocletian, Slavic racial memory, and an unfortunate have in common?

12 An Irishman Sends a Postcard Home Moving to the Region permanently? You’ll want to read this.

destinations

40 Living it up in Lower Carniola

Music and film, again. Singled out are the best events and locations. By far. fairing about

22 Peugeoting Down the Coast Another Irisman laments, having discovered the joy of motoring anew. sailor’s corner

24 Navigating Through That Special Shade of Blue We Call The Adriatic Yes, we’ll cover the routes, but above all we’ll set you on the right track, mentally.

47 Baščaršija The Heart of Sarajevo The history, the culture, the food. And, of course, the quixotic soul of the City.

Are local wines, by comparison, too expensive? These are not... in perspective

37 Casino Business in the Region: Betting Big on Getting Big The region’s biggest casino chain announces growth, on a massive scale...

80 The Scene Game of Thrones: Season 3 Coming to Dubrovnik Jolie Back in the Land of Blood and Honey Lady Diana Movie Filming in Croatia

55 Guča: or in Praise of Glorious Folly Or how to dance on a table and empty the contents of one’s wallet into a Gypsy tuba.

60 A Montenegrin Travelogue Ulcinj and Ada Bojana: a Dash of The Orient Cetinje: The Old Royal Capital Kotor and Perast: The Russo-Venetian Connection

66 Macedonian Monastery Mystery Tour

82 Want to Do Business in Croatia?

Get ahead of the Game.

Three companies. Three ideas. Three extremely helpful solutions.

84 4G on the Go Time to boldly go where few have gone before. Let’s speed things up. good stuff

High up in the Southern mountains Byzantium survives...

88 Dietpharm’s Summer Pharmacy

camera obscura

90 I Want to Ride My Bicycle

70 The Five 20th Century (In)glourious Balkan Basterds A humorous account of Balkan 20th century dictators...or near dictators...

the wine buff

31 The Balkan Wine Trail

A Slovenian Movie Director in Space The Higgs Boson and the Balkan Mindset A Balkan War You’ve Never Heard of

Five-star chateaux, golfing, horseback riding...can we ask for more?

hot & ready

17 Cro Summer Festival Season

good to know

78 Curiosities

event horizon

72 Small Fragments of a Writer’s Life in a Tale of Two Cities Or how Miroslav Krleža, the late literary great, balanced between ZG and BG literary (arche)type

76 Five Regional Literary Masterpieces These books are not for sissies...

to do list

94

Believe us, there’s plenty to do.

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introductory epistle

editor-in-chief Igor Dakić executive editor Lee Murphy lee@see-magazine.eu graphic editor Ivor Vinski ivorvinski@gmail.com art editor Stiv Cinik country editors Miša Milošević, Aida Tabaković, Sebastijan Maček, Miroslav Tomas contributors Dylan Alexander, Marijan Grakalić, Jerko Markovina, Ljupčo Sotiroski, Mark Ferris, Michael Devaney, Vedran Tomas photography Mens-Libera Photo, Shutterstock, IStock, Wiki Commons unless otherwise specified printer Stega tisak d.o.o.

Zavrtnica 17, Zagreb Croatia

director Igor Dakić igor.dakic@see-magazine.eu sales & marketing (cro & slo) Miroslav Tomas miroslav.tomas@see-magazine.eu + 385 95 63 99 702 sales & marketing (serbia) Miša Milošević misa@see-magazine.eu + 381 63 224 223 sales & marketing (b&h) Amela Tanović amela@see-magazine.eu + 387 63 691 393 co-publisher Mens Libera Media d.o.o.

Ksaver 215, 10000 Zagreb tel/fax +385 (0)1 46 77 165

co-publisher Lider press d.d.

Savska cesta 41, 10000 Zagreb OIB 90034071582 editor-in-chief Miodrag Šajatović miodrag.sajatovic@liderpress.hr Director Željko Vukelić zeljko.vukelic@liderpress.hr Marketing & Sales Sandra Kvakan T +385 1/6333-522; F +385 1/6333-596 sandra.kvakan@liderpress.hr

Back to the Roots Back to the roots then, and no, we’re not propagating any sort of ‘return to nature’, or any related ‘new age’ or subcultural stance, but rather the oldfashioned return to Civilisation. And Civilisation, dear reader, means that one knows how to choose, that one sometimes even knows how (elegantly) to keep one’s own prejudices.

As for what we here are prejudiced against, we are prejudiced against ignorant know-it-alls, bad poets, uncouth nationalists, and textless guides that try to pass themselves off for magazines. We may be prejudiced against many more things – indeed, it is very likely that we are – but these spring to mind right off the bat. Then again, did not Oscar Wilde once say that if a man is gentleman, he knows quite enough, and if he is not, whatever he learns is bad for him? Indeed he did. What I mean to say is, please do bring your prejudices to your reading with you, especially in the summer months.

As for what we have prepared for you… well, we’ve brought to you the places, maritime routes, books, wines, opinions and so on that we feel strongly

about – another, though positive in this instance, prejudicial sentiment. Islands, coves, monasteries, castles – they all lie ahead. We also bring to you a small dose of humour – or satire, as it were – in the hope that we shall be disliked for it, at least to some extent. For the true comedian – the civilised comedian – wants to be believed, not necessarily liked.

Also, when I say Civilisation, do not for one second suppose that I have anything boring in mind. True, I do not like the fact that any man who would put on a dinner jacket to dine in an Adriatic restaurant would nowadays look foolish, but that does not mean that I am perforce old-fashioned, God forbid unfashionable. It simply means that Life, the hedonistic but informed sort of life which we will promote in the coming 100-odd pages, means very little if it has no notion of form.

As for you, faithful subscriber, I can only hope to surprise you a little, preferably for the better. As for you, the one-off buyer (and soon, hopefully, also a faithful subscriber), I welcome you the world of see.

And, naturally, whoever you are, I wish you a good summer.

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the other side of tourism

A Split Zahir A couple of months ago Financial Times put Split at the top of their list as the most alluring World heritage site to live in. Shall we thank them? We shall. But we shall also turn to our man on the ground, a man truly in the know, to tell us why one should really consider setting up house in the city of Split. Follow innumerable insights about Diocletian, any manner of obsession, blood and racial memory, and, of course, the very soul of the place, its people and its madmen.

By Jerko Markovina

I

f one were to take a stroll through Diocletian’s Palace, a unesco World Heritage Site located dead in the midst of the modern-day city of Split, one would notice something quite unusual. The Palace, the very nucleus of the Dalmatian metropolis, is not a ropedoff monument to be admired from a distance (fee included), but a veritable living quarter. Literally ancient balconies are studded with clothes-lines, shops and museums thrive with the urban buzz and all manner of busybodies (or the not so busy bodies, for this is Dalmatia, after all), small hotels unassumingly pop up from time-worn and crooked streets – all in a former Imperial abode. Tourists aside, for even with them prowling about there is every evidence that what is taking place here is life at its most natural.

If we can subscribe to Jorge Louis Borges’ fictional contention that every city possesses its Zahir, a person or an object that has the power to create an obsession in everyone who sees it, so that, as time progresses, the affected person perceives less and less of reality and more and more of the Zahir, it is not difficult to envisage that there might be some old coin, minted by the Old Emperor himself, buried deep in the catacombs of the Imperial palace but casting its iron-clad

spell on the unsuspecting dwellers of this ancient settlement. For I, for one, like all other natives, love it obsessively; I love it just about as much – immeasurably and again obsessively – as I like to criticise it.

We criticise it – which in no way means that you too may – because it is slow-paced, because the unemployment rate is too high, because one quaint character called Željko Kerum is the Mayor, because we have allowed ourselves to lose out to Zagreb as the most relevant Croatian city, and so on.

Perhaps it is our own fault. There is a stereotype which says that Dalmatians are extremely lazy, and like all stereotypes, it is probably true. For we even have a special term describing this state of mind – ‘fjaka’ – which roughly corresponds to one’s desire to do absolutely nothing, take it easy, and just enjoy life: something along the lines of the Italian “dolce far niente”. I would even draw a parallel with the Hindu concept of Nirvana, but our religion – not the official one – as all know, is not about finding inner peace and disappearing into nonexistence, but rather about pleasure. That special type of Mediterranean pleasure which, upon second thought, Financial Times’ editors or whoever actually ranked us first are not likely to know

I, like all natives, love Split obsessively; just about as much as I like to criticise it.

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much about… but I thank them for the honour just the same.

Perhaps Diocletian himself is our Zahir, or at the very least the spring of our racial memory, Slavs though we may be; the same Diocletian who voluntarily gave up the right to wear the Purple, who willingly decided to spend his

golden years enjoying a life of leisure in the Eastern Adriatic as opposed to controlling the powerful Rome.

Slavs though we may be, race has less to do with blood and more with memory, all generating what the French call ‘moeurs’, or a combination of ‘customs’ and ‘manners’, a combination which,

THE 10 MOST ALLURING WORLD H E R I TAG E S I T E S TO LIVE IN 1

Split, Croatia, inscribed 1979

Our religion is not about finding inner peace and disappearing into nonexistence, but rather about pleasure.

2

The Stone Town of Zanzibar, Tanzania 3

Bruges, Belgium, inscribed in 2000 4

Old Havana, Cuba, inscribed in 1982 5

Campeche, Mexico, inscribed 1999 6

Venice, Italy, inscribed 1987 7

Carcassonne, France, inscribed 1997 8

City of Bath, UK, inscribed 1987 9

Medina of Marrakech, inscribed 1985 10

wMacao, China, inscribed in 2005

like all translations of this sort, does not do, but will unfortunately have to do. Much like this article, or much like Diocletian.

Diocletian, the unfortunate chap who, though doing his utmost in his heyday to eradicate Christianity, actually had to witness, post-mortem, the spectacle of his own mausoleum being converted into a Christian church, furthermore named after one of the priests whose execution he himself had ordered. But, as we’ve already remarked, racial memory is a complex thing, and perhaps it is precisely because of Diocletian – although we are Christians, howsoever bad and failing ones – that our opinions are strong, our loyalties inviolable, our friendship

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violent but unbreakable, and our love of the ‘fjaka’ irreproachable. Perhaps it is precisely because of Diocletian that we are so inordinately proud of the beauty of our women, successes of our athletes and the tunes played by our bards.

Perhaps it is also because of Diocletian that our sense of humour has always danced on a tightrope, as a balancing act between love and cruelty. You see, Split has never shunned her madmen, her clowns and jesters whose existences are, to a lesser or bigger extent, led on the other side of conventional reason (though not necessarily conventional wisdom). Her ‘redikuli’, to use the – again untranslatable – local term, though ‘ridicule’ does stand at the root of the word, have always been welcomed with open arms.

For we have always loved our madmen, if, at times, in somewhat cruel ways. Or perhaps we’ve always been cruel towards them – lovingly… perhaps there is no difference (and perhaps we’ve used the word ‘perhaps’ one too many times), but one particular ‘character’ springs to mind immediately.

Caruso – just Caruso, for no man remembers his given name – was one of the ‘redikuli’ and a man who fancied himself a great opera singer; for years he would entertain both the innocent and the guilty on Split’s countless squares, and would always be forgiven for the occasional screeching of his underpractised tenor. But one day a group of locals deemed it a more fulfilling idea to organise an elaborate hoax than merely to clap after the poor man’s performance, with love and ridicule, as they had done for years.

Having convinced their victim that he had received an invitation, sent to the municipal authorities, from no less grand a place than the Scala Opera House in Milan, they staged a proper send-off in the city harbour, even giving the poor man some pocket money. There was music, speeches, and Caruso was waved goodbye on his way to international fame and glory. Not suspecting anything, simple as he was, Caruso got on the boat convinced that he was heading off to Italy, while in fact he had caught nothing more than a local line going to a nearby island.

- D I O C L E T I A N ’ S PA L AC E Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on May 1st, 305 AD. It lies in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula running out from the Dalmatian coast, four miles from the ancient Salona, the then capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries.

In the 7th century nearby residents fled to the walled palace to escape from invading barbarians. Since then the palace has been occupied uninterruptedly for almost 1400 years, with residents making their homes and setting up their businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls and internal structures.

Architecturally, the ground plan of the palace is an irregular rectangle (approximately 160 meters x 190 meters) with towers projecting from the western, northern, and eastern facades. It combines qualities of a luxurious villa with those of a military camp, with its huge gates and watchtowers. The palace is enclosed by walls, and at times, it housed over 9000 people. Subterranean portions of the palace

feature barrel vaulted stonework.

The Palace was built of white local limestone and marble of high quality, most of which came from the marble quarries of the island of Brač, of tuff taken from the nearby river beds, and of brick made in Salonitan and other factories. Some material for decoration was imported: Egyptian granite columns and sphinxes, fine marble for revetments and some capitals produced in workshops in the Proconnesos.

A monumental court, called the Peristyle, dominated the layout and formed the northern access to the Imperial apartments. It also gave access to Diocletian’s mausoleum in the Eastern section (now the Cathedral of St. Domnius), and to three temples in the west (two of which are now lost, the third having become a baptistery, originally being the temple of Jupiter).

In November 1979 UNESCO, in line with the international convention on cultural and natural heritage, adopted a proposal that the historic city of Split built around the Palace should be included in the register of World Cultural Heritage.

Let each man judge the above said as he pleases, now that we’ve arrived at the crux; and let no woman judge it too harshly. Suffice it to say that Miljenko Smoje, for decades the literary soul of Split, once said that the whole city should be covered with a circus tent and that tickets should be sold. He did not mean it in a negative way.

I don’t know about you, but to me this would constitute a sound enough reason to move to any city, to learn its ways and to become acquainted with its Zahir, whether it happens to be included in unesco’s list or not. For, to use a cheap pun, I, unlike those chaps from the Financial Times, refuse to split hairs.

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the other side of tourism

An Irishman Sends a Postcard Home What Croatia calls butter is most certainly not butter (at least not by Irish standards), and tea bags only come in tiny boxes. In spite of these travesties an Irishman, our own Executive Editor, has chosen to make Zagreb his home, although he still must have that Stranger in a Strange Land feeling about it all…or perhaps, to paraphrase Claude Raine’s old poetic interlude, a Martian is finally ready to send a postcard home...

By Lee Murphy

T

o begin with, I feel that I must emphasise that I love living in Zagreb: I like that shops open earlier, close later (I’ll try to refrain from commenting harshly upon the marked Croatian penchant for not doing absolutely anything on Sundays); I love the large number of parks available throughout the city; as an Irishman I’m certainly not adverse to a drink now and again, and alcohol is much cheaper here than it is back home.

I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say it is unlikely that I will ever seek to move back home, but for my final voyage.

Of course my continued presence in Croatia is dependent on all my papers being in order, as if I were somehow in a Kafkaesque novel. Tourist permits, temporary residency permits, temporary work permits, temporary temporary work permits… any permanent traveller to these shores will be all too familiar with the mountain of paperwork which awaits him. Being Irish, perhaps typically so, I don’t think I offered as much respect to the task which lay ahead, or indeed to the obstacles which the system seems to generate if only to torment us non-natives. While having my company papers processed I was escorted around several State offices by the accountant only to encounter the following paradox: “You cannot get insurance without your work permit” was the monotone offering from the girl in the insurance office, and “You cannot get your work permit without proof of insurance” was the other side of that particular coin, coming

from the police. It would only get worse, as I was asked to have a certain document notarised (but also asked to come back another time as people were about to leave on a short work day) – upon returning I was informed that I was now illegal in Croatia since my residency permit had lapsed during the interim period.

Despite my protestations that this was merely due to the workings (or lack thereof) of that same office which had sent me packing, I was told that I must “cross the border to have your passport stamped again”. This I did, only to discover that the stamp was illegible and so it all begins again. Thankfully it was all sorted (although you can be sure the final interview revealed the need for me to provide even more documents and

Finally came the time to send a postcard to the old home – for with each passing day I feel less of a Martian…

paperwork over the coming weeks), but nevertheless I would hope that such problematic bureaucracy can be avoided by others like me in the future.

the cautionary tale The Irish have long been a wandering people – Saint Brendan was said to have set foot on American soil in 900ad, almost a century before Leif Ericson, and almost 600 years before an upstart Genoese merchant managed to get himself and his ships lost whilst exploring an alternative route to India. During the early Dark Ages, Irish missionaries went forth from the Land of Saints and Scholars and were responsible for the survival of literacy, culture and ultimately even the Christian faith on the Continent – although, truth be told, some appear to hold this against us. The Irish pub is as ubiquitous as anything can be, and the Saint Patrick’s Day parade is observed in hundreds of countries worldwide. It would appear to be a truism that every country has its Irish community and that those new-bloods, freshly arrived, should seek out some local ‘mentor’ so as to gauge the climate, so to speak. Croatia does not fit this model. This may be because of the ungodly level of bureaucracy plaguing these lands, or bureau-crazy, as the phenomenon might just as well be called.

“Forget about Ireland, just get used to the Croatian way of doing things,” I was told by a certain Irishman who teaches

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identification is not only required for almost every bureaucratic need but also, for security purposes, to gain access to a number of buildings. Make sure your entry stamps are readable because upon arrival you will need to fill out a form for temporary residence which will be good for 3 months. Entry to the European Union is not expected to lessen the need for all of this paperwork: it may be that those of us from the European Union have fallen into the trap of expecting an ease of passage through the forest of red-tape which our parents might have endured.

Patience, as the saying goes, is a virtue, and you will need to be a most virtuous person indeed to survive the process here.

mars revisited

Irish Dancing classes in Zagreb upon my arrival here. He’s been here for over a decade now, and probably has as many harrowing tales about paperwork – if not more. But, as my fiancée is all too keen to point out (on every occasion imaginable), “This is not Ireland and the sooner you get that into your thick skull the better”.

With Croatian entry to the European Union less than a year away it must surely be crossing the minds of any number of Irish and British (amongst others) that a change of scenery might well be an option. With this potential influx in the offing I feel it the responsible thing to help and offer a few words of advice, and perhaps warning.

Where possible, begin your paperwork with your local Croatian embassy – this was not an option for me as the opportunity which presented itself was timesensitive and left me little time in which to act – I think I had four days in which to fly home, pack, and return. The chances are that the amount of forms required by anyone seeking a long-term stay here

will mirror those as needed by myself – I do not delude myself that I was somehow singled out by the system – but at least you will have the advantage of the embassy staff speaking the same tongue as you. I myself am, and always have been, a poor student of languages, although I can pronounce the names of many of the local beers with unrelenting accuracy.

Make sure you know where your own embassy is once you get to your destination, and if possible make yourself known to them. An embassy is only there to aid you in the direst of circumstances, but it never hurts to have them be aware of your own progress, especially if something goes drastically wrong and you find yourself in a situation where one official causes your residency permit to become voided, as happened in my case.

Of course, I have no embassy here just yet, but I took the time to speak with the nearest one in Ljubljana.

Your passport, as might be expected, is oh-so important until such time as you manage to get a local id card. Valid

However it might be that I paint a dark picture indeed, and that is not my intention. That I do not have an inclination to return home should speak volumes, especially if the reader is aware of how proud of their home we Corkmen can be. I am blessed with my fiancée, a Zagreb native, whose generosity of spirit helped me surmount the hurdles as I came across them. I love that there’s a proper summer here: what we have at home qualifies as weather rather than a climate, and while I am at ease when swimming in the Atlantic Ocean I certainly look forward to getting the chance to do the same in the Adriatic. I have yet to see any trouble on the streets here, something, ashamedly, that I cannot say of Ireland.

I would advise anyone from outside the region to experiment a little – Croatia has some wonderful beers available, and a number of spirits which I personally avoid like the proverbial plague, but only because they’re not to my taste. I’m reliably informed that rakija cleanses the palate before a meal but if that’s the case then I’ll happily eat what’s in front of me and never fully realise the taste sensation on offer. It’s not Cork, as my late-neighbours might say, but it is home, and a pleasant one at that. In other words, finally came the time to send a postcard to the old home – for with each passing day I feel less of a Martian, and my surroundings feel less like Mars.

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10 Things I Miss About Ireland 1_Butter I have no idea what the locals must think butter is, but maslac is not butter. For that matter, local cows look rather suspect too.

2_Tea Is it so hard to put 200 teabags into a box?

If I wanted 20 individually wrapped bags, I would go raid a maid’s trolley in the nearest hotel.

3_Crisps Ireland is home to the very first flavoured crisp. Today we have dozens of flavours, Croatia has paprika. Enough with the paprika already.

4_Breakfast The Full Irish Breakfast is something available in almost every Irish hostelry. Here I’m presented with breads and cheeses, if I’m lucky enough, that is, to find the rare establishment which even serves breakfast.

5_Salmon I used to avoid salmon back home simply because it was offered at every party, every reception, every... I would murder for some decent salmon right now, which can here only be bought in the better stocked hypermarkets.

6_Rugby We are spoiled for top level rugby back home: the Heineken Cup, the Celtic League, and the Six Nations; even the league rugby is good.

For a region always at each other’s throats, Croatians seem oddly averse to a good old fashioned ruck and maul.

7_Rain I never thought I’d miss the rain but after weeks, and weeks, of stultifying heat I find myself praying for just a few hours of drizzle. What is it with the Balkans? It snows like it’s Narnia and bakes like something out of Dante’s Inferno.

8_The (non-smoking) pub In a broader sense there are no pubs here, at least not as we’d understand them. In Ireland there are no strangers in the pub, here (at times) it feels as if that’s all I am. Not to mention how difficult it is to find a decent pint of Murphy’s. Also, smoking has been banned on licensed premises in Ireland for some time now, and by God we knew what we were doing. My editorin-chief, being a heavy smoker, would violently disagree with this contention, but I shall persevere.

9_Comedy What I miss above all is the Irish sense of humour, which is traditionally very dark.

I’ve been to a few comedy shows here, and people seem to find making fun of neighbouring towns or countries to be the highest form of wit? Please go watch some Tommy Tiernan or Dylan Moran, or an Oscar Wilde play!

10_Sunday Opening Why is nothing open on Sundays?

Even the 24hour stores close early on a Sunday? This might be a bit ‘heathen-istic’ but I don’t care about that when I need milk in the evening.

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Moralistic outrage aside, Croatian tourism has benefited greatly from the club scene and has done what decades of this ‘traditional’ tourism could not…

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hot & ready

Cro Summer Festival Season The high Summer season is just round the corner, if it hasn’t already begun.

Rich in events, it promises to offer a welcome diversion for every demographic imaginable. A phenomenon in its own right – despite the general perception of Croatia as a relatively boring destination – the festival scene is gaining in strength, and there’s no end in sight. That said, we offer you the best of the best – all you have to do is take your pick.

By Vedran Tomas

T

he Adriatic coast is gearing up for the absolute height of the holiday season: an itinerary so packed with events that it gives Croatia high hopes of becoming the new Ibiza, the go-to destination for countless revellers from across the Continent and beyond. And indeed there is much to be hopeful about – Nick Colgan, for instance, the former producer of the band ub40 and the proprietor of the Garden Club has, for several years now, marketed his music festival exclusively abroad, targeting mainly British youths (with electronic music headliners, of course); today the success of that festival has been widely acknowledged by other Croatian club owners as well, as it has become the standard business model for similar Summer events.

And, as might well have been expected, the venture is paying off: what was once perceived as a dull destination is now adorned with hot-spots which would not seem out of place on that certain aforementioned Spanish island. The party-loving thrill-seekers are dishing out hundreds upon thousands of Euros just to keep their debauchery going, organisers get to keep their costs down by advertising week-long festival events instead of single concerts, and foreign press are lapping it all up more than the Americans love Spring Break. Life seems just peachy for everyone.

However, there seem to be (at least a few) dark clouds gathering where previously there were only clear skies: local communities have seen it fit to raise their collective voice in protest over the influx of this new type of tourist, claiming that

the traditional family values of Croatian tourism are under threat. Moralistic outrage aside, Croatian tourism has benefited greatly from the club scene and has done what decades of this ‘traditional’ tourism could not: numbers are up and the economy is reaping the rewards. So, while the ‘moralists’ are doing their bit by adding a semi-safe trampoline next to their semi-legal facilities, diluting their ‘home-made’ wine and olive oil with God knows what just in order to penny-pinch from gullible customers, the ‘sodomites’ of the club scene are garnering awards for their events, developing new festivals, and bringing in star acts; indeed the Garden Club is no longer located in Petrčane near Zadar, but instead in Tisno on the beautiful island of Murter.

All of these innovations ensure a yearon-year rise in business, something the pontificating ‘moralists’ are not seeing.

What’s left to say other than if somebody’s complaining, you must be doing something right.

Of course something has been lost in the course of this evolutionary process, and that has been caused, obviously enough, by the shifting of attention away from that which existed prior to this ‘party boom’: the Croatian Summer festival scene. While this author does not lament the downfall of those exceptionally trashy Croatian pop-music festivals (dedicated to that awful noise with which the ‘moralists’ have been terrorising their unfortunate guests for decade, and which you can still hear on two-star hotel terrace and in third-rate restaurants), the tradition of film and fine arts

festivals is also, to some degree, being threatened by the all-star line-ups of the ‘buffoonery industry’.

Well, this is the case on a theoretical level: every event will always have its audience, but it must be imagined that smaller, and less profitable events, are finding themselves squeezed out by their larger and brasher siblings. While this new business model is better for the economy, it might also be marking the beginning of the end for Croatian summer cultural scene. True, the Motovun Film Festival is ever gaining in strength, but it is rather the exception which confirms the rule – and even the chief organiser of this ‘cultured’ event, Boris T. Matić, had deemed it more reasonable to stress the entertainment value of his festival rather than its artistic side. Or artsy, if you will.

Naturally, it is not just in this part of the World that this phenomenon is occurring. Globalisation has its good points, but has also been known to rear its ugly head. The cultured scene generally relies on Government subsidies, and the ‘buffoons’ rely on profit margins – with this the case is it any wonder that the former struggle to make a marked improvement, there being no external, or existential, incentive? Art for art’s sake is a noble sentiment but it would be nice if art could make a dime or two on occasion.

That said, we’ll leave our maudlin philosophising for now and essay to give you a small selection of the very best of events which are taking place this Summer. A bit for every taste, as they say.

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Rijeka / July 19th-21st

Hartera Festival Held in the abandoned facilities of Rijeka’s old paper factory, this festival will experience its 8th incarnation this Summer,. and is sure to provide a cross between stylish electronic beats, alternative rock, dub, and other ‘hip’ genres, all performed by regional and international artists. This year’s headline acts are The Asian Dub Foundation Soundsystem, Laurent Garnier, GusGus, Adam Freeland, Gesaffelstein, as well as Rambo Amadeus, Svadbas, Darkwood Dub, Dječaci, Highland Brothers Inc. and many more. Very much a taste of urban culture. (www.hartera.com)

Šibenik / August 7th-10th

Terraneo Festival

Using old army barracks complex as its premises, which affords vast space for several stages, Terraneo also boast of a camp site and numerous other festival curiosities. This would be as close to a ‘boutique festival’ as Croatia has to offer. While this is only its second year on the festival circuit, Terraneo has a strong line-up on offer: The Roots, Thievery Corporation, Parov Stelar, Groove Armada, The Ting Tings; the list goes on, and on, and on – in an open air event not to be missed. You will be well advised to pack some warm clothes as well, as the location has been known to be hit by unusually cold sea breezes, especially as the evening progresses. (www.terraneofestival.com)

Pula / August 30th – September 3rd

Outlook Festival

This one will take place at the very end of the festival season, but it occupies one of the most spectacular venues on the Adriatic coast. Fort Punta Christo is an old 19th century AustroHungarian fortification located on the eponymous peninsula, just outside Pula. The crowd tends to be mostly British owing to the late date and the fact that the organisers hail from the UK. The festival is dedicated to dub, reggae, dancehall, drum & base, hip-hop, and other similar musical styles. This year’s lineup will include Fat Freddy’s Drop, Skream, Andy C., Jan Shaka, and many many more. Outlook is the largest European festival of its kind, and it even won the 2011 UK Festival Award for best festival on the Continent. At this stage we need say little more. (www.outlookfestival.com)

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Pula / July 14th-28th

Pula Film Festival This is the oldest Croatian film festival and is just one year short of its Diamond Jubilee. Called one of the three best open-air festivals in Europe by The Guardian, PFF is also the oldest national film festival in the world. The screenings take place in the spectacular Roman Arena, on Kaštel, and in the indoor theatre Vali. The attractive international programme includes films from other festivals, such as Venice, Cannes, Berlin, and Karlovy Vary. In addition to the main programme, there is a retrospective of international directors – this year is dedicated to Claude Chabrol – as well as screenings of minority co-productions, short films, the ‘Pulica’ programme (matinees of animated and children’s films), the ‘Popular Pulica’ (screenings of Hollywood Summer blockbusters), and a particularly interesting selection of films-inprogress, which includes excerpts from domestic films all through the various stages of production. (www.pulafilmfestival.hr)

Motovun / July 28th – August 1st

Motovun Film Festival

The 13th Motovun Film Festival, held in the beautiful hilltop village in Central Istria, is entirely dedicated to films from small independent studios: in order to compete, films must be innovative, based on an original idea, and possess a powerful story. Each day sees a marathon of movie screenings, starting at ten each morning and running till four in the afternoon: there are also open air screenings later in the day.

The festival programme consists of 70 titles from all over the world, 21 of which will be competing for the festival’s Propeller Award. With the Mayan calendar enjoying an inauspicious year, it being 2012, there is a special section dedicated to apocalyptic films. Still, there is much more to Motovun than the film festival – various concerts and DJs electrify the atmosphere starting in the afternoon and continuing on until the wee hours of the morning. (www.motovunfilmfestival.com)

Starigrad Paklenica / August 4th-10th

Starigrad Paklenica Film Festival This will be its third year in the running and it is dedicated to the genre of music documentaries. It takes place, as the name suggests, in the seaside town of Starigrad, as well as in Paklenica, a karst river canyon which doubles as an entrance to one of Croatia’s national parks. The screenings are divided into two competitive categories, Feature Music Documentary and Short Music Documentary, and this year there will also see an Austrian Week, a review of contemporary Austrian achievements in the field. 2012 will see screenings of U2: From The Sky Down, In Search of Hyden, Sounds and Silence, Days of Our Lives (dedicated to Queen), Living in the Material World (a Martin Scorsese production about the life of George Harrison), and The Girl Done Good (on Amy Winehouse).

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An Ode to Zrće…

Or Perhaps a Doggerel Strophe

Oh, ye, den of iniquity Oh, ye, shameful to see Antistrophe

I am but a beach For none out of reach Epode

Rest assured, it is but a party Welcoming more than just the foolhardy penned, in great haste, by the Editor-in-Chief

Located in a secluded bay on the Island of Pag, Zrće has been lovingly referred to, for quite some time now, as the ‘Croatian Ibiza’. With all the clubs open 24/7 during the high summer season, the party never stops, literally, in an endless succession of afterparties, day events, warm-up parties and headliners. The crowd, as could be expected, is on average awfully young, but we think it’s safe to say that’s it is also very tolerant, to use a euphemism.

So party on, whatever you age, rank and station.

- CLUBS & KEY EVENTS The Aquarius Club is one of the best in Europe, and it is here that the Moonsplash Festival (among others) will take place, between the 14th and 16th of August. Much like other festivals of a similar genre, it has been ever expanding in recent years and the line-up for 2012 looks as promising as always: Benny Benassi, Afrojack, Bobby Burns, Fedde Le Grand, and numerous supporting DJs designed to keep the party going non-stop for 72 hours (not that the partying ever really stops at Zrće anyway). Buffoonery at its very best. Party on!

Apart from its open air dance-floor, dotted with quite a number of pools to cool off in,

Aquarius also has an indoor section in the parties in this part of the Adriatic. Top-quality, middle of the club. Besides house music you world-class DJs throughout the season and, of can hear r’n’b and hip-hop, with MCs and go- course, a host of festivals, most notably the go dancers to heat things up. If you should get Papaya Day and Night, featuring the likes of Eddy hungry, don’t forget that there’s buffet food and Halliwell and Armin van Buuren. a pizza parlour at your disposal until 6 in the The oldest – and “old-school” – Zrće club morning.

Kalypso is located at the other end of the beach The open-air club Papaya is located on the from Papaya and Aquarius. During the day it is beach, only 20 metres from the sea. You’ll find mainly a place to chill and drink cocktails, but pure domination of house music with vivid go- at night it turns into a hardcore party city! In go animation both during the day and at night. It the morning everything starts all over again. has 2 pools; the first is smaller and connected to “Tropical” straw roof and the stone-andthe bar, while the second has a big water slide. wood open-air dance-floor give the club an Papaya hosts the most famous after-beach undeniably inviting, “retro” look and feel.

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fairing about

Peugeoting Down the Coast Four or six lane motorways and cruise control versus scenic routes and open top? There’s no contest in this author’s opinion. Having finally unveiled, as many do in their thirties, why the older generation did certain things they way they did, our contributor, another Irishman, rather arrives at the same realisation. So let us forgive him for all his excesses. For he is a consummate motorist, and a rather particular one, while we’re at it.

By Michael Devaney

L

et’s get one thing out of the way immediately. My family have been coming to the Adriatic for decades; even when it wasn’t so easy to come to the Adriatic, when there were no low cost aircarriers; when passports were checked several times over, and then rechecked; when there was next to no decent accommodation to be found; when there were no air-conditioning units and when there were no roads, or at least not in the sense we understand them these days. When, as my late grandparents told me, even a regular pair of jeans was a difficult thing to obtain behind the Curtain, and apparently in their mind’s eye, this part of the world definitely was behind the Curtain.

As an adult, I first visited the Adriatic by mere chance, a result of a restless trip, completely devoid of any expectation, that I took over the border when on my second (I believe it was second) spell in Venice. And then I would return, over and over, literally every summer.

Like every summer, then, this summer too I found myself in these parts, in Rijeka, that is, with the sole difference that this time round I took my car. Not the company car, mind, my own car – and I did have to go to Rijeka on business.

I also had to go to Dubrovnik on business, which means that I had to drive all the way down.

Now, I don’t know why I chose the old coastal road, the ‘magistrala’ as the locals call it, maybe on account of that same sort of subconscious, illicit curiosity that prompted me, a decade earlier, to cross the border from Italy, and then Slovenia, if you will. Naturally, one can save money by not taking the motorway,

on both petrol and tolls, but that was certainly not the reason.

In any event, I was there, soon taking mountain roads; I freely admit that I was not halfway to Zadar when I felt sick to my stomach, having (painfully) taken corner after corner on the old two-lane magistrala. But what happened next was almost revelatory, a semi-Proustian moment.

Whether it was the vista of the sea or the lion emblem which adorns the steering wheel of my car, I cannot tell you. At that moment I found myself recollecting my late Grandfather, more James Dean than Clark Gable. He and I shared something, or rather two things if you count our shared astrological sign, symbolised by the beast upon my car’s bonnet: a legacy of hedonism and fascination with French motors, most likely for two reasons. French cars are the exact opposite of English cars, and we’re Irish after all, which means that, however deep down

inside, we must find some or other diversion to show our scorn of our neighbours across the Irish Sea. Also, all men in my family have always loved the French Riviera. So do I, which is perhaps why I also like this side of the Adriatic so much.

It would be hard to forget that photo of him, my grandfather, from the 60s – him behind the wheel of a sleek looking white convertible, which he would leave to my mother. Even then it was not a new car, but it was in mint condition.What did my grandfather feel like then, for he also once took this road?

Suffice it to say that instead of opting for the autobahn through the karst of the sun-scorched Morlak country, I decided that it would be more satisfying to savour the scent of salt air and pine, as I would soon discover .

With no bends to torment my disposition, just a crossroads here or there, as the road passed through coastal villages, I felt at ease. The sea to my right, pine trees to my left. I stopped in Pirovac, where I took the time to enjoy a grilled monkfish, accompanied by a glass of white wine. After an espresso I found myself on the road again, driving through a short stretch through the hinterland, but I was soon and back to the sea again, crossing the Šibenik bridge and continuing through on to Primošten, and beyond to Trogir, through Split and on to Dubrovnik, making decent time despite the circuitous route.

And then it struck me, again: if only I were behind the wheel of my Grandfather’s white lion. They are both, Grandfather and car, riding shotgun with me on this one, in spirit at least.

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sailor’s corner

Navigating Through That Special Shade of Blue We Call The Adriatic With over 1,000 islands, and a myriad of hidden coves, there is but one (proper) way to explore the Croatian Adriatic, and that’s by navigating it. Savour the true taste of the sea, find yourself in tune with nature, and discover the essential spirit which has captivated many a mariner throughout the centuries. So, grab a sailboat and anchors aweigh!

By Miroslav Tomas

“The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the lighthouse top.

The sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he!

And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

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A

Now, we’re not looking to wrong-foot s pointed out to me by a anyone by starting off with such a bleak seasoned sportsman who helped timeline; we merely wish to provide put together this article, much such contrast as might help us explain has changed over the last decade or that special feeling one gets from so when it comes to sailing, especially handling a sail, whether here or on in the Adriatic. During the 1990s foreign shores. It is worth remembering the notion of setting sail, so as to that it is precisely these waters here tour up and down what is one of the that were navigated by the mariners most rugged of coastlines, meant of Antiquity, the heroes of Greek full immersion in privacy, granting mythology, Phoenician merchants, and the kind of solitude even the likes Illyrian pirates. Nor was the Adriatic a of Alexander Selkirk, the chap upon stranger to Roman galleons laden with whom Daniel Defoe based his Robinson amphora and Egyptian grain. A fair Crusoe character, would not have been embarrassed of. Should you, by chance, point, this, for let us also not forget that the open sea has always belonged have met someone whilst on this minor to the explorer, the merchant and odyssey, back in the day, you could the fisherman – in other words, it be sure that they would have been be was a conduit of conquest, a path to a kindred spirit, or at the very least prosperity, a source of sustenance. a fisherman eking out a living. They might have tried to kill you, or feed you. With no more than the sails, the sextant and the stars, men navigated these As the years passed, however, and waters since the beginning of recorded as the War ended, the Eastern shore history. It is only recently that they of the Adriatic regained its status as a nautical Mecca; the mega-yacht crowd – we – started treating them, these waters, with the scrofulous spirit of of Russian oligarchs and celebrity the consummate hobbyist, recreational billionaires (Abramovich, Vekselberg, savant, adrenalin-driven holidaymaker.

Gates, Allen & Co) suddenly appeared, However, do not get me wrong. they too wishing to partake of that What I am suggesting here is not that same serenity, albeit from the vantage we must forsake, all of a sudden, our of the luxurious decks of their floating comfortable technologies and helpful behemoths. Soon after, there also followed a boom in charter tourism, the accoutrements; I am suggesting, however, that a re-imagining of what evolution of Croatia into something of it means to sail is absolutely necessary, a party destination, and suddenly that that we need to look at it with a fresh serenity, sought after by the select few, was no more. This new breed of ‘sailor’, pair of eyes – or perhaps a whole new spyglass – and (re)discover those the enthusiast ferried around by huge subtle pleasures which come as a result sailboat flotillas, swarmed like the of working with others in unison for proverbial locust. “Much has changed the noble purpose of achieving a goal, indeed”, sighs our sportsman. whether it be a large fish, a hidden cove, or a giant wave.

Proud of our pseudo-philosophical lamentations, we may now also turn to the sport, which is sailing.

Whether you are a land-lubber or a sportsman, it is quite easy to find yourself captivated by the fine art of navigating under sails – for it is a fine art – and by now it has been made absolutely clear that this author is an advocate of the humble sailboat and not of its motorised cousin, the yacht, his preference coming as a result of much more than those oft mentioned economic or ecological reasons.

Listening to the waves and the wind without their being drowned out by the monotonous hum of the engine or by the stench of gas fumes is what he enjoys above all: the slow, casual, pace of moving from one island to another, without haste. The fine art of sailing is a marathon after all, not a sprint; thankfully the slow-paced sailor will be thrilled to discover that the Croatian coast is criss-crossed with numerous marinas, however busy during the high summer months. Of course, if refilling the water tanks, or emptying the bilges, is not a pressing concern, then you can always cast anchor in any number of sheltered bays or coves along the coast. Assuming you are near enough to civilisation, a dinghy run to gather provisions should not be an onerous task. Let us enjoy both the spoils of civilisation and the autonomy of the sea.

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Kvarner If you set sail from any number of Istrian marinas the first island group you will encounter will be the Kvarner Islands.

For anyone the must-see places are the islands of Cres and Lošinj (once a single island but now separated by a canal at Osor, which dates back to Roman times). Cres is one of the most beautiful parts of the Adriatic and abounds in cliffs and secluded coves. Should you wish to disembark for a sortie, then you will find the mountain village of Loznati, famous for grilled lamb, at the top of your itinerary. Lošinj is a spectacular forest-covered island and you simply must see the Bay of Čikat: while an ideal shelter for fleeing from rough seas, it is also adorned with old Italian-style villas. The Southernmost tip of Lošinj offers a number of pine scented coves, while a short sail to the West will take you to three (pedestrian only) islands: Sušak and its sandy beaches, Ilovik, characterised by the fragrance of the eucalyptus tree, and Unije.

Northern Dalmatian Islands Further south are the Northern Dalmatian Islands, where you will find the Kornati Archipelago National Park, arguably the most spectacular vista in the Adriatic in many a sailor’s opinion. Still, we shall also direct you towards Dugi otok, the longest Croatian island, so that you may experience the cove of Saharun to the North West, and its 40-foot cliffs. One would be wise to visit the fishing village of Sali and the Maritimo Tavern, legendary amongst the sailing fraternity. Prvić is another motoring-free island, and it is home not only to the small stone city of Šepurine, but also to Prvić Luka has, a safe harbour boasting of several small restaurants which serve fresh fish and home-grown vegetables. Nearby are also Tijat and the famous cove of Tijašnica, as well as Zlarin, which is famed for red coral jewellery. Zlarin is also the homeplace of Anthony Maglica, inventor of the MagLite. The last island, Žirje, will appeal to the history student as it has a large number of old gun emplacements, used by navies of yore.

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Central Dalmatian Islands We’ve finally arrived at Hvar, the celeb and party island of today, and you would be wise to anchor in any of the coves of Paklinski Otoci, famous for their naturist beaches and unspoiled nature.

These shelter Hvar’s main port and you will need to take your dinghy in, although you can be sure the marina is already packed.

Of this island group Vis and Lastovo are considered the pearls, both still untouched by mass tourism, not only because they are so far from the mainland, but also because during the Yugoslav era they hosted a larger part of that defunct country’s navy. Lastovo can in fact only functionally be visited by boat, as the island lacks accommodation, there being only one small hotel. Komiža on Vis has numerous restaurants and possesses a long history of fishing: though get there before noon or kiss hope of a mooring goodbye.

The island is known for being the site of a British naval base during the Napoleonic wars, as well as an RAF airfield during WWII. And we almost forget, there’s even a proper cricket pitch on Vis.

Mljet Mljet was historically a fief of the Republic of Dubrovnik and is now is site to a National Park which consists of two ‘lakes’, created by the Benedictine monks during the 14th century when they dug a canal around their monastery. However, if you wish to explore these lakes you must proceed on foot from the port of Pomena: sailing is strictly prohibited in the lakes’ area. Only a short sail from Pomena is the Bay of Polače, where one can enjoy truly supreme cooking in a restaurant called Burbon. If you fancy fare of a more simple nature, then you should visit the cove of Okuklje, also a sheltered harbour, and the Porto Camara restaurant, which offers, we hear on excellent authority, the freshest grilled fish far and wide. Some few miles down from Okuklje you will find Saplunara, the largest sandy beach in the Croatian Adriatic – and from here it is but a short hop to Dubrovnik and the Elaphite Islands (Šipan, Lopud, and Koločep), wondrous sights in their own right. But again we almost forget: believe it not, several historians identify precisely Mljet as the abode of the sorceress Circe, the same legendary woman who bewitched Ulysses and turned his men into swine; point being that the island has been inhabited since Grecian, when it was known as Melita.

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- THE HIDDEN GASTRO GEMS Triton, Lastovo _ Named after the Greek god of sea depths, this restau- Pjat, Šipan _ Pjat, meaning plate, is a slow food restaurant situated in rant, located in the small and secluded cove of Zakoplatnica, will delight Šipanska Luka and finds itself on the premises of Hotel Šipan, which is reyou with delights harvested from the namesake realm. With a number of ally a villa that once belonged to a Dubrovnik noble. The Island of Šipan, a berths equipped with water and power lines, all you have to do is dock and part of the Elaphite chain, is famous for its pristine nature and pine forests, abandon yourself to the culinary treats prepared under the watchful eye Mediterranean herbal spices, olive and citrus groves, and vineyards and of. of the proprietor Tonči. Homemade wine and olive oil, home-grown ol- The restaurant is run by the talented young chef Marijo Čepek, known for ives and tomatoes (used in their famous red risotto), fresh fish and lob- fresh fish, scampi and shell-fish specialties, though we can also testify to sters – the range is in place, and to savour the feel of the place even better the fact that can make a mean beef stake as well. In addition to a number of we recommend that you sample the rakija of the house, Tonči’s Travari- traditional deserts, such as the Dubrovačka Rožata and sorbet, Pjat will alca, either as an aperitif or digestif. so entice you with a good wine list, offering the very best of Croatian wines. Žakan, Kornati _ Located on the islet of Ravni Žakan in the Kornati archipelago, Konoba Žakan is a place renowned for its traditional cuisine and specialities based on supreme quality fish and the famed Kornati lamb. As such, Konoba Žakan is frequently visited from far and wide by people who do not mind making the longest of voyages just to have a single meal. The food is prepared in the old Kornati ‘granny’ fashion, meaning under a deep dish, on a hearth. We can also highly recommend the boiled lobster, various seafood risottos, or the grilled Adriatic squid – supersized, of course.

Burbon, Polače _ This restaurant is located in the bay of Polače on the north-eastern side of the island of Mljet. The bay is a safe harbour and a popular anchorage for every manner of mariner, ranging from the Russian oligarch and his mega yachts to the regular sailing folk. The restaurant itself is sure to afford you an exceptional dining experience, though the prices are quite steep. The speciality recommended, apart from the usual seafood array, is the wild boar roast (plenty of boar on the island)) with home-made gnocchi. Exceptional in every way.

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Bacchus we thank who gave us wine, Which warms the blood within our veins; That nectar is itself divine.

The man who drinks not, yet attains, By godly grace to human rank Would be an angel if he drank.

Pierre Motin French drinking song

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the wine buff

The Balkan Wine Trail There are no angels in the SEE offices but we do enjoy a glass of vino on occasion. And, what better than a journey in search of that wonderful nectar, especially since we operate in a region which has cradled the vines and wines of antiquity, with numerous terroirs ranging from the Mediterranean to the Continental? So, we take you on ‘yet another tour of the Balkans’, but we suspect that it may well be the most enjoyable yet.

Also, we believe that what follows is sure to get you that coveted value for more or less hard earned money, and the only thing we can add is – Živjeli!

By Miroslav Tomas

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Edi Simčič

Principovac

Coronica

edijev izbor (edi’s choice)

traminac

malvazija istarska

We’ll begin North and then slowly make our way down South, and the first on our list is the work of the most progressive regional wine-maker, Slovenia’s own Edi Simčić. Edi is a winner of numerous awards for his wide range of wines as well as his quirky label designs. He works his magic in the Goriška Brda region, where the Mediterranean climate meets that of the Continent. In any event, Edi’s Choice blend is dominated by Ribolla Gialla and complemented by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It is a sweet white wine, produced by a special process which entails a select harvest of fully ripened grapes which are then dried until March or April. It is only then that the healthiest of grapes are chosen so that the wine can be made. Produced just eight times per decade, this wine possesses great potential for ageing. With fermentation stopped at between 12% and 14%, it is best served with desserts or mild cheeses. (cca 40 -50 Euros)

The wine which is held in high esteem in continental Croatia is Traminac (Traminer), a variety which is equally well known throughout Central Europe. Produced from the Red Traminer grape variety, Traminac was the first continental wine to be granted the highest classification rank in Croatia. This fruit-scented, mildly dry to mildly sweet wine is a hallmark of the wine production of the Slavonia/ Baranja region. As for the Principovac label, it is a top-of-the-line brand of Iločki Podrumi (Ilok Cellars), which specialise in producing Traminac and Graševina of supreme quality. Nurtured on the banks of the mighty Danube, this continental pearl may count itself amongst the most highly awarded of all Croatian white wines. Of golden-yellow colour, oily thick, with a mildly sweet flowery aroma with nutmeg undertones, it is ideally served chilled at 10°C and enjoyed with desserts, or simply all by itself. (cca 15-20 Euros)

Continuing upon our trail we find ourselves in Istria, a Mediterranean wine region that benefits, in this case, from a mineral-rich red soil (Istria’s terroir, in fact, is divided into three wine sub-regions, red, grey, and white). The indigenous white wine variety which is specific to the region is, of course, Malvazija; a wine with an alcohol content of approximately 13% and mineral and fruity notes. The Malvazija produced by Moreno Coronica from the West Istria wine region has, for years now, been held in the very highest of regards by many a connoisseur and complimented for bringing out the best of traditional wine-making and fusing it with contemporary trends.

Coronica Malvazija is a full-bodied white wine characterised by a very specific aroma, and is best served with poultry or fish dishes, as well as aromatic cheeses and desserts. Naturally, it goes well with any dish containing Istrian white truffles… (cca 8-10 Euros)

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Franc Arman

teran

Still in Istria, our next pick is the indigenous red variety known as Teran, a variety which has been around for over 600 years (or least that’s how long we’ve been aware of its existence) and which, until the turn of the twentieth century, was the dominant strain grown on the peninsula.

Teran is a full-bodied, ruby-red, dry wine.

Rich in extract (between 20 and 60 g/l), it possesses characteristic fruity tones that are dominated by the scent of raspberries. Franc Arman Teran hails from the West Istrian region (red soil), specifically Narduči, and is typical of its variety as it has a full and robust dry flavour. It is an ideal companion for any red meat or venison dish, as well as strong cheeses and Istrian prosciutto. It is worth noting that Teran is also used in the cooking of Istarska župa (Istrian soup), which is a concoction of virgin olive oil, red wine, black pepper, and toast – something worth trying with your glass of Teran. (cca 8-10 Euros) Plenković

Grgić

zlatan plavac grand cru

pošip

Further South on the Adriatic coast we reach the Dalmatian island of Hvar, and we find ourselves obliged to turn your attention to the best known Croatian grape variety, the Plavac Mali (or the Little Blue, for those who wish to trifle with translations). This variety, closely related to Primitivo and Zinfandel, is almost exclusively grown on the Western side of Hvar and the Pelješac peninsula. It produces a wine of a deep purple-red colour, high in tannins, high extract and alcohol content, and a rich, dry taste. The best vintages of Plavac tend towards mild sweetness. The Plenković vineyards are located, as mentioned, on the Western side of Hvar, between the villages of Ivan Dolac and Sveta Nedilja, and can be considered one of the finest vine-growing micro-locations of the Adriatic region. Our choice is the Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru, Plenković’s top label. It is made from select grapes and is aged in baroque casks. It should be considered an ideal companion to red meat dishes, black olives, and salted anchovies. (cca 25-30 Euros)

Dalmatia (and Dalmatians) is also known for preferring reds to whites, but the whites should by no means be underestimated. The two varieties we have chosen, Pošip and Postup, are grown almost exclusively on the island of Korčula (Vis and Brač pale in comparison, especially when it comes to produced quantities).

The man behind these memorable varieties is Miljenko Grgić (better known as Mike Grgich globally), a legend amongst Napa Valley wine-makers and the man who played a major role in enabling Californian wine to enjoy the fame it enjoys today. Making the decision to retire in the ‘Old Country’, Grgić founded his winery on Pelješac, producing only Plavac Mali and Pošip, and it goes without saying that both are of supreme quality. Grgić uses grapes from Korčula to produce a world class Pošip, rich in alcohol with subtle citrus and cinnamon tones. Best served with shellfish, scampi, or blue cheese, we also recommend that you give it a shot along with black cuttlefish risotto. (cca 15-20 Euros)

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Krš Bijeli (White Karst)

žilavka

Hopping briefly over the border, we reach the b&h’s wine-growing Herzegovina region. Benefiting from the ‘overspill’ of Mediterranean winds as well as abundant Southern sun, this region is characterised by reds of high alcohol content (most commonly Blatina) and usually a decent percentage of unfermented sugars. However, it would be unfair of us if we didn’t mention the most famous Herzegovinian white variety – Žilavka. We present a supreme product of the Krš winery owned by the Škegro family and located in Ljubuški.

Marketed under the name Krš Bijeli (White Karst), this is in fact a blend of 85% Žilavka complemented by Bena and Krkošija varieties. This wine is of clear greenish yellow colour, characterised by vegetable notes accompanied by a delicate fruity finish, pronounced mineral aspect, and a recognisable complex aroma. It is best served with cold vegetable salads, boiled lamb, frogs or eel broth, or any sweet water fish. (cca 8-10 Euros) Budimir

Plantaže

Tikveš

ružica džulina

crnogorski krstač

vranec limited edition

As we move further South, we find ourselves at the Budimir winery, located in the South Serbian village of Župa, close to Aleksandrovac. From the variety of wines produced by Vina Budimir we have chosen a rosé, the only one on our list: Džulina Ružica (Džula’s Rose).

This wine comes with a story attached – it is named after Predrag Aleksandrović Džula, the renowned Župa winemaker and great-grandfather to young Aleksandra, current proprietor of the winery, as a tribute to the man and homage to the fast-disappearing practice of making traditional tasting wine. Be that as it may, the wine in question is made from a blend of indigenous Pokupac and Merlot varieties and is typically of the region of light alcoholic content, of pale brick-red colour, mildly acidic, and it has a true taste of an old style wine.

It goes ideally with lamb or, of course, grilled salmon. (cca 4-6 Euros)

Travelling to Montenegro we come to discover what is, believe it or not, the largest vineyard in Europe, located on a plateau near Podgorica and operated by 13.

Jul Plantaže, a winery whose vineyards spread over 2250 hectares and yield enough grapes to produce as much as 17 million bottles a year. Planted mostly with Vranac, an indigenous Montenegrin variety (though closely related to Zinfandel), we rather turn to Old Krstač, a variety which is grown exclusively in the Podgorica terroir. Though it is extremely inexpensive, do not for a moment think that you will be drinking awful moonshine, for Krstač is used to produce a premium quality dry white wine of light gold colour and nicely expressed fruity aroma of peach and pear. Light bodied and fresh on the palate, it is best served chilled at 1012 C and drunk alone as an aperitif or as a companion to fish appetizers, fish and egg based dishes, or poultry. (cca 3-5 Euros)

The last stop on our tour is the famed vine growing region of the Vardar Valley in Macedonia, where we find the Tikveš winery, the largest wine producer in the country. Known throughout the region for their reasonably priced (and quality) wines such as Vranec or T’ga Za Jug (Longing for the South), which cost around 5 Euros, Tikveš is blessed by location, situated, as it is, in a sunny landlocked valley 500 metres above sea level but also benefiting from the Mediterranean climate. Our final choice is Tikveš’s Vranec Limited Edition, their top-of-theline wine. Only 10,000 bottles per year are produced, and this is a deep purple, dry, red wine and is aged in oak barrels. It is characterised by a rich aroma of overly ripe berries and dry plums with a hint of smoke, chocolate, and fresh spices. This wine is a great companion to any spicy red meat dish – perhaps a venison stew or any grilled meat. (cca 15-20 Euros)

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There remains only one way to survive this cutthroat industry: get bigger, much bigger – Las Vegas style.

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in perspective

Casino Business in the Region Betting Big on Getting Big The only guarantee, as the song goes, is the Ace of Spades, but it would seem that there are no more guarantees when it comes to the gambling industry, at least not for the brick and mortar operations. So what then for the future? Executives at Hit, the biggest regional casino operator (hailing from Slovenia), think it might be time to double-down.

By Sebastijan Maček

W

alking into Casino Perla you could be forgiven for thinking that you had stepped into a different world. Chips are cast nonchalantly across some eighty tables while there is the audible clinking as coins are eagerly inserted into the hundreds of slot machines on display. Such largesse, at least on the surface of matters, suggests a modicum of obliviousness when it comes to the vagaries of the economic crisis.

Looks, however, as we well know, can be deceptive: Perla, which is in Slovenia’s gambling haven of Nova Gorica, is barely breaking even. Casino Perla, by their own account, is already Europe’s biggest gaming establishment, and yet they feel that there remains only one way to survive this cutthroat industry: get bigger, much bigger – Las Vegas style.

The casino in question is owned by Hit, Slovenia’s largest gambling chain, and it is certainly not alone as it tries to make ends meet: a fate which is affecting more and more similar businesses around the world. We can assume that Danny Ocean and his crew aren’t responsible, but who are the real culprits to have caused such a decline? Well, it’s not so much a ‘who’, but rather ‘who’ and ‘what’: in addition to the ever decreasing purchasing power (we are still in a recession after all), casino operators have been hit, and hit hard, by the exponential growth of online gaming (both online poker and internet sports betting).

In an effort, both here and elsewhere, to stem this loss of customer base, Hit have

looked at a myriad of strategies, one of which was the introduction of a drivein casino. They have also invested considerable effort into changing the public perception of casinos as dens of iniquity, something online poker has not had to contend with. Despite all these measures, the money just isn’t coming in the way it once used to.

in these instances has been an interesting blend of their default activity, which of course is gambling, and something that can appeal to a broader audience, entertainment. With Cirque du Soleil being one of Las Vegas’s more famous residents, as well as such acts like Barry Manilow, The Lion King, and The Blue Man Group, you can understand why the appeal extends beyond that of poker players. We’ve all seen it in the movies, double-or-nothing on numerous times. entertainment It is in this direction that Hit want to It must come as no surprise that Vegas take their own operations: they recentand Macau, two of the most successful ly unveiled plans for a ‘tourist complex’, examples of the gambling industry, have which will sit on the Italian border. This found their business model being scruti- mega-resort would include hotels, spas, nised closely by other, equally ambitious, restaurants, shops, movie theatres, an operators. The recipe to the success story amusement park, and a golf course. In fact the casino itself, although it’s clearly the anchor tenant, would only occupy 3% of the proposed 1,000,000 sqm project.

The philosophy behind this entire concept is that gambling alone is not enough to attract guests, meaning something extra must be offered. Hit expect that this new destination will be of appeal to all: entire families as well as the individual punter, hailing from Slovenia, Italy, and even further afield. With the proximity of four international airports, and Venice only a 90 minute drive away, Hit feel confident that their pool of potential clientele will be swelled considerably, on top of the tens of thousands who already cross the border from Italy on a monthly basis.

Casino operators have been hit, and hit hard, by the exponential growth of online gaming and internet sports betting.

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It is no longer acceptable for a Government to decline an opportunity to see several hundred million Euros in foreign investment come its way.

This resort, optimistically slated for completion in 2019, has an estimated cost of close to 1 billion Euros, a budget that can only be realised through the assistance of foreign partners: Hit only see annual revenues in the region of 165 million Euros.

The project itself is in the pre-planning phase, and a concept design has been offered by Steelman Partners, a US architecture firm who specialise in the gaming industry – they have been responsible for some of the larger casinos worldwide, including a few in Macau. This entire endeavour, it must be pointed out, is not simply a ‘transplant’ of the Las Vegas experience, but rather a European re-imagining: Hit claim that it is based on “state of the art concepts of European construction, timeless European elegance, and energy efficiency”.

If the goals of Hit appear all too lofty that is because they are – this plan is certainly fraught with risk, but Hit must surely be approaching this latest plan with some degree of awareness, having already explored a similar business deal back in 2005. Back then they had hoped to attract US casino giants Harrah’s Entertainment to get involved in a 750 million Euros investment – indeed, after some gentle (if somewhat prolonged) prodding from a number of US diplomats the Slovenian Government found themselves willing to relax the stringent

legislation surrounding the foreign ownership of casinos. Had the project proceeded as initially envisaged, it would have been the biggest single ‘greenfield’ foreign investment in Slovenia to date.

Yet proceed it did not: following three years of tense, sometimes terse, negotiations it was finally shelved. Hit and Harrah’s were unable to reach a “mutually acceptable management structure”, which would have given the Americans a majority on the board whilst keeping majority ownership in Slovenian hands.

There were other outside factors, as one might expect, not least of which was vociferous opposition from influential and conservative Christian groups who, as they would, saw the project as ‘inciting immoral behaviour.’

second time lucky?

When we consider the amount of time spent, and lost, on the Harrah’s project it might seem ludicrous to make a second attempt, but the situation is vastly different nowadays. The key difference is that we’re in recession now, and it’s no longer acceptable for a Government to decline an opportunity to see several hundred million Euros in foreign investment (no matter what sort of groups continue to object) come its way. Furthermore, the Government has a keen interest in stemming the flow of gaming related taxes and profits from the territory – foreign proprietors of poker and sports betting sites are not liable to pay gaming tax or licence fees in Slovenia. On top of this, Hit is owned, in the majority, by the State and five municipalities: the Government cannot allow what is essentially a State employer to wither away, especially when it retains the potential for considerable profitability.

Yet, despite everything being set in such a way as to propel the project into successful waters, there are several hurdles that must be overcome. The Government needs to liberalise its gaming and tax laws, and it will be these tax breaks which will cause difficulties. A tax cut benefiting casino operators will not go down well with public sector employees already fed up with austerity measures, but any recalcitrance can, and should, be overcome with the very real prospect of

hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs created. The Christian Democrats, who are again part of the ruling coalition, were behind the 2005 opposition to the Harrah bid, but it may be that in 2012 their ideologies can be set aside as this new proposal focuses primarily on entertainment rather than gaming, which was not the case in the first instance.

Hit may well have to wait and see so as to gauge reaction from the Government, as Sergej Racman, the secretive Cineplex magnate, plans to build a similar, if much smaller, complex just south of Nova Gorica. With Racman having already applied for a gaming licence any decision on that may well provide a strong indication as to where Government sentiment lies. Of course Hit are opposed to the existence of this smaller ‘me-too’ casino on the basis that any additional competition in the region would merely cannibalise the all too small market.

Of course, should it all go according to plan (Hit’s plan at least), then Europeans, both near and far, may well be able to forfeit the need for costly transcontinental flights and instead be able to enjoy a Vegas-style holiday in the heart of the Old Continent. Time will tell, of course, but Hit no longer have the luxury of sitting back and riding this crisis out – they can no longer stick and must instead try and draw to 21.

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THE BIGGER REGIONAL CASINOS - A BRIEF TOUR Bosnia & Herzegovina _ As concerns Sarajevo, or for that matter the whole of B&H, the one place to be is the Coloseum Club Casino, operated by Hit. Open 24 hours per day all year round, the Coloseum Club features the usual slot machines and table games, but it also provides entertainment in the form of concerts and a nightclub. Bar and restaurant are also available.

Croatia _ Casino Cezar in Zagreb is attached to the Westin Hotel and is an easy walking distance away from the city centre. In addition to slot machines and table games, the casino provides an ongoing poker tournament league as well as cash games. Dining and bar facilities are also available in the 5 Star Hotel. The casino also has a second premises, the Casino Poreč, which is located in Hotel Poreč, in the namesake town on the coast.

The Golden Sun Casino has four locations throughout Croatia: Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Osijek and Pula.

The main casino, as one might expect, is situated in Zagreb, within the Hotel Antunović. It is open 24 hours per day and has on offer all that a veteran gambler might wish for: slot machines, table games, and live poker. In fact, the Golden Sun Casino has played host to the Eureka Poker Tour, courtesy of Pokerstars.

The Grand Casino is situated next to the Sheraton Hotel, right in the heart of Zagreb. While smaller than some of its rivals, it is certainly the place you might expect to see a few of those proverbial James Bond types. With some of the tables having a minimum bet of 100 Euros, it is likely too expensive for the casual gambler. The Grand focuses on table games, but it also has a small number of slot machines.

M U S T- K N O W GAMING QUOTES The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling.

Ambrose Bierce

No wife can endure a gambling husband, unless he is a steady winner.

Lord Thomas Dewar

All the evidence shows that God was actually quite a gambler, and the universe is a great casino, where dice are thrown, and roulette wheels spin on every occasion.

Over a large number of bets, the odds even out and we can make predictions; that’s why casino owners are so rich.

Stephen Hawking

Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich, something for nothing.

George Bernard Shaw

One should always play fair when one has the winning cards.

Oscar Wilde

Macedonia _ In Skopje, we may mention Le Grand Casino and Viva Casino, the former part of the Holiday Inn Hotel and the latter of the Continental. Macedonia and is open daily 24 hours. Both casinos are open 24/7, and, as could be expected in the region, gaming machines and poker tables dominate.

As for the proverbial holidaymaker, for those of you who have decided to forsake the pleasures usually associated with the Adriatic Coast we may also mention the Metropol Lake Resort Casino, located in Ohrid, Macedonia’s lakeshore tourism gem. Alas, this casino is only open from 9 pm-5 am.

Montenegro _ The Maestral Casino is situated on the island of Sveti Stefan, and in keeping with the resort’s ultra upscale image it seeks to provide the absolute best of the gaming experience. This casino has slot machines, table games, and live poker: they can also organise private games if you so wish. Connected with the resort, they have no shortage of entertainment packages for groups of all sizes or ages. The Maestral is part of the Hit chain of casinos as well.

Daniel Craig’s first film as James Bond was Casino Royale, which no doubt played some part in the naming of the Splendid Casino Royale in Budva, Montenegro. It was this hotel where Bond’s poker game took place, at least in the script. Situated in the Splendid SPA Resort this casino has all the expected amenities close at hand and has a decent selection of table games for the gaming connoisseur. It is open 24 hours per day for their slot and electronic machines, but they do not open until 9pm for their dealer dealt table games.

Serbia _ The Grand Casino, situated near the Hotel Yugoslavia in Belgrade, provides slot machines, table games and live poker. The casino also hosts several poker festivals over the course of the year, including their own Winter Poker Festival and the Danube Poker Masters.

Slovenia _ Featured in the main article the Casino Perla is the biggest casino in Slovenia and hosts over 1,000 slot machines. There are over thirty live poker tables hosting both cash games and tournaments. Casino Perla also has an outdoor section, probably designed and inaugurated with smokers in mind, as smoking indoors is prohibited in Slovenia.

Hit’s nearest business rival are the Casino Portorož chain, and their main premises is the eponymous venue in the town of Portorož. This casino has a restaurant, multiple bars and a café, as well as the expected slot machines and table games. It also has bingo, which might be of interest to older residents in the attached hotel, the Grand Hotel Metropol.

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destinations

Castle OtoÄ?ec Living it up in Lower Carniola Some, including this author, often prefer the cooler, greener, and less busy continental retreats to the frenzied, scorched ambience of the Adriatic summer.

Those of us with such a disposition have all heard of Switzerland, Austria, Andorra, Chile‌ but have we heard of Lower Carniola, or Dolenjska.

By: Mark Ferris

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D

olenjska, or Lower Carniola, as the province has historically been called, is not regarded as a posh part of Slovenia. It is not in the Alps, and it is not – in Slovenian terms at least – close to the capital of Ljubljana. What it is, however, is one of those regions that takes itself seriously, grinding away bit by bit, with industry and foresight, so as to achieve that absolutely polished, meticulous look of the proverbial Swiss village. No wonder it boasts two 18-hole golf courses, almost like the entire country of Croatia, but more about that later.

Our first destination is the Castle of Otočec, which was completely renovated in 2009 into a five-star hotel and which has borne the trademark of the prestigious French chain Relais & Chateaux since 2010. Sitting on an islet on the Krka river it is tranquil, sophisticated, and, though relatively small as far as castles go, perfect.

A combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements – and the interior too has been furnished so as to reflect its original architecture – Grad Otočec is in fact the only Slovenian castle entirely surrounded by water, although this was not the case originally. This we are told by a youthful and pleasant receptionist, who is obviously a bit of a history buff and who went on to finish the story, which went something like this: The fief belonged to the famed Margheri family, but the first Count, by the time he had built the castle, was very old.

He also, however, had a very young wife who would flee, night after night, apparently in pursuit of that type of pleasure which the Old Count could no longer provide. He tried to lock her up, he pleaded with her, he even – though this truly might have been an embellishment – consulted witch-doctors and drank some medieval variant of Viagra. But none of it worked. So finally he had a canal dug out round the back of the castle, thereby creating an island in the middle of the river, accessible only via a bridge (though nowadays there are two). The perfect example of how a man’s jealousy can be responsible for a truly magnificent architecturallandscaping feat.

Having heard this we asked for another anecdote, and this time round it involved the very last of the Margheri line

to reside in Otočec, one Albino Margheri whom, the young man assures us, the very oldest inhabitants of the area can still remember. Or rather they can remember his copper-red hair, his passion for cards and dice, his hunting prowess, and his insatiable libido, which might be cause to the effect that the Otočec region has a much higher percentage of redheads than is the national, or even regional, average. Asked how many children he had actually fathered we were given the figure of ninety, which was probably exaggerated, but it will do for the purposes of telling a story.

Next we sat down with Maja Bele, the Director of Marketing of Terme Krka, the leading local hospitality industry company, who told us that Tito, Neil Armstrong and a host of movie stars have stayed in the castle, but also another interesting thing: Terme Krka have only leased the castle, and it is still owned by the State; however, the State is looking to divest itself of some ten-odd castles all over Slovenia, including this one.

We pushed on this point further and, apparently, business is good. The nearby spas, namely Šmarješke toplice, which specialise in detoxication and slimming

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Terme Krka have only leased the castle; however, the State is looking to divest itself of some ten-odd castles all over Slovenia, including this one.

treatments, and Dolenjske toplice, which specialise in medical tourism – both part of the Terme Krka portfolio – have been attracting patients from as far away as Kuwait and the Far East. The Castle too

presentations, usually staged by pharmaceutical companies – and let us not forget that Krka Novo Mesto was one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in former Yugoslavia and that it is still going strong.

We checked it all post-festum, and yes, Maja Bele’s story does hold up.

It is with this in mind – that privatisation or near-privatisation can actually have a happy ending even in this Region – that we hopped over the bridge and about a kilometre down the road to speak with the Director of the Golf Course, Albin Kregar (not a redhead, he, but Albin, or a variation thereof, does seem to be a very common name in these parts).

We caught up with him just as he was sorting out the competitors before the start of a recreational golf tournament.

We sat under a large makeshift, though is not doing too poorly, though it does pleasant, tent, and he would immediateclose down for a month in winter, as it ly explain the surroundings: “The new has attracted the teambuilding crowd clubhouse is under construction. Though and the golfers. Weddings are an addi- the biggest one in Slovenia, we’re actualtional source of income, as are corporate ly a relatively new golf course.”

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Until a couple of years ago the Otočec course in fact had only nine holes, but following the exertions of the British architect Howard Swan and the local crew now it is 6.2 km long, with an extremely interesting topography, and it is, Kregar tells us, just as suitable for recreational players with lower handicaps as it is for the higher-tier golfing aficionado.

“But there aren’t enough golfers in Slovenia – or Croatia – so we depend on people coming in from Italy and Austria,” he went on to say. “And there is competition, also: the golf course in Brežice has been around for much longer than we

have.” It is on this note that he left, called to referee some dispute on the tee.

As for us, we could only finish our beer and spend the rest of the day touring the countryside: Dolenske toplice, where we had a magnificently prepared veal tongue in a place quite becomingly called ‘Konoba’; Pleterje, where we bought a bottle of brandy at the local Charterhouse, one of only twenty five Carthusian monasteries extant in the whole world, and visited the adjoining 200-hundred year-old farm where we mistook a Minnesota domestic breed of pig for a wild boar and almost ran for our lives; Brežice, where we dined in a restaurant

called Debeljuh, from the outside an unassuming family-owned place but a place that makes a roast duck in peach aspic which is simply to die for...and then all over again the next day, part of which was spent riding truly magnificent horses.

But, like all good things, this sojourn too had to end. All in all, after a weekend spent in Lower Carniola, we had but one complaint, if a complaint we may call it: the dominant local sort of wine, called Cviček, is a pale watery red, low in alcohol and high in acid, and we shan’t be too dismayed if it is not placed on our table at this very moment.

- O F D I G S & VA M P I R E S Archaeological digs in the area have uncovered finds from the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture, dating back to the 8th century BC, and Novo Mesto (New Town) itself, as the capital of the province, was founded by Archduke Rudolf IV of Austria and was originally named Rudolfswerth.

The new Duchy of Carniola was divided into three administrative units, known as Kreise: Upper, Inner, and Lower Carniola. This division, along with an inordinate amount of statistical data on the region, as well as the history of Carniola, was recorded in a fifteen tome opus entitled ‘The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola’, penned by the 17th century scholar and

polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. One might be hard pressed to read all of the information as laid out by its author, the Ljubljanaborn fellow of the Royal Society in London, but it might be of interest to any student of Imperial history. As a curiosity we may mention that Valvasor was the first ever ‘Westerner’ to have written about vampires, or rather about one Jure Grando, an alleged vampire who terrorised the population of the Istrian village of Kringa. We may also mention that the word vampire is of Serbian origin (‘vampir’), indeed that it is the only Serbian word that has entered the English lexicon. The Romanian word for vampire, as many will know, is ‘nosferatu’.

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The name ‘Baščaršija’ originates from the Turkish words ‘baş’ (main) and ‘çarşi’ (city quarter), translating thus as the main quarter.

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destinations

Baščaršija The Heart of Sarajevo Sarajevo is a destination that one should not fail to visit this summer. The old city centre, known as Baščaršija, is playing host to a number of events, from the recently concluded Sarajevo Film Festival to the Baščaršija Nights, all in all a spectacle to be witnessed if it is to be believed. In honour of a place where East meets West in a most charming way, we took it upon ourselves to provide a kind of an alphabet of the oldest Sarajevo Quarter.

By: Aida Tabaković

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ith its tumultuous history, the blending of Eastern and Western societies, rich cultural programmes, and unique gastronomy one can easily understand why Sarajevo is of such appeal to so many. But it is the Old Town, the Heart of Sarajevo, however, that certainly holds the most of that appeal. A few reasons for this are immediately obvious: there are the scents and semi-oriental spices; the Turkish coffee (or Bosnian, as many a proud waiter and shopkeeper will be quick to point out), which, though a vile thing indeed to most foreign palates, does yet, through the elaborate preparation and drinking ritual, spell a note of romance; there’s the sweet baklava and the innumerable pastry and burek shops; the ubiquitous ćevabdžinice, every single one of them serving just ‘the best’ ćevapi in the whole wide world, depending on the recommendation of the omniscient local to whom you happened to have turned for advice; the Muezzin’s call for prayer intermingling with church bells...And there are of course other reasons, the more subtle ones, which must be unveiled slowly, patiently, and with a significant degree of curiosity invested.

the early history Baščaršija was constructed in 1462 when Isa-Beg Ishaković founded the city of Sarajevo. The name ‘Baščaršija’ originates from the Turkish words ‘bas’ (main) and ‘carsi’ (city quarter), translating thus as

the main quarter. Isa-Beg first constructed a han (inn) around which numerous shops were subsequently built, creating the focal point of the quarter. At that time most of the city’s inhabitants populated the space around the Emperor’s Mosque, which had been constructed by order of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror (El Fatih), located on the opposite bank of the Miljacka River, and so Isa-Beg constructed a bridge to connect the main settlement with the new market centre, Baščaršija. It was around the main gate of this new area that the

- BAŠČARŠIJA NIGHTS The 17th Annual Baščaršija Nights have already begun (on July 1st), but it lasts for an entire month. This festival is dedicated to all forms of art, ranging from art exhibitions to theatre performances by both domestic and international contributors, as well as concerts from an array of genres such as classical, pop, rock, Latino, sevdah, and folk music. All in all, there are 47 different programmes, on 20 different locations, with 1,200 performers.

The 15th International Folklore Festival begins on July 17th and will see over 300 participants from Hungary, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey, and Albania. The festival doubleheader will come to an end on July 31st, with an evening of sevdah on the central stage in front of the old City Hall.

Bezerdžana quarter was formed, with Karaza Čaršija to the West, and Sarač and Sedlar Čaršija to the North. A number of buildings from this initial period still remain intact, key among them the famed Baščaršija Mosque, which was built in 1528, and the Gazi Husrev-Beg’s Mosque (now simply known as the Beg’s Mosque), which followed just two years later. Gazi Husrev-Beg also constructed a madrasah (religious school), a library, a bezistan (roofed market), Morića Han, and the famous Sahat Kula clock tower, as well a number of other buildings which still remain to this day.

Baščaršija had its heyday in the latter half of the 16th century as it was host to masters of over 80 different crafts, organised in two powerful guilds. The quarter was divided according to crafts, with varying professions lending their name to the streets in which they plied their trade, names which remain even now – Kovači (after blacksmiths), Čurčiluk (after furriers), Kazandžiluk (after potters and cauldron makers), Sarači (after tanners). At that time Sarajevo was an important centre for commerce with three bezistans (Gazi Hursev-Beg’s and Bursa Bezistan still survive), as well as colonies of merchants hailing from Venice and Dubrovnik. There were some 1,200 shops located in Baščaršija alone. Such commercial success would not last, however, as an earthquake in 1640, a series of devastating fires, and the armies of Prince Eugen of Savoy ensured that former glories would not easily be revisited.

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the more ‘modern’ sarajevo Sarajevo itself remained fundamentally unchanged until the 19 th century, 1878 specifically, or until the Austro-Hungarian troops marched in to occupy the city. At this stage the newly arrived Imperialists set about making their new conquest into a modern European city. This reconstruction was hastened along by a huge and destructive fire which gutted the old city, leave very little of the old Ottoman architecture intact. As a result of this blaze, Baščaršija is now just half the size of its 19 th century self. There is now a visible border where Baščaršija and Ferhadija Street meet the more Austro-Hungarian influenced section of Sarajevo, and to say that there is a strong contrast between the Orient and the Occident would be an understatement.

In the aftermath of World War II the municipal authorities took it upon themselves gradually to demolish the old market quarter in order to accommodate more modern structures. What remained of the old Baščaršija lay dilapidated or in complete ruins, at least until 1984 and the imminent Winter Olympics which would be hosted by the city. As we have come to expect, as a result of such a sporting event there followed a programme of renovation, and the former market was almost complete restored by the beginning of the 19921995 war, which would of course leave a major mark of destruction upon the quarter. Thankfully, all has again been rebuilt or renovated, and Baščaršija is

W H AT I S Sevdah is the musical genre based on the traditional Bosnian melancholic love song. Although originally the Arabic word meant black bile, in Turkish it became descriptive of a melancholic mood and was ultimately adopted by the Bosnians as a term describing a yearning for love or a love-struck feeling What one might describe as Bosnian Blues is a slow paced composition usually played and sung – or interpreted – with an extreme emotional charge. Originally performed

- GAZI HUSREV BEG Gazi Husrev Beg (1480-1541) was born in Serres (now in Greece) to a Bosniak father, a convert from Trebinje, and a Turkish mother, one of the daughters of Sultan Bayazid II. He became a beglerbeg or Provincial Governor of the Ottoman province of Bosnia in 1521, during the time of Sultan Suleyman II the Magnificent (Turkish: El Kanuni - The Lawmaker), a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak. Gazi Husrev Beg, a brilliant politician and military strategist, led numerous campaigns and conquered regions in what is now Croatia, erecting in the process many fortified cities and eventually becoming one of Sultan Bayazid’s most trusted men. His greatest legacy happen to be a number of buildings which he constructed in Sarajevo, the most notable of which are the Sahat Kula, Gazi Husrev Beg’s Mosque, and the Bezistan – the latter being the oldest roofed market in Europe.

Gazi Husrev Beg was killed in the village of Mokro whilst fighting the rising of Montenegrin nobility.

His body was carried to Sarajevo and buried in the courtyard of the mosque which carries his name.

Written above Husrev Beg’s grave, which can still be visited to this day, is an inscription that says: “May the mercy and generosity of God fall upon him every day”.

today one of the main centres of Sarathe sites jevo – for shoppers by day and revellers by night – with its many restaurants, ca- While Baščaršija might be at the centre fes, and night clubs appealing to both cit- of Sarajevo, so too must it have a cenizen and tourist alike. tre of its own: Sebilj Square, where you can find of one of the city’s most beautiful fountains. The fountain in question was originally built in 1753 by Hadži MeSEVDAH? hmed-Pasha Kukavica, the Ottoman noaccompanied by the zaz, a Turkish string in- ble who was reputedly also responsible strument, or a capella, in modern interpre- for building the sahat-kula, or tower, in tations it is accompanied mostly by the ac- Travnik, considered to be one of the most cordion and violin. The majority of the texts architecturally interesting Ottoman legare traditional and represent non-material acies, resembling almost to a nicety typheritage of the first order. A few of the leg- ical Christian bell-towers of that time. endary performers of the genre are the late The Czech architect Aleksander Vitek Himzo Polovina and Safet Isović, and the still moved it to its current location in 1891, living Sevdah diva Hanka Paldum, while the and had it reconstructed in the Moorish band Mostar Sevdah Reunion has made Sev- style. Lined around the square are nudah into an international musical attraction. merous coffee-shops serving traditional coffee with rahat-lokum, quaint sweets made from rose and almond extracts

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better known under the name Turkish Delights.

From the square one can enter Kazandžiluk, which was named for the craftsmen who worked with tin and copper: indeed the heirs to that trade still work here and they produce traditional copperware in an oriental style which is popular as an authentic souvenir. Right next door is the Baščaršija Mosque (officially called the Havadža Durak Mosque), and it is here that the Muezzin’s call to

- FREE INTERNET! If you choose to visit Sarajevo this summer, it will come as a welcome surprise that free wi-fi will be coming on-line in Baščaršija, thus making the Stari Grad municipality among the first in the region to offer free internet access to all its inhabitants, visitors and tourists.

Baščaršija is today one of the main centres of Sarajevo – for shoppers by day and revellers by night.

prayer echoes from the mosque’s minaret, three times per day, often imparting a sort of mystical feel to the city.

In one part of the Ferhadija Street one can also find the Morića Han, an historical inn/stable/warehouse (it served as all too many), which has been used by travelling merchants throughout the centuries. Next to Morića Han there’s the aforementioned Gazi Husrev Beg’s mosque, which was constructed according to plans drawn up by Adžem Esir Ali, a leading Islamic architect of his time, and which mimics the style of the early mosques of Istanbul. Certainly it must be considered the most beautiful example of Ottoman architecture in the region.

On to Bursa bezistan, located on the edge of Baščaršija, a beautiful oriental market roofed by six domes which was constructed by the stone masons of Dubrovnik in 1551 by order of the Grand

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Vizier Rustem-Pasha. It is from here, walking through a small passage which links Ferhadija with Bešaskija, that one reaches the Velika Avlija, or the Grand Courtyard. It is also known as the Hebrew Quarter and features the Old Temple, built by the Jewish community in 1581.

If you have been wise enough to make a point of visiting Sarajevo, then you will surely have pencilled in trips to such sites (and sights) as the Old Orthodox Church, which was constructed in the mid 16th century. This church boasts some spectacular Byzantine style frescoes, icons, and relics. Not far from

Sebilj, on the banks of the Miljacka River, you will witness the ongoing reconstruction of the Austro-Hungarian era City Hall, which was completely destroyed by shelling during the recent war. With testament to the resilience and well-meaning spirit of the Sarajevo natives, the harmony of religions has long been considered a hallmark of the Bosnian capital. With this in mind, it might well be of interest for our traveller to make the time to visit the Catholic Cathedral, built in 1899 – fairly recently, in other words – by the Austrians. It was here, in 1997, that Pope John Paul II held

On the banks of the river, you will witness the ongoing reconstruction of the Austro-Hungarian era City Hall.

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- THREE PLACES ONE SHOULD NEVER IGNORE WInat Kuća (House of Spite) _ The restaurant Inat Kuća (House of Spite) is located in the Alifakovac quarter, on the banks of the Miljacka river and right opposite the Town Hall, the peculiar stories of the two buildings being closely knit. As it happened, the Austro-Hungarian authorities had picked a spot on the bank of the Miljacka to build their administrative HQ, but the owner of a single house wouldn’t sell until the authorities finally, in addition offering him a large sum of money, allowed him to take his house apart and reconstruct it brick by brick on the opposite riverbank: Inscribed above the house entrance reads the line, ‘I once stood on the opposite bank, but crossed over out of spite’.

The house has been the home of a traditional Bosnian restaurant since 1998, specialising in stews as well as any manner of pie, but the principal attraction of Inat Kuća is its terrace which, however small, is the rare Sarajevo terrace situated right next to the river. A cool Miljacka-borne breeze should never be undervalued in the extremely hot summer months.

mass during his time in the city.

Of course, on a closing note, it would be terribly remiss of us if we were not to highlight that which should be of interest to every history buff: the Latin Bridge, which spans the Miljacka, is also known as the Princip Bridge, as it was from this very spot that Gavrilo Princip shot those fateful bullets at Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and Princess Sophia on June 28th, 1914, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately led to the commencement of the First Great War. We can only hope that there will never be another one.

Kod Kibeta (chez Kibet) _ Located in Vrbanjuša street well into the hill hovering above Baščaršija, this traditional restaurant offers not only food, but also a spectacular view of the entire city of Sarajevo.

Spreading over two floors in a traditional Ottoman-style town-house, the interior is dominated by traditional furniture and adorned by numerous antiques. However, unlike Inat Kuća, Kibet tends to focus more on grilled meat, which is prepared to perfection. The most characteristic feature of this restaurant is its dedication to live Sevdah music, and it is one of the last establishments in Sarajevo that have bands – or duets – in residence, meaning that, provided that you are willing to pay the performer, you can make a request for music at your table on any given day of the week. Our recommendation is that you ask for Mr Alajbegović, a Sevdah legend who, though well in his sixties, is ever ready to get the tune going. Četiri sobe gospođe Safije (Four Rooms of Madam Safia) _ This restaurant is located in the Downtown section of Sarajevo, also not too far from Baščaršija. Daughter of a Bey who lived during the AustroHungarian occupation, young Safija became enchanted by the sounds of piano, but not only the piano and Mozart; she also became enchanted with an Austrian count, whom she eventually married (unusual for Bosnia, but there is not tragedy attached to this story), and the two set up shop in the house, consisting of four rooms and a secluded garden terrace, which is now home to our restaurant. Built originally in the Ottoman style, the interior now represents a (tasteful) fusion of traditional Bosnian and Austrian Biedermeier furniture, laid out in such a way as to reflect the story of the two lovers. As does the menu, offering a fusion of Italian, French and Bosnian cuisine… with a modern twist, and a decent wine-list to accompany it. Also, not a bad place just to have a few drinks in the evening.

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- BOSNIAN GASTRONOMY – A SHORT DICTIONARY With Sarajevo being, as we’ve already said, quite the melting pot of East and West, you can be sure to find a multitude of delicacies to satisfy the curious palate. As the cuisine of the city has evolved to incorporate elements of Turkish, Austrian, Hungarian, Italian, and other influences, it has become unique in terms of its specific flavour. Even today the recipes of the city are handed down from father to son, from mother to daughter, in the oral tradition, rarely committed to print.

Sarajevo is famed for its grill specialties, primarily for its ćevapi (1): minced veal and

lamb fingers, the recipe for which is a well guarded secret, all served with traditional somun bread, onion and kajmak, which is a type of clotted cream. The city is also home to sudžukice, the thin veal sausages; veal pie, recognisable under the name of burek to any inhabitant of the region; as well pite (pies) such as krumpiruša (potato pie), sirnica (fresh cheese pie), and zeljanica (fresh cheese and spinach/chard pie). It would be criminal to fail to sample certain boiled dishes such as japrak (minced veal and rice formed into fingers and wrapped in pickled leaves of the grapevine),

as well as various stuffed vegetables known under the general moniker of dolma: sogan dolma, red onion stuffed with the same mixture as used in japrak, is perhaps the most famous of all. Of course we also have the Bosanski lonac (the Bosnian Pot), which is a vegetable and beef stew, slowly boiled in a traditional clay pot. When it comes to picking your dessert, then the traditional choice would either be baklava or hurmašice: the first is a walnut sweet cake and the latter is an oblong biscuit dipped in sherbet; extremely sweet but extremely delicious.

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tba

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For eleven months of the year GuÄ?a is a quiet hamlet, at least in relative terms‌

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destinations

Guča: or in Praise of Glorious Folly Do you know where the biggest ‘Jazz’ festival in the world will be held this year?

Well, the same as last year, and the year before. In Guča, the heart of Serbia. Incredulous?

Don’t be. Book your berth for the August 6th-12th event, and discover why you don’t need to travel any farther, or God forbid have recourse to smoking or swallowing something illegal, to experience altered states of mind. Let us learn what it means to unleash the inner Balkan in and from oneself...

By Miša Milošević

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any who visit the Balkans have found themselves, generally, in agreement: that the people are hospitable towards their guests and that they love to have a good time.

In fact, it could be said that they often celebrate just for the sake of celebrating, irrespective of more ‘important’ issues at hand. Amongst the Balkan tribes it must be that the Serbs meet this description most closely: they will rejoice in the victories of Novak Đoković more so than the prospect of becoming part of the European Union; they will organise a full-scale

wedding party in spite of nato air raids.

The country is rife with such anecdotes.

It might be irrational and, in some cases, immature, but that’s the name of the game here in the Balkans.

It is therefore no wonder that this curious trait of Balkan character has finally been vindicated in popularity with the Guča trumpet festival: this festival outstrips almost all other European gatherings – Reading, Exit, Glastonbury – in terms of visitors, with just a few (such as Oktoberfest) registering higher numbers.

how things got out of hand Guča is a small, picturesque village near Ivanjica, in central Serbia. It is situated between two hills, in a narrow valley, which is just big enough to accommodate the village’s 600 houses and around 2,000 inhabitants. Considering the paucity of space, it seems incredulous that such a small community can physically accommodate more than 600,000 visitors during any given week, and it is this number, the official count of the 2009 festival, which serves as the historical record, at least thus far.

For eleven months of the year Guča is a quiet hamlet, at least in relative terms: the majority of those who dwell here are farmers, famed for growing raspberries and potatoes. The cafes and taverns (kafanas) of the area are closed and boarded up, and the whole place looks as if it is suffering from a perpetual, gloomy, hangover. Of course that hangover is sandwiched between festivals.

It is a common misperception that Guča arose either from some ancient ritual or that it was a recent nationalistic invention. In fact it was founded back in the days of Socialist Yugoslavia, a festival meant to celebrate regional folk music; when it debuted, in 1961, it had a very modest line-up indeed: just four brass bands. Although, of course there is some historical aspect to all of this: Šumadija, where this story is set, is the birthplace of Serbian brass music – a unique blend

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of Southern folk tunes and Serbian military music – which is characterised by strong, moving rhythms and virtuoso trumpet solos, all of which is played by extremely loud bands. Ultimately this style became the stuff of tradition, and is now a recognisable musical trademark of the region. As the festival grew, however, other genres found their way onto the bill, such as Levantine Southern and gypsy-style music, as popular demand called for it.

Back in the (Socialist) day, the Dragačevo Assembly of Trumpeters, to cite Guča’s official and oft forgotten title, found itself under suspicion, almost from its inception, as a potential source of Chetnik – i.e., royalist – subversion. Although never formally banned, it certainly fell under the watchful eyes of the old Yugoslavian officials, who had the habit of refraining from visiting the event: even Tito kept away from Guča, although a gigantic portrait of the late leader would adorn the stage mere months after his death in 1980.

If Tito and his comrades were inclined to stay away, that was not the case for Princess Jelisaveta (or Elisabeth) of Yugoslavia, who would grace Guča with her presence in 1990. For the people at Guča, pretty much inclined towards the Monarchy and the expelled Karađorđević dynasty to which the Princess belonged, it was a sort of an apotheosis and the locals made best their efforts to show the royal the sort of hospitality Serbs were capable of.

One of the best anecdotes is attached exactly to this occasion. On the final day of the festival, as the official competition was taking place on the main stage with the audience gathered on the local football pitch, the Sun was high and it was incredibly hot, with no shade around. The Princess was dealing with the rather stuffy situation in a

regal manner. Standing next to her was Savatije Bugarčić, a young and handsome peasant from Guča. Aware that the Princess was suffering in the sun, at one point he disappeared and trotted off into the direction of a nearby forest; but only to return, shortly thereafter, carrying a green tree on his shoulder! Yes, a tree.

He brought it to the place where the royal was sitting and, to everyone’s astonishment, stood in front of the Princess, lifted the tree high into the air and, with one single and strong push, plunged its pencil-shaped bottom into the ground, holding the tree upright, thus providing the necessary shade. Such hospitality would be hard to beat, more so at this festival of extremes: music, dance, drink and food.

surviving guča Guča is a week long festival, and is approximately four hours drive from Belgrade, down a road called the Ibar Motorway, or Ibarska magistrala, a rather busy and risky route, so don’t allow your enthusiasm or festive mood to overcome your vigilance behind the wheel. The closer you get to your destination the

As the night begins to heat up, it would not be unusual to see any number of ladies extricate themselves from the prison of their footwear and take to their chairs to celebrate this new-found ‘freedom’.

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- AC C O M M O DAT I O N Accommodation in Guča and the nearby villages is exclusively domestic: no hotels, just bed and breakfast style accommodation. The inhabitants, especially at this time of year, are very hospitable and will offer any space available in their homes, which may vary from authentic Serbian country style cottages to more modern homes. For the most part, the units will be certified by the Tourist Organisation of Guča and will be quite tidy and clean.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a friend or a contact who can secure your room or bed, then you can book online (websites listed below). Make sure you do all of this early enough, because there’ll be no room at the inn if you leave it till the last moment. Prices range from 10 to 30 Euros per night. www.guca.rs/eng www.saborguca.com www.turistguca.com

more police points will be in evidence: it would be wise to remember that they will be there when you decide to leave as well, and make sure that the previous night’s revelry does not impact on your ability to navigate safely.

If you’ve not been so smart as to pre-book your accommodation, either through the festival website or through local acquaintances, you might well find yourself sleeping in your car (a great many have no choice but to do so) or, if you are extremely fortunate, perhaps find lodging in a neighbouring village, condemned to undertake an arduous trek to bed once dawn lights the way.

While the festival lasts a full week, the main party will always be the closing weekend. The atmosphere will already be sizzling as the Friday afternoon progresses: orchestras try to outdo one another; rivers of people, many inebriated, throng every avenue of passage; souvenir stands line both sides of the street and it is amongst these traders that you can find the traditional ‘šajkača’ caps (everyone looks ‘Serbian’ wearing them),

orchestras, food, and drink. One place which must get a hearty recommendation is Lav (The Lion), a restaurant situated on a steep hill just above the football pitch. It is here that you can order a number of traditional starters such as fresh white cheese, smoked ham, sausages, corn bread...It is important to make sure you’re well fed, and that you have some snacks at hand, so that the rakija and the beer do not kick in too soon because dawn is nowhere near.

Still feeling awkward and out of place?

Don’t know how to dance to the insistent music, which is gaining in tempo?

Just observe the others, nobody was ever born knowing how to dance, and allow your inner Balkan to do the rest. It might be a good idea to taste some of the national specialities. Rack pork or lamb is always a no-brainer, and you cannot go sugar hearts and sugar canes, and pretty far wrong with it. However, you should much everything else you would expect also try the ‘wedding-style’ sour cabat any similar affair. This, in all its glory, bage with four sorts of meat, cooked for the whole night in traditional pots over is the local colour of Guča.

If you’re overwhelmed by everything a fire.

As the night begins to heat up, it at once, don’t fret: take a deep breath, perhaps a few drinks, and then decide would not be unusual to see any number your next course of action. What you’re of ladies extricate themselves from the seeing on the streets is the more ‘ple- prison of their footwear and take to their beian’ side of the festival – it might be chairs to celebrate this new-found ‘freea better idea to try and find a restau- dom’. The waiters, all around the village, rant or bar, for it is in one of these plac- will take their cue and adroitly clear the es that you will find the very best of the tables in order to facilitate the liberated patrons to continue their dancing on an even higher ground, so to speak. It won’t be long before they are joined by the orchestras themselves, playing ever more frenetically, spitting tip money from their trumpets and asking for more.

Before you’ve even realised it, you’ll be right in the thick of the action, dancing and swaying, and finding the music oddly familiar (even if you’ve never heard it before). What follows next is (or should be) well known: the musicians will scatter around the venue and slowly start calling each other with

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their instruments; the Izgubljeno jagnje (Lost Lamb) gradually speeds up to yet a new frenzy. Having attained, to paraphrase Milan Kundera, the unbearably Serbian lightness of being, any worry of committing a social faux pas can be dismissed since everyone around you will be in much the same mood, and of much the same mien. It is here that new friendships will be made – language, at that stage, never presenting any barrier to communication.

Staying till the early morning might well be unavoidable: the whole village is equipped with a powerful public address system, responsible for the 9am wake-up call…trumpets naturally. It is also worth staying for the full duration of the festival, as on Sunday, the day everything winds down, we have the official competition of the orchestras and a display of fireworks.

Granted, we may well compare the Festival Sunday to the actual Mardi Gras day in New Orleans – an excess of people is

WINNING AT T H E E V E N T On the final day of the Guča Trumpet Festival, all the assorted orchestras and bands compete for as many as 24 different ‘best of’ awards, the most important being ‘best band’ and ‘best trumpeter’.

In former times winners would take away cash prizes, but nowadays budget cuts take precedence, in spite of increasing popularity and turnover generated by the festival: the winners this year will receive a symbolic golden apple and new instruments. However, there are wider commercial benefits to winning at Guča: any orchestra that has done so can expect a flood of invitations to play at other festivals, weddings and, make no mistake, wakes and funerals as well.

replaced by an excess of rubbish, testament to the week-long celebration of... well, excess, of course. Then again, did not William Blake once say that “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom?”

Indeed he did.

And then it ends, as all things must end. On Monday morning, the exhaustion and the massive hangover will leave you reflecting on the deeper meaning of life, your own recent deeds...and suchlike. And you might find yourself wondering if Guča was worth all the hangovers, headaches, ringing ears, the thoroughly empty wallet, as you’ve thrown all your banknotes in the direction of your favourite (oftentimes golden-toothed) orchestra...?

Speaking from experience, doubt will be short lived. As many have testified in the past, it won’t be long before you start planning your next descent into Balkan madness. Or perhaps ‘frenzy’ might be the better word.

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destinations

A MONTENEGRIN TRAVELOGUE Of course there’s Sveti Stefan, of course there’s Budva, of course there’s Porto Montenegro, as well as a few other places which would and do boast a multitude of hotel stars and accolades – yet this piece is not about luxury, at least not luxury of the body. If you want to see the Mediterranean as it used to be, if we may be permitted to borrow the slogan from Croatia’s Tourist Board and apply it to (certain) parts of Montenegro, this will be the piece for you to read.

And do not forget: what you lose in terms of service or comfort will be more than made up by the sheer experience amassed and joie de vivre witnessed. In Ulcinj, in the Bay of Kotor, in the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje.

By Dylan Alexander & Igor Dakić

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Ulcinj and Ada Bojana: a Dash of the Orient

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lcinj is an ancient settlement on the Montenegrin coast, and was once one of the main pirate capitals of the Adriatic. The architecture which remains still tells a story of its maritime past, infamous as it is, while also appealing to modern tourists, the majority of whom tend to be Albanian: Ulcinj is the centre of the Albanian population in Montenegro, so perhaps it is not unexpected that their co-tribalists from the Motherland tend to spend their holidays here.

In the apocryphal history of the place there is a direct connection between Ulcinj and Spanish literature. In 1571, King Philip II of Spain sent the allied fleet to the Adriatic in an attempt to stop the Ottoman conquest of the East Mediterranean. The battle between two fleets took place near Lepetane, at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor. We might know it better by the name more commonly used in history, that of the Battle of Lepanto.

On board one of the Spanish ships was the famous writer Miguel Cervantes, who lost his arm in the fighting and

found himself in Turkish captivity, along with his brother Rodrigo. Legend tells the story of the one-armed slave Servet (allegedly Cervantes), who spent the following five years in the city, even naming the heroine of his ‘Don Quixote’ Dulcinea, after the city’s name of that time.

But we, no disrespect to Ulcinj’s mosques and a dash of sooner Levantene than Adriatic local colour, have come to this part of the world to see the Ada Bojana, arguably one of the most beautiful beaches on the Adriatic.

Ada Bojana literally translates as ‘The Island on the Bojana River’, and is the southernmost destination in Montenegro, a walking distance from the Albanian border. As a matter of fact, if one walks down the sandy beaches towards South, a border sign will appear and a soldier will kindly ask you to turn back.

It is said that a ship, the Merito, sunk at the mouth of the river sometime between the 17th and 19th centuries, causing the sand and mud in which the river is rich slowly to accumulate and form the

triangular island currently splitting the river in twain, facing the open sea.

Today, Ada Bojana is home to a tourist compound which consists of bungalows (of various ratings) which have all been refurbished recently and which represent decent and affordable accommodation. The nature is priceless: long sandy beaches and open sea as far as the eye can see – exotic yet familiar. Furthermore, Ada Bojana remains famous for its nudist beaches, which continue to attract large numbers of devotees of the naked ‘religion’, so perhaps some advance scouting can avoid unwanted conversations with the youngest generation.

Strong winds and a shallow and turbulent open sea have made Ada Bojana one of the Adriatic’s prime destinations for sailing as well as wind- and kite-surfing. Although its overall infrastructure and service performance could be much improved, it remains a very attractive destination for the adventurous and those who are less picky about comfort and hotel stars, preferring, as it were, content and function over form.

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And then we all got engulfed in a very dire chasm of most severe inebriation – so severe that we may finish this chapter by saying that Cetinje is inexpensive, hospitable, and absolutely worth a visit.

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Cetinje: The Old Royal Capital

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ontenegro is not the only European country where there are talks of restoring the monarchy. About a year ago, two-thirds of Serbians surveyed said that they would like to see their country become a kingdom, and the same goes for the former royals of Romania, although no poll has shown that a clear majority is supportive of the idea. The Montengrins, however, probably have the upper hand, not least because they wish to see it happen for relatively sober reasons, which is somewhat unusual, as Montenegro has always been regarded as a supremely “romantic” land.

If not so obvious any more on the fast developing and billboard infested Budva Riviera, the “romance” immediately unfolds as one drives up towards Cetinje on a violent zig-zagging corniche which local drivers, judging by their behaviour, often mistake for a German autobahn.

Our palms sweating – a fear of heights, you see – we decided to pull over midway through our ascent to freshen up and, yes, begin our inquiries.

First we approached an old lady selling produce from behind a makeshift stall.

Initially reserved, ultimately she would open up to tell us that the Prince was a “fine gentleman, not like those thieves in Government, with a dint of a poet in him to boot.” Five minutes later, as we were paying our bill (Turkish coffee) at a small inn next door, the barmaid told us something very similar, and a local patron sitting at a table at the far end of the terrace added, “No doubt, Montenegro deserves a king.” A proud people – in a proud land – and a people, let us not forget, who also celebrate their most famous Vladika (or Prince-Bishop) Petar Petrović Njegoš as their most important national poet. Indeed, his epic Mountain Wreath, a seminal work of Montenegrin-Serbian literature, stands as testimony to the fact that, unlike most other instances when monarchs had literary aspirations (bad kings who were even worse poets), Montenegro had a good ruler who was possibly an even better poet. A great oddity indeed.

With these things on our minds we entered Cetinje, by most standards a little town with no more than fifteen thousand inhabitants. The Montenegrin Government may have relocated several Ministries from Podgorica and Cetinje may even boast of a few embassies (French, Italian...), but it is clear right off the bat that this town, unlike Podgorica and much of the coast, has not profited greatly from foreign – for now largely Russian – investment pouring into the country under favourable conditions created in the post-Milošević era. In other words, little else to do in Cetinje on a Sunday afternoon than to head directly for the main Njegoševa (of course) Street and order a glass of brandy.

In minutes, having realised they have a Croatian in their midst, a number of people initiated a lively discussion. “What are Croatian revenues from tourism,”

asked a high-school teacher, stroking his beard upon hearing that the figures are roughly seven times bigger than those of Montenegro. In turn I asked about the recent Montenegrin linguistic reform, when they added two phonemes to the thirty letter alphabet. “It’s all the same,” replied the proprietor of the establishment, a genial and easygoing middle aged woman. “Some people write in Serbian, some in Montenegrin, some in new Montenegrin – but it all pretty much amounts to the same – the difference is essentially in what you call it.” And so on. Most were fond of Croatia, and one could not help but detect a sense of embarrassment with regard to what Montenegrin troops, as part of Yugoslav People’s Army, had done in the Dubrovnik region in the early nineties. With another round of brandy on the table, the time had come to ask about the monarchy.

All, seven of them, were in favour, with the exception of a younger chap, an engineering student in Podgorica hailing from Cetinje, who put forth the argument that the days of kings are long past. Even he, however, agreed with the rest of the company when they said, unanimously, that for such a small country (650 thousand inhabitants, slightly more than Luxembourg), it would be a good thing if it could spare itself the cost of presidential elections. The impact on the tourist industry, they went on, would be tremendous, and a retired Colonel immediately brought up the recently much used Montenegrin litany of “Montenegro – Monte Carlo of the Adriatic.” Another “pro” was unveiled in the fact that, unlike Croatia, Montenegro does not have a numerous and generally wealthy diaspora, so any influx of money and brains from abroad is more than welcome. Finally, they all spoke well of the Prince…

And then, if my memory serves me well, we all got engulfed in a very dire chasm of most severe inebriation – so severe that we may finish this chapter by saying that Cetinje is inexpensive, hospitable, and absolutely worth a visit.

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As far as old walled towns are concerned, Kotor may not be as magnificent as Dubrovnik, but its subtle and unassuming Italianate beauty leaves nothing to be desired.

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Kotor and Perast The Russo-Venetian Connection

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ealthy Russians may have bought up all the prime property in the coastal part of Montenegro, but those are not the sort of Russians we have in mind here; for the sailors and seamen hailing from this Adriatic fjord, the Bay of Kotor, or Boka Kotorska, were for centuries regarded by both the greedy Venetian and the belligerent Russian navies as extremely welcome additions to their ranks.

And the fjord itself, though in terms of size not comparable to its Norwegian kin, may nevertheless be an even more magnificent sight indeed. From the open sea it is practically invisible to the naked eye, and the entrance is so narrow that chains could be hung from side to side so as to prevent enemy ships from gaining ingress to the bay. The mouth of the bay is named quite aptly, as ‘Verige’ translates as ‘chains’. Two villages used to sit astride either side of the bay, and it was from here that the chains would be tethered. Such was frustration of the raiding fleets, perennially failing to enter the fjord, that the names of the two villages, Kamenari and Lepetane, have entered both Montenegrin and Italian lexicons as slang for prostitutes, ‘whore’ of course being the highest form of insult we could bestow upon our enemy.

The bay itself is quite large and shelters an extremely calm aquatorium, so much so that it resembles a lake. There are two artificial islands which lie near the town of Perast, of which one, Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of Rocks), is inhabited by monks as it features a monastery and a church built by the Venetians during the early years of the 18th century.

The town of Kotor itself, an old Adriatic port, is surrounded by protective city walls which were built, also by the Venetians, in the 15th century. Possessing unmistakable Mediterranean features, it is the main tourist target in the bay as well as home, among other things, to the 11th century Cathedral of Saint Tripun, a very

popular sight – all the more so since Saint Tripun is the patron saint of winemakers.

As far as old walled towns are concerned, Kotor may not be as magnificent as Dubrovnik, but its subtle and unassuming Italianate beauty leaves nothing to be desired – many, in fact, would prefer it to the cruise-borne camera-abusing hordes that, at least in the summer months, besiege Dubrovnik in ungodly numbers.

So it is in Kotor that we meet with an old friend, in a charming half-Oriental, half-Mediterranean konoba squeezed under the shade of the Eastern Wall (Scala Santa I believe is its name). Over a light lunch we talk about Perast, a nearby town and our desired destination for later on in the day.

For Perast, already mentioned in passing, is the sleeping beauty of the Bay of Kotor. The town itself is very small, and wonderfully simple: there is but one main street which runs across the town. Perast flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries when it hosted a school of navigation, opened by the famous mathematician Marko Martinović; it was here that many naval officers, from Venice to Russia, were educated in the ways of the sea, the stars, and the sextant.

Counting only 300 permanent inhabitants and more than 30 perfectly functional churches, it had fallen almost to utter disrepair until, at the turn of the millennium, Goran Bregović and a few other regional celebrities purchased property there, setting a trend which would be followed by the aforementioned horde of wealthy Russians. Regardless, the town has retained its fishing-village mien and the fact that, in terms of property prices, it is one of the most expensive locations in Europe (a real estate agent tells us that the average selling price is about 5000 Euros per sqm), this has not impacted its general appearance for the worse. It is slow paced, and the local proprietors have kept the prices at reasonable levels.

And we, we are already on our way to Mali Morinj, a short drive away, to a relatively expensive restaurant called Ćatovića mlini (Ćatović’s Mills), where you sit by a fountain in a surreal, swamp like environment (though mosquitoless, by some miracle), where the waiters are dressed in folk costumes and strangley adroit for Montengrin standards; and where the muscles we have are worth every penny.

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destinations

Macedonian Monastery Mystery Tour Macedonia, in one form or another, has made its mark in history. Its countryside is crisscrossed with monasteries which date back almost one thousand years. However, these are not sights just for the religious tourist or pilgrim: they possess enough history, and can tell a great many stories, for anyone who would take a holiday less ordinary.

By: Ljupčo Sotiroski

M

acedonia: a country which sits in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula; a place of vast natural beauty and history so rich that the influence and culture of the great civilisations of antiquity still echo throughout the land today. Whether it be geographical or cultural, no country of the former Yugoslavia is as representative of the Balkans as is this place. Valleys, overshadowed by towering mountain ranges, lakes, remote villages, that feeling of wonderfully isolated wilderness which is becoming ever rarer in this world of ours.

It is here that the ancient peoples of the Illyrians, Macedonian Greeks, and the Byzantines made their mark and began creating the concepts and tenets upon which European society is built today. During that time this area was better known to us as Ancient Greece and, as rugged as the hinterland was then, it is as rugged now: from the asymmetric nature of the topography to the ongoing name dispute which occupies the minds of modern-day Macedonians and modernday Greeks. Of course such ruggedness and full-hearted – if perhaps a tad petty at times – politicking is synonymous with the Balkans, but that is not all: culturally, there is the continuing Byzantine influence, inextricable from the legacy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, that rather comes to the forefront, perhaps in subtle, but nonetheless powerful ways.

Christian missionaries reached these lands as early as the 1st century, when Paul the Apostle journeyed into what we now know as Macedonia in order to spread the Gospel. By the start of the 4th

century the area had its own organised Christian community; the Slavs who began to settle here, around the 7th century, would eventually be converted to Christianity by St. Cyril and St. Methodius during the 800s. In the 10th century, during the time of Samuel’s Bulgarian Empire, an Autocephalous Ohrid Archbishopric was created, and tremained untouched fundamentally until 1767 when it became part of the Patriarchy of Istanbul by order of Sultan Mustapha the Third. After the conclusion of The Great War the area fell under the authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1968 the Macedonian Orthodox Church unilaterally split from the larger body and, even to this today, remains unrecognised by the Holy Synod and its peers, at least as a wholly separate and autocephalous entity.

But the church might not have survived for as long as it has if it hadn’t been for the monks sheltered in their monasteries which, having survived the ravages of time and progress, adorn the Macedonian countryside. These beautiful structures, centuries old, are a testament to the religious history of Macedonia, and can be considered a tourist attraction of the first order. Let us then take you, in spirit, on a tour of some of the more notable examples of this aspect of Macedonian heritage.

veljuša monastery Dedicated to Holy Mother of God, the Eleusa, Veljuša Monastery stands in the village from which it takes its name, just outside of Strumica in the South East of Macedonia. It was founded in 1080 by

the Monk Manuel, who would later go on to become Bishop of Strumica. Marble plaques, with inscriptions dedicated to Manuel, are there for tourists to enjoy, but they are only replicas: the originals were removed during The Great War and reside in the Archaeological Museum in Sofia. Historical data relating to the monastery can be found in the ‘rule’ (typikon), which was written personally by the Episcope Manuel between 1085 and 1106. This particular typikon is one of the oldest known in the history of Orthodox monasticism, and provides a record of a whole millennium old monastic traditions of Macedonia. The typikon tells us that the Abbess (hegoumeni) of the monastery is the Most Holy Mother of God, and that the Superior (kathegoumenos) has

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sovereign authority when it comes to the management of monastic assets and those who had chosen to live behind the monastery’s walls. The monastery had an independent status, protected by the Byzantine Emperors, and had an autonomous entitlement to: all of its possessions; election of its Superior; and no interference in its internal affairs by either of the Tiberipolitan hierarchy or the local secular authorities (even by the Ecumenical Patriarch) – which is an exceptionally rare case in the history of Orthodox monasticism.

It was after the 13th century, according to written documents, that the Veljuša monastery lost its independence and instead became a dependency (metochion), until 1913, of the Hagiorite monastery of Iveron. It was during the First Balkan War that the monks of Iveron left Veljuša,

never to return. In their flight they took with them all the sacred valuables from the church as well as all the written documents which the monastery housed. It is only thanks to a preserved copy of the church inventory, drawn up in 1164, that we can see what was lost to Veljuša: 67 manuscripts, 35 icons, 17 royal charters, as well as historical archives and various sacerdotal vestments, etc.

With all the changes the monastery has endured through its thousand year history it must come as no surprise to realise that the monastery church has been the only ever-present. From its ground plan the church is a four-apse building with an octagonal cupola: a rare edifice in Macedonia. After the church was constructed there came the narthex and the Southern chapel, with the latter

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functioning as a vestry as required. The church has fresco paintings which, although damaged, are identifiable as being from two distinct periods: the first dates back to the charter of the church and we can see partly preserved frescoes in the altar space (Theotokos nikopoia enthroned and hierarchs in the altar aspe), in the nave (Theotokos oranta flanked

by St. John the Baptist), two archangels, the prophets of the Old Testament, and Christ the Pantocrator, in the cupola, while ‘The Meeting of our Lord’ and ‘The Descent of Christ into Hell’ are in the West and North apses respectively. The Southern chapel features St. Nyphon, St. Panteleimon, and Christ Emanuel. The second period dates from the 12th century and can be seen in the exonarthex on the West and North walls of the Southern porch – the figure of St. Onuphrius is the only one preserved. Within the church itself there are original fragments preserved from the oldest marble iconostasis as well as fragments of the mosaic floor decorations.

st. joachim osogovski monastery This monastery is located in the foothills of the Osogovo Mountain, just a few kilometres North East of the town of Kriva Palanka. It was founded in the 12th century and is dedicated to St. Joachim of Osogovo, known as a miracle worker who lived in the area, in the late 11th century and early 12th century, as a cave-dwelling hermit. What is perhaps unusual, and certainly specific, about this particular monastery is that it was built by the local people themselves, rather than the Orthodox Church, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Manojlo Bagrenoroden (1143 - 1180). The original monastery was devastated, first by an earthquake in the 16th century and then by the Ottomans in the 17th century. Today the modern monastery consists of two churches, a bell tower, dormitories, a guardhouse, and a residency for the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The larger of the two churches, which is also dedicated to St. Joachim, was built in 1851. It is a monumental three-nave basilica with two rows of three columns, which divide the space into twelve dome covered bays:

each one represents one of the twelve Apostles. The interior of the church is adorned with frescoes which were painted by four different Macedonian artists, the most notable of whom was Demetrius Papradiski Andonov. The smaller church dates back to the founding of the monastery but has been rebuilt twice, in the 14th century then and the 18th century. It is dedicated to the Holy Mother of God.

st. jovan bigorski monastery Located in the Western part of Macedonia, near the road which connects Debar and Gostivar, is the Monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski. The monastery church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and, according to the monastery’s chronicle, was built in 1020 by Ivan I Debranin. Like

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so many of its contemporaries it was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 16th century, only to be restored by the monk Illarion in 1743: he also added a dormitory for his fellow monks. From 1812 to 1825 the monastery was expanded by Archimandrite Arsenius. Perhaps the most valuable treasure of the monastery is the iconostasis which was created by Petre Filipovski Garkata, a native of the nearby village of Gari. This wood-carved iconostasis is considered to be one of the most beautiful works of its kind in the world.

The monastery is also in possession of an icon which dates back to the 11th century

The original monastery church was built in 910 and dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The present church was constructed on the same site in the 16th century, and had a dome added above the temple’s narthex during the latter half of the 18th century. The monastery is situated next to the source st. naum of of Crni Drim, the largest water source ohrid monastery for Lake Ohrid. Nowadays is serves as Our final monasteryis located on the both a hotel and museum, save for the shore of Lake Ohrid, next to the Alba- church, and is a popular tourist desnian border. It was founded in 895 by tination. St. Naum’s monastery is the St. Naum, a disciple of St. Cyril and St. oldest monument of Slavic sacral arMethodius, towards the end of his life. chitecture on the lake.

and it is believed to have miraculous healing ppropeties. Unfortunately, save for the church itself and the dormitory, a fire destroyed the monastery complex in 2009. Reconstruction began in 2010, but the path to former glory is not a short one.

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camera obscura

The Five 20th Century (In)glourious Balkan Basterds What were the Balkans always about? Why, of course, about Serbo-Croat, or Croatian-Serbian relations, if you will. What do so many local conversations start with, or end with? The same. What was – and is – at the root of all this? Among other things, the five men below, without any doubt. For those of you who, at least to an extent, have ever wanted to get to the bottom of the oftentimes quaint enmities, misunderstandings and paradoxes that are perennially the order of the day in these parts, this might not be a bad place to start.

By Igor Dakić

Josip Broz Tito

Franjo Tuđman

a.k.a. The Old Man

a.k.a. El Presidente

(May 7th, 1892 - May 4th, 1980)

(May 14th, 1922 - Dec. 10th, 1999)

Originally a locksmith by profession, this semimythical figure, after a transient youth, went on to build up one of the most fascinating biographies of the 20th century. His early political career of a communist pamphleteer and agitator involved spells in Moscow, Vienna, Budapest and God knows where else, which gave rise (and still does in conspiracy theory circles) to conjectures that he might have been a spy (Russian, British, anybody’s), or worse. In World War II he headed the Partisan movement and, mastering guerilla warfare tactics to perfection, managed to fight off zz Germans & Co. and their domestic collaborators. Not long after the war, after it had become clear that democratic elections were out of the question, he was elected (would you believe it?) President of Yugoslavia for life, after he had already crowned himself with the honorary title of Marshall. In 1948, during the so called Informbureau crisis, he got the better of Stalin (admittedly by acting in a more Stalinistic fashion than Stalin himself), was one of the main founders of the non-aligned movement, dallied, among others, with Sophia Loren and Liz Taylor, and ended up having probably the greatest funeral any statesman has ever had.

He had many people killed, but is deified by many more.

The Father of the Homeland, the first President of Croatia as we know it today, and so on, and so on, and so on... His career was long and interesting indeed. In World War II, still a young man, he played an active role in the partisan movement and kept rising through the Partisan army ranks eventually to become a general. After he was decommissioned, he founded the Institute of History of Croatia’s Workers’ Movement, and even served, briefly, as President of Yugoslav communist regime’s favourite football club, Partisan Belgrade. In 1971 he got involved with a group of intellectuals who headed a social movement called the Croatian Spring, and, since this kind of call for greater overall freedom and a greater measure of ethnic determination did not sit well with the powers-that-be in Belgrade, he was ostracised, marginalised, and briefly even placed under house arrest. In the late eighties he emerged as the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), won the decisive victory in the first free elections held in over 45 years, and will forever be remembered, whatever else one may think of him, as the man who proclaimed Croatia independent. Above all he liked protocol, authority (his own), bespoke suits, and winning at cards and tennis. Pardon, above all he liked emulating the man caricaturised above him.

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Ante Pavelić

Draža Mihailović

Slobodan Milošević

a.k.a., The Chief

a.k.a. The Duke (of Hazard)

a.k.a. Sloba the Survivor

(July 14th, 1889 - Dec. 28th, 1959)

April 27th, 1893 – July 17th, 1946)

(August 20th, 1941 – March 11th, 2006)

Croatian version of the Fuhrer, or Duce, or Caudillo (Poglavnik in Croatian, which may loosely be translated as Chief), this is the man who readily stepped into the shoes of the leader of Fascist Croatia after Hitler’s conquest of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941. He passed and very diligently implemented – or had others do so – the most abhorrent set of racial laws far and wide. Hitler gave him Bosnia, but to return the favour Pavelić had to write off practically the entirety of the Dalmatian coast to Mussolini, a shameful transaction effectuated through the infamous Rome Accord. After the war he actually managed to escape – one of the few leaders of the Ustaša movement who were lucky enough – first to South America and then to Franco’s Spain, where he died from wounds caused by the (in these parts) well known 1959 assassination attempt in Madrid.

The quaint thing is that he still has a following, though an underground one (there’s no denying that he was the first President at least of some kind of Croatia, which is enough for some people – vehement uber-nationalists – it appears, to venerate him to this very day).

Every now and again the country is beset by a mild scandal if it is leaked to the press that some renegade priest, upon request by an enthusiastic chauvinist, has agreed to read Mass in Chief’s honour.

In April of 1941 Hitler finally decided to do away with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and it was only a matter of days before the Yugoslav forces were defeated and the Royal enclave on the run to London. It was at this moment that Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailović stepped onto the stage, having, as a staunch royalist, retreated to the mountains near Belgrade to organise his guerrilla troops known as the Chetniks. With the support of the exiled king he was at first looked upon favourably by the Allies, but it wouldn’t be long before he started collaborating with the Germans. His role and the extent of his responsibility for ethnic massacres remain a matter of major controversy, but it is difficult to believe that he was an innocent little lamb. He was tried for high treason and executed by firing squad in 1946, but was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit for the rescue of American airmen by the Chetniks, on the recommendation of none other than General Eisenhower.

Twentieth Century Fox even made a film about him, in 1943, sensationally called Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas. Draža in the film, played by Philip Dorn, is of course clean shaven, much taller, well-mannered, and fighting for the right cause. In other words, the spitting image of somebody else, which is no obstacle for many to this very day, especially deep in the heart of Serbia, to hold him in the highest esteem as a folk hero and ‘the very best of Serbs’.

Always possessing an incredible, almost superhuman acumen for political survival, Milošević emerged as a Grade A powerplayer in 1989 and then ran Serbia, under this or that name, in this or that Office, all the way till the year 2000 – and it took no less a force than NATO to force him to step down. He lost, from where he stood, every single war he fought, and he fought a lot of them: against the Croats, against the Bosniaks, against the Albanians in Kosovo, technically even against NATO (read: the Brits and the Americans). He would have lost his legal war with the Hague tribunal as well, but for his untimely death, for, after five years of proceedings, a heart attack got in the way (the Tribunal denied any responsibility for his death, claiming that he refused to take prescribed medication and medicated himself instead).

Once a staunch Communist of the first order, it didn’t take him long, as the tides turned in the late eighties, to refashion himself into a most ardent nationalist and proponent of the Greater Serbia. In this author’s opinion, it is doubtful that, privately, he ever pledged allegiance to any ideology other than the ideology – or the philosophy rather – of the ‘will to power’. In 2010, Life magazine included Milošević in its list of ‘The World’s Worst Dictators’, and though his spectre still hovers over Balkan lands, we may be pleased to observe that his following appears to be waning with each passing year.

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event horizon

Small Fragments of a Writer’s Life in a Tale of Two Cities Having sent another book of short stories off to the printer, our resident bellelettriste, not without an (expected) amount of torment and pretentiousness, laments about the near disappearance of proper bohemian haunts in the two biggest exYugoslav capitals, Zagreb and Belgrade. Still, in the figure of Miroslav Krleža, the literary great, he finds a path that may, just may, quite unexpectedly, lead to some sort of redemption. Follow ‘A Tale of Two Cities’...

Original text by Marijan Grakalić Adaptation by Igor Dakić

1

I sometimes think that this whole mess is just a sideshow, a sideshow which will pack up and be gone by the morning. I imagine the breaking light of the new dawn permeating Life and the city – or cities, as it were – transforming everything with ease, leaving no place for doubt as injustice and malice, those two proverbial traps set up long in advance, are swept away under a Sun that shines on some new, less haunting premonition.

Keeping constant vigil I am awake, but there is no place for me to settle down and tell the tale. Perhaps one can no longer properly tell a story – any story – as this most ancient of human activities may no longer be possible in this new age, an age that turns a blind eye to anything that has not been published as an advertisement or presented through a televised commercial.

2

Suffice it to say that there are no more bohemian cafes in Zagreb: no more places are left where once upon a time songs were sung for no apparent reason whatsoever, continuous exercises in practical futility that nonetheless spelled the alphabet of that most elusive of words – ‘Freedom’ – the kind of freedom whose intimations, nowadays, may hear perhaps only the more than usually enlightened holidaymaker or mendicant monk. For even the old ‘Blato’ cafe, perennially a writers’ haunt located on the

corner of Masarykova and Gundulićeva streets, has long become bereft of the song sung by the city’s bohemians. True, in Belgrade, that tormented and chaotic city, the ‘Nušić’ cafe, named after a brilliant Serbian author, still welcomes those unusual sensations of life usually associated with the playhouse and the cabaret, but one cannot escape from the impression that its existence is nothing more than the last cry of a species doomed to extinction.

3

The early trams make their way through the city with first light, sneaking their way over predefined (or predestined?) lanes amid the urban landscape marked by concrete, plastic and unnatural height, eventually reaching the Centre, a place where one may even nowadays find, as far as people go, those who are actually made up of real flesh and blood. Or at the worst we may encounter their lingering shadows, memories and, perhaps the least artificial of all, their illusions.

There exists a necessary need for patience, sly and incrementally distributed between the numerous tram-stops, soliciting extra effort on our part not to give in to the urges that, as nature would have it, demand precedence: the same urges that sometimes force us to abandon the quotidian reality and to wander, at least mentally, those urges that tempt us into succumbing to that insatiable desire

to disembark before the final stop or station, to forsake the pre-set pattern in favour of wandering the streets aimlessly, to ignore the pressure, coming from all directions, of having to reach some specific goal.

4

The writer is both a host and an exile from the city, a semi-fictional character who repeatedly survives a parody of his own self but who nonetheless divines a way in which to emerge victorious from his final battle against that which is inevitable, defeating the kind of banality found in the first greeting and the last farewell.

For in between we may find quite particular kinds of loneliness. The hermit Montanus was afraid of the birds flying high in the sky, as he suspected he might have been perceived by them as nothing more than a small grain of wheat. Everyone is sometimes struck with a sense of helplessness, as we are forced to live through the perception of others, or in silent agreement with their misconceptions, not only as pertains to us.

5

If this be a tale, to paraphrase Dickens, of two cities, arguably no man has ever found (or built) a stronger link between them than the Croatian literary giant Miroslav Krleža. Though he was a native of Zagreb, Belgrade (literary) folk have also staged a festival in his honour, just a few months ago.

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6

The elusive feeling that Krleža managed to express by virtue of a whole plethora of striking juxtapositions between historical turning points and rifts between epochs, describing in fact a universal rift between all epochs and historical interpretations of reality, defines perhaps best of all this defeat of the intellectual, moral and aesthetic norm which reduces us to mere mud from which we emerged in the first place - quite biblically while we’re at it - and which we tread upon. Still, the Pannonian mud, common to Zagreb and Belgrade alike, is not only what makes the grass grow, it is also a concept of the mind, or of esprit, as it were. For above it hover thoughts, visions, dreams, utopias, panaceas, apotheoses...In other words, concepts which under the law of nature – and of culture – germinate in the minds of all thinking people until that fatal point in time when a drought of intellect or an onslaught of pestilent utilitarian weeds make them worthless, obsolete and therefore expendable. Be that as it may, both the man and the city – or cities – remain quite alone in this common mud of ours; and mud, as mud would before it has fertilised the soil, is genuinely disinterested, or uninterested in any form of ballad, poem, novel, feeling or idea.

7

But Belgrade is coming round, despite the fair amount of dirt and surviving hate-mongers it still hosts, like any other city. The return of Krleža to Belgrade represents the reemergence of the city of Belgrade as one of those special loci where one can more easily grasp one’s own solitude, which, make no mistake, is a thing to be venerated.

After all, Miroslav Krleža is the very same man who, as a youth fleeing over the Austo-Hungarian border, on the 10th of May 1912, first set foot in Belgrade, living out a confused catharsis of ideological and spiritual transformations which was then the distinguishing characteristic of all men (especially of letters) hailing from the Southern Slav world.

Belgrade of that time represented an essential hope for a better future which was to follow, but to Krleža it also represented an existential need for which he saw no substitute. Anonymous and

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proscribed, Krleža was accused of being a spy and was as such arrested, deported, and left in the hands of the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Zemun. As a form of reaction, he wrote broken verse poems in which he announced the obliteration of his own mind. With the Great War afoot, Krleža would soon be sent to the Eastern Front in Galicia, ending his soldiering days in hospitals and hospices before eventually finding his way back to Zagreb, where towards the end of the war he published his first articles. Fate would have it that that very first meeting between Krleža and Belgrade would later receive significant if (by nationalists) oft-criticised recompense, and would figure as a cornerstone of what was for many decades known under the name of Yugoslav Literature.

8

Krleža returned to Belgrade over and over, both in body and in spirit. He returned to it in his dreams, quite literally, and certainly literarily; in his ‘Dream of the Opposite Bank’, written in the midst of the Second World War, he dreams of Zagreb and Belgrade as in fact being on the same bank of the Sava river and living together as one city, or a city within a city, inextricable and intertwined, a meeting point for both the living and the dead, the banished and the forgotten. In this respect the festival, though a mere cultural manifestation, stands as an expression of protest against the kind of despair whose consequences are clearly visible in this new order of life in the Balkans that has, at least over the least twenty-odd years, seen Evil get the better of Good...

9

Still, there is Hope, however dangerous, and Progress, if you choose to believe in such a thing. Still, despite geographical or tectonic shifting of dreams, just like the (by nationalists) often practised feat of re-tailoring and rewriting the Balkan history of misery, joy, elation and horror, any chance of proper remembrance, quite in the Proustian sense, has not been entirely forfeited. And Krleža, in Zagreb and Belgrade alike, is more than a memory.

That, at least, is what any self-respecting man of letters would like to believe is the Truth. Including myself.

- M I R O S L AV K R L E Ž A A true literary giant, this man dominated the cultural life of both Yugoslav states, the Kingdom (1918–1941) and the Republic (1945 until his death in 1981). Most consider him to be the greatest Croatian (and Yugoslav) writer of the 20th century, and it is true that his oeuvre sweeps across practically the whole century and literally all the genres. Throughout his career he made many enemies, but somehow never managed to provoke Tito to the point where he would disown him. In 1950 he founded the Zagreb-based Yugoslav Institute for Lexicography, which is still going strong (now

called Lexicographical Institute Miroslav Krleža) and may be regarded as the Croatian Version of Encyclopaedia Britannica. He won literary every award that could be won in former Yugoslavia, as well as innumerable international prizes, but was denied the Nobel in spite of being nominated several times. The fact that Ivo Andrić did win it for his Bridge on the Drina must have been a sore spot for this, by all accounts, very difficult man. Still, his, say, On the Edge of Reason or The Return of Filip Latinovicz come highly recommended and are available in English translations in all decent bookshops.

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FANCY A CARICATURE? A CARTOON? ANIMATION? Wanna give someone the coolest present?

C O N TA C T S T I V ’ S A G E N T K ATA

e-mail: katabarisic@poklonime.hr mob: + 385 98 485 560

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literary (arche)type

Five Regional Literary Masterpieces

By Igor Dakić & Marijan Grakalić

L

iterature is a thing that has no homeland other than its reader, which is why we choose to recommend only the authors who are, though for different reasons, truly international. Human rights activists, political dissidents, solitary cyclists, magic realists, hyperrealists – they’re all there. And we shall insist that you read them, not necessarily that you should tell others to read them. Let others have their romance novels, Dan Browns, tourist guides and suchlike, and know that you have become a member of a selective community, a community of those who can read and those who do not necessarily know, but who at least wish to know. Also, do not forget that as much as an author may seek to have an ever increasing audience, it is precisely the size of that audience that may get in the way of writing. It is for this reason that it is quite inappropriate to state whether a writer is famous or not, since his or her literary skill is a far more important thing, as posterity, not the present, has always had such a penchant for showing.

And one word of advice: do not leave the region, hinterland or coast, before getting your hands on these delicacies.

And, yes, English translations are available.

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Jelena Lengold

Andrej Nikolaidis

The winner of the prestigious European Award for Literature in 2011, ‘Fairground Magician’ is a polyphonic novel which uses many different narrative forms, ranging from what appears to be realism to the exploitation of many different genres, including the crime story, thriller and erotic prose.

Drawing both on characters from global literary history and symbols of modern culture, it is urban literature at its best, speaking above all about the yearnings and anxieties associated with existing in the modern world, juxtaposing the archetypal patterns of Anima and Animus which we are all extremely aware of, at least in those moments when we take a breather and find a moment quietly to reflect. ‘Fairground Magician’ may be written in a simple and seemingly effortless fashion, but that of course does not mean that all the issues and dilemmas addressed in the book are in any way deprived of the gravity and diversity without which life, let alone literature, would quite simply be unimaginable.

Andrej Nikolaidis most certainly represents an original phenomenon in the literature of the Balkans. A writer who speaks of himself as being formed by just one city, Sarajevo, also asserts that if he had stayed in that city, he would not have written a single book. Most certainly not a book the likes of which he writes now, living in Ulcinj, on the Montenegrin coast, boldly exploring the feelings of loneliness apparently sought – and needed – by many an author.

The novel ‘The Son’ is a laureate of the European Union Award for Literature; that said, ‘The Son’ has been widely lauded as one of the true literary masterpieces of the last five years, centring around the rather bizarre habits of the main character Konstantin, whose obsession takes the form of reading newspaper crime sections and books about serial killers. This is an excellent topical miniature of a dark world in which imagination and fantasy complement, supplement and compliment (we’re not sure which, but perhaps it doesn’t matter) everyday life.

Borislav Pekić

Aleksandar Hemon

Fairground Magician

How to Quiet a Vampire The novel in question is described as ‘a sotie’, what the OED defines as “a species of broad satirical farce”. It also a rare epistolary novel, as the Montenegrin born dissident Pekić essays to “associate each letter with one of the European philosophical schools and to title each of them after a masterpiece of human thought from a different epoch”.

At the heart of the matter we find Professor Konrad Rutkowski, a former SS and Gestapo officer, who travels to the Mediterranean with his wife in 1965 to enjoy his holiday, confront his past and account for his actions by writing a series of letters to his brotherin-law, a fellow historian. Faced with a moral dilemma, Rutkowski vehemently tries to present himself as a sort of a victim of history, placed in a predicament where it was impossible to pursue any other course of action.

What follows is an outrageous comedy of errors, as the protagonist is haunted by his own logic, reason, and the insoluble conundrums these pose for him, mainly embedded in his reminiscences of his superior officer, Standartenführer Heinrich Steinbrecher, and prisoner Adam Trpković, whom the locals now celebrate as a hero.

The Son

The Lazarus Project Penned by the Bosnian-born Hemon, this novel was a finalist for the 2008 American National Book Award, and the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award. It also won the inaugural Jan Michalski Prize for Literature in 2010. Hemon is also one of a handful of regional writers who has managed to switch to writing in English, which means that the novel in question is actually not a translation.

Drawing on his own partly Jewish background, Hemon opens his tale in 1908 in Chicago with a tragic demise of a 19-year-old Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe, Lazarus Averbuch, who is shot to death by one George Shippy, Chicago Chief of Police. One hundred years later, now in the 21st century, a young writer in Chicago, Brik, also from Eastern Europe, becomes obsessed with Lazarus’ story – what really happened, and why?

In order to understand Lazarus Averbuch, Brik and his friend Rora – a Sarajevo war photographer – retrace Lazarus’s path across Eastern Europe, through a history of pogroms and poverty, and through present-day realities of cheap mafiosi and even cheaper prostitutes, further augmented by the photographs that Rora takes on their journey.

Milorad Pavić

Dictionary of the Khazars This Lexicon Novel, Pavić’s first, does not have a plot in the conventional sense; rather, the central premise of the book (the mass religious conversion of the Khazar people) is based on an historical event generally dated to the last decades of the 8th century or the early 9th century when the Khazar royalty and nobility converted to Judaism. However, most of the characters and events described in the novel are entirely fictional, as is the culture ascribed to the Khazars in the book, which bears little resemblance to any literary or archaeological evidence. The novel takes the form of three cross-referenced miniencyclopaedias, each compiled from the sources of one of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism).

In his introduction to the work, Pavić wrote: “No chronology will be observed here, nor is one necessary. Hence each reader will put together the book for himself, as in a game of dominoes or cards, and, as with a mirror, he will get out of this dictionary as much as he puts into it, for you [...] cannot get more out of the truth than what you put into it.” The book comes in two different editions, one “Male” and one “Female”, which differ in only a critical passage in one single paragraph.

Dictionary of the Khazars is a masterpiece of postmodern literature, and a rare book in which the language, the turn of the phrase, is so unpredictable as to leave the reader constantly wanting more.

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good to know / curiosities

The Higgs Boson and the Balkan Mindset

A Slovenian Movie Director in Space We made passing mention of this story earlier in the year and still we’re waiting for the finished product to hit our screens. When Žiga Virc (who up until now only has ‘stunt coordinator’ on his film CV) released his trailer for ‘Houston, We’ve Got a Problem’, the whole world was caught up in the romantic notion of a Space Race once more: though that race is well and truly over.

The premise is that Herman Potočnik, the Slovenian who wrote ‘The Problem of Space Travel’ in 1929, had a number of technical documents which were uncovered by Josip Broz Tito in 1947.

What was in these documents might well be revealed once the documentary is released, but what is already known is that Potočnik’s book provided inspiration to one Arthur C. Clarke, who would go on to develop some of his ideas (the space station in ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ is clearly inspired by Potočnik’s work).

Allegedly Yugoslavia too had set about a creating a space programme, and was, also allegedly, so technologically close that in 1961 the Americans purchased the entirety of their research. Only two months after this supposed purchase President John F. Kennedy announced that America would soon be sending men on the moon.

However, whether the end-product, meaning the film, will be the real-deal is yet to be seen – indeed it could well turn out to be a mockumentary in the same vein as This is Spinal Tap. Still, even if that is the case, we may still look forward to a couple of pleasant hours spent in the cinema. Given that the documentary was touted around Cannes and other festivals, we shall give Virc the benefit of the doubt.

Keeping with the theme of outer (or inner) space, it has been announced that scientists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) have discovered a subatomic particle which may well be the Higgs Boson, or the God Particle.

While further examination of this new particle must be conducted in order to ascertain its exact qualities, the Director General of CERN, RolfDieter Heuer, was happy to state that he was “pretty confident that it’s a Higgs Boson”. The discovery is of great importance within the physics community as it will allow deeper understanding about the nature of reality and possibly solidify the status of the so called Standard Theory.

While, naturally, this is something which will benefit the global scientific community there are those, closer to home, who are as excited about these developments. Yugoslavia was one of the original 12 members of CERN when it was set up in 1954. They later pulled out in 1961 (which might have had something to do with Tito selling the country’s technology to America?), but since the break-up of the Socialist State the region’s involvement has begun again. Montenegro got there first, in October 1990 (odd since the country didn’t really exist at the time), when they became a nonmember state within CERN. Croatia and Slovenia joined in 1991 (with the latter indicating they have a wish to become a full member), Macedonia in April 2009, and only last January Serbia put pen to paper and joined the fold. It’s a team effort, after all, and it may yet be that this will lead to amazing new schools of physics.

This truly is an historic moment and the region’s scientists can claim their part; if the doomsdayists and detractors of the CERN effort are right – i.e., that such experiments can generate a black hole and erase this planet of ours from existence – they, our scientists, will finally get the opportunity to blow everything up. And we mean absolutely everything.

A Balkan War You’ve Never Heard of Ok, the Hundred Years’ War actually lasted for 116 years, but that affair ended over 550 years ago. For a war to last that long in the modern era would seem almost fantastical, yet that is very much the case when it comes to Montenegro and Japan. This all began as far back as 1905, at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. Montenegro, being a good Slavic nation, decided that she too would declare war against the Oriental foes of their Russian brethren. Of course Montenegro was too small, and too far away, to do much in the way of aiding the war effort, so they simply sent a cadre of volunteers along to the front to fight alongside the Russian Army. The war only lasted a year (although Russia and Japan would remain on poor terms for some decades) and diplomatic relations, such as they were, returned to normalcy: that is except for Montenegro. As can happen (trust us, it can happen) in such times of heightened excitement, Montenegro and Japan never settled their state of war and thus, since Montenegro essentially ceased to be a

country from 1918 with the formation of Yugoslavia, the war continued unabated until such time as Podgorica declared the re-emergence of Montenegro from the federalist entity.

It was at this time that the situation with Japan was brought to light so Tokyo, ever wise, decided to kill two birds with one stone: Akiko Yamanaka, Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister at the time, and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, were dispatched to recognise the fledgling state and also to sign a peace treaty with them.

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good to know / the scene

Game of Thrones: Season 3 Coming to Dubrovnik Croatia, Dubrovnik specifically, will get to play King’s Landing once more as filming for Season 3 of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones is set to begin shortly. Dubrovnik was chosen to replace Mdina in Malta following some accidental damage to the area by the filming crew, but it would seem that HBO and the cast are more than happy about the switch, enforced as it was.

Actor Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, described Dubrovnik, and Croatia, as “one of the most beautiful places I have ever

Lady Diana Movie Filming in Croatia Anglo-Australian actress Naomi Watts, known for her roles in Mulholland Drive and King Kong, was recently in Opatija, on the Adriatic coast, filming some scenes for her upcoming quasibiopic about the late Princess Diana. In the film, simply entitled ‘Diana’, Watts plays the titular part which explores the theory that it was Dr. Hasnat Khan who was her love interest rather than Dodi Fayed. The film will focus on the final two years of Diana’s life.

Based on Stephen Jeffrey’s screenplay, the film will star Naveen Andrews, Juliet Stevenson, and Douglas Hodge. Watts was fortunate

visited. The people, food, everything about this place is just gorgeous!” He was also quite taken with the Adriatic which he said was “the clearest sea he has ever seen.”

It can be expected that Dubrovnik will remain in HBO’s plans for the foreseeable future as there will be as many as seven seasons to the award winning show. Casting continues, and if you think you’d like to be a star of the silver screen, or at worst a face in the background, then why not take a chance? SEE Magazine will certainly be spending some of the holidays in the walled city. Drop us an e-mail, maybe we can help.

Jolie Back in the Land of Blood and Honey Angelina Jolie, famous for being just about every male’s ‘future wife’, has received the keys of the Bosnian capital as she attended the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival. Jolie has a connection with the city through her directorial debut ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’, which dealt with the 1992-95 war but was massacred by the critics. This is her second time in attendance at the film festival, and it is a place which she considers a home away from home: upon receiving her award from Sarajevo officials she said that her “heart is in this city”.

Jolie is hoping to draw more attention to artists from this region – and it’s working, after all, isn’t it, as we too are writing about her being there, aren’t we? This year there were more than 200 movies on display, with nine feature films from B&H, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, Austria, and Romania all vying for the top prize, The Heart of Sarajevo. Still, Jolie is not the only celebrity in attendance: Victoria Abril, star of the Macedonian film ‘The Woman Who Brushed off Her Tears’ and Director Todd Solondz, whose films are being screened in a retrospective, were also there.

to land the role and only did so when Jessica Chastain pulled out of the project. The movie is already heavily pre-sold around the world and will undoubtedly be well received, what with The King’s Speech having done well internationally, what with Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton dominating news cycles in 2011.

Watts said of her current role: “It is such an honour to be able to play this iconic role – Princess Diana was loved across the world, and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on-screen.” Oliver Hirschbiegel will direct: he is best remembered for his Germanlanguage film ‘Downfall’, which portrayed the final days of Adolf Hitler.

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good to know / summer vigilance

Want to Do Business in Croatia?

Get ahead of the Game.

W

the application will automatically decode all the data needed to pay what is due without the need for manual input.

Following excellent results from the use of PhotoPay, Računi.hr have gone into business with Erste bank to try and develop the same application for use in online banking. So far, trials in Croatia have been promising and PhotoPay looks set to enter the Hungarian, Slovenian, Austrian, and Polish markets, and then Europe and the World, as Damir Sabol tells us. He also believes that this new technology will be of immense benefit to banking customers, and envisions that their users might well one day number in the hundreds of millions, once the new application is fully rolled out. We’re inclined to agree. (www.racuni.hr)

e know that the summer should ordinarily be reserved for different kinds of pursuits, but we too are working, aren’t we, or this magazine would not be in your hands at this moment. Ergo – looking to invest? Looking to take over a company and need preliminary information? Want to save time whilst paying your bills? The following Croatian ict companies are doing cutting edge things, and do not intend to stop (growing) any time soon.

invest2 plus In2, founded in 1992, is the leading regional developer of complex information systems. Invest 2 plus Employs 190 people, with offices in Zagreb, as well as Varaždin, Pula, Koper, Orašje, Sarajevo, Belgrade, and Skopje. Their current clients include major players such as Zagrebačka banka and rba investment funds, as well as the Ministries of Health and Justice, Triglav and Erste Invest in Serbia, nlb and Generali in Slovenia, and Komercijalna banka in Macedonia.

- BICRO The Business Innovation Centre of Croatia (BICRO) was founded by the Croatian government in 1998, and ever since BICRO has stood as the institutional centrepiece of Croatia’s national innovation support programmes. Operating under the jurisdictional umbrella of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, in 2010 BICRO further expanded the scope of its duties as the local implementing body for the European programme EUREKA (the European network for market-oriented R&D aimed at fostering international partnerships to strengthen European business competitiveness through technological development), and has been the key local actor in the EEN - Enterprise Europe Network.

finessence In2 made their reputation on the back of excellent business practises. As Miroslav Ostroški of in2 says, “We’ve never had our sales or marketing division calling people to offer our service; we were being contacted because our clients knew that we were reliable”.

With in2 looking to expand into the European and American markets they have begun working with bicro, Croatia’s Innovation Agency, to create the Invest2 Plus solution, which is aimed at the financial sector with special emphasis on investment banking and asset management, utilising Market Risk and Value at Risk modules to predict the safety and viability of potential investments.

High rollers and money managers, pick up the phone. (www.in2.hr)

Finessence is a project which was started by the Croatian company EL Koncept d.o.o. in conjunction with the company bss of Zagreb, the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics, and two Slovenian companies, B2 and 3sigma. Edin Leho, the man heading the aforementioned near-consortium, defines it for us: “Finessence is an innovative, high-tech web application which is used to compile all relevant information for the assessment of credit risk and the financial solvency of various Croatian companies – all from a single database and accessible by means of a user-friendly interface.”

We can add that this application will enable the user to identify optimal business partners or services, thus saving time and improving risk management capabilities. Eureka too has recognised great potential in such an application photopay and is co-financing it together with the PhotoPay, an application from Računi. Croatian and Slovenian Governments. hr d.o.o., is set to revolutionise how The application will be available from bills are paid. With this all you need do September of this year, while an English is point your phone’s camera at the in- language version is due on the market in voice or packing slip, take a picture, and 2013. (www.el-koncept.hr)

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Support in managing innovations and internationalising business operations www.bicro.hr / www.een.hr

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good to know / technology

4G on the Go In March of this year two largest Croatian mobile operators, ht and vip, launched the fourth generation networks, better known under the acronym 4g. As the coverage extends on an ongoing basis – Croatia having become a member of a still relatively small community that can boast of having a 4g network in place – the question is simple: what does it all mean for the potential end user?

By Dylan Alexander

T

he Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (darpa) was founded in 1958 in direct response to the Russians launching Sputnik into outer space. Its continuing mission was to keep the United States ahead of their then Cold War rivals, insofar as the technological stakes of their conflict went. It has, over the course of its lifetime, been responsible for a wide variety of eventual products, directly or indirectly, which include the mq-1 Predator (so prevalent in the news), the f-117 Stealth Fighter, gps, Cloud computing, Google Maps, and the Internet. Now, how is this relevant to the article, I hear you ask? Well, darpa also developed the concept of 4g technology, all the way back in 2002.

In the modern world the notion of being online practically at all times is not an unusual one: laptops, tablets, smartphones – they all have in-built modems and are designed to pick up wi-fi signals or, by use of dongles or the 3g network, to operate independently of any need to be in proximity to one’s office or abode. 4g may well be a technology ahead of its time, but already the marketplace is adapting to its capabilities and possibilities.

So, what real advantages are there to having the 4g over the 3g network your current phone is likely using? Is there any real difference, insofar as the regular customer might notice? As we have just mentioned, the real benefits of 4G will not be realised for a number of years to come, but there are certainly advantages – already – for the savvier user.

Speed: Maverick and Goose (Top Gun) felt the need, the need for speed, and to this day the majority of consumers demand that their services be faster, faster, and faster. This in itself is a product of the market in which we live: we have become used to speed being a commodity to which we feel entitled, no less. When it comes to 4g, the speed of data transmission is noticeably improved (more on why later) – it’s a truism to suggest that nobody is happy when their phone stalls while processing some video or audio file, as it buffers the exceptional amount of information required. 4g can be as much as six to ten times faster than 3g.

For the travelling businessman, 4g means that his phone or laptop will now be more capable of videoconferencing: that’s not to say that 3g isn’t capable of conducting a stable Skype conversation but, as will become obvious, 4g is far more stable than its predecessor and far less likely to encounter associated hazards or stumbling blocks. One such hazard is the age-old problem of security.

Security: 4g is different from 3g in that it doesn’t use the same method of data transmission. With the 3g network, whatever it is that you are sending or receiving is reliant on the local infrastructure being of the necessary quality. When it comes to 4g, it might be fair to liken the 4g internet signal to that of a mobile phone (in the classic sense): if it has a signal then you have internet. Of course, 4g coverage is not entirely global as yet, but that is being rectified on an ongoing basis.

With 4g your device acts has its own transceiver: that is, it cuts out the middle man; or at least it reduces the number of middle men involved. It goes without saying that the fewer terminals data must travel through, the better. And trust us on this one, this is a darpa invention, designed originally for intelligence purposes. In the same way that the 4g network is faster than its 3g counterpart, so too is it that much more secure.

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4G TECHNO SPEAK‌ 1 Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) attains ultra high spectral efficiency by means of spatial processing, including multi-antenna and multi-user MIMO. 2 Frequency-domain-equalisation, for example multi-carrier modulation (OFDM, which stands for Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) in the downlink or single-carrier frequencydomain-equalisation (SC-FDE) in the uplink exploits the frequency selective channel property without complex equalisation.

3 Frequency-domain statistical multiplexing, for example OFDMA or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA, a.k.a. linearly pre-coded OFDMA, LP-OFDMA) in the uplink allows for a variable bit rate by assigning different subchannels to different users based on the channel conditions.

4 Turbo principle error-correcting codes minimise the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the destination of the data transmission.

5 Channel-dependent scheduling uses the time-varying channel – i.e., it utilises the available bandwidth in an optimal fashion so that a quality of service is achieved.

6 Link adaptation: adaptive modulation and error-correcting codes 7 Mobile-IP utilised for mobility

When it comes to 4G, the speed of data transmission is noticeably improved; it can be as much as six to ten times faster than 3G.

8 IP-based femtocells (home nodes connected to the fixed Internet broadband infrastructure). These allow signals to be boosted, especially in areas where there might not be such a strong signal available in the regular course of business. Ideal for remote or isolated working conditions.

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T- M O B I L E 4 G Extreme Mobile Net L 3 gig/month – 175 HRK Extreme Mobile Net XL 20 gig/month – 250 HRK *unlimited surfing till October 2012 on both tariffs https://www.hrvatskitelekom.hr/ http://www.businessincroatia.info/ medium_m_extreme_mn.html

Although coverage is for now somewhat limited, need we say that we too are quite pleased that we’ve got 4G around… at least in Croatia. the region

faster data services for browsing, downloads and video streaming, with low laSo what does that mean for people in tency. We in T-Mobile are investing in this region? Well, it might interest the new technologies to offer our customers technophilic amongst you to learn that cutting-edge telecommunications servCroatia is the first (and still the on- ices at the same time as they appear in ly) country in the region to join the 4g the most developed global markets; and family. T-Mobile, in conjunction with we are among the first in Europe and in Nokia Siemens Networks, has launched the region. Lte, being one of the innoCroatia’s first commercial Long-Term- vative technologies of today, is part of Evolution (lte) service: that’s 4g to me our strategy and will soon become the standard in mobile communications, esand you.

“Lte offers people a richer mobile pecially given the fact that in the next broadband experience with significantly few years only, the data traffic in mobile

networks will rapidly increase,” said Božidar Poldrugač, Chief Technology Officer with the firm. “With Nokia Siemens Networks’ global experience and strong combination of products and services, we are confident our product will meet all expectations.”

And expectations there must surely be: 3g networks traditionally offered data tariffs in the region of 500 megabytes and 1 gigabyte; T-Mobile put all of that in the shade with their two new tariffs – Extreme Mobile Net L which allows 3 gigabytes of data traffic per month (for the sum of 175 Kuna or approximately 23 Euros), and Extreme Mobile Net XL which offers a monstrous amount of 20 gigabytes of data traffic for the paltry sum of 250 Kuna (or roughly 33 Euros). Rather generously it must be said, the company is also allowing unlimited surfing on both tariffs until the beginning of October as part of their launch promotion.

As more and more people tend to work from home (all ye programmers, web-designers, photographers, seasoned business travellers and conference-call veterans...), and away from home – even, say, when they are on holiday in the ‘wild’ of the Adriatic – the need to get connected in a faster, more reliable and more secure way cannot be underscored enough. Although coverage is for now limited to the four largest urban centres – Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek – need we say that we too are quite pleased that we’ve got 4g around… at least in Croatia.

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good stuff / health promo

Dietpharm’s Summer Pharmacy With the summer in full swing there comes a time for travel, leisure and outdoor activities. We find ourselves on the move and exposed to the sun, viral infections and all manner of afflictions threatening to make your holiday less pleasant or even cut it short. That said, you had better alight on the beach or sightseeing tour prepared, hadn’t you?

Quick Relief for sore feet If your feet are tired, aching or swollen – especially after a long sightseeing day – and if you are experiencing circulationrelated problems, Veneton Gel will provide quick relief. The formula contains wild chestnut, vine and buckwheat extracts, complemented with lemon balm and menthol essential oils.

Rehydrate to health When afflicted by intestinal viral diseases (primarily manifest in vomiting and diarrhoea), Rehidromiks, an orally applied solution, will help you cope with dehydration and allow you to recoup those lost electrolytes.

Mosquito trouble no more Plenty of insects around, especially in the summer months – and especially mosquitoes, mean little pests. If bitten, rub in the Čajevac eterično ulje (Tea Tree Essential Oil) on the afflicted area to alleviate the proverbial itch.

Fight those allergies When it comes to sun allergies, Kalcij + C (Calcium + C) will provide you with an optimal dose of calcium and vitamin C necessary to protect your organism from the onslaught of allergies. These effervescent tablets can be used either as a preventative as well as after the allergy has already manifested itself.

Safe tanning If you are after that bronze tan, as you probably are, Betadene capsules will help protect your skin from the sun’s harmful effects, prevent and relieve the rash caused by UV beams, all courtesy of natural carotenoides derived from algae, with the addition of vitamins C and E.

Lollipops for the young ones There isn’t a child in the world that doesn’t love lollipops! Lizzy Centravit are multivitamin lollipops intended to serve as a daily supplement for vitamins and minerals, while Lizzy Tusol helps ease coughs and soreness of the throat. Here they come to save the day!

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good stuff / staying fit

I Want to Ride My Bicycle As we swap the sizzling asphalt for seaside beaches and country retreats, shifting the pace of our every day lives into a lower summer gear, we may very well ponder on means of transport as not being simply something to get us from point A to point B. In this instance, destination is not of importance but rather the experience, and it is in that spirit that we give you these sweet rides – something for every terrain. On your marks, get set, go!

Again.ent, has anything to say in the matter.

Road bike

Cannondale Supersix Ultegra DI2 This bicycle is the true choice for the real sportsman, who might enjoy racing, or for that matter anyone who so chooses to cycle as a means of keeping fit. This full-blooded racer from Cannondale is heir to the tradition of bicycles which carried Team Liquigas-Cannondale to victories in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta. So, if you’re aiming to average between 50 and 100 kilometres per session, then this is surely the bike for you. The bike itself is made with the maximum use of carbon fibre, i.e., it is extremely light: that’s the frame, fork, crank, and headset. It comes equipped with customised Shimano derailleurs, chain, cog set and shifter, Mavic Ksyrium rims, Schwalbe tires…in other words, it comes with everything you need for top performance. Pedals are not included, as is the custom with the very best of sports bikes, so we recommend you take your pick from the Speedplay range.

City bike

Bella Ciao Corvo Citta For our choice of city bike we simply had to plump for style over utility. And, when it comes to style, it is difficult to find fault with the tastes of the Italians: clothing, cars, motorcycles, the humble espresso maker, and of course bicycles. So, we present you with an elegant trend setter, a retro looking city bike which will romance you all the way from its name, pastel colour frame finish, classic style khaki leather seat and handle grips, to a practical (if somewhat cumbersome looking) chain cover which is designed to prevent your attire from being dirtied with grease.

The ‘Urban Raven’ is one of those bicycles which will get you to your espresso at any café amidst any pedestrian zone in a typical Italian fashion. This city bike comes in both uomo and donna versions, and either as a fixie or with Shimano Nexus 3 speed internal hub gear shift. Just beware of thieves, or, to reminisce about Vittorio de Sicca’s 1948 film noir classic, ‘Ladri di biciclette!’

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- M U S T- D O R O U T E S Postojna & Notranjska Bike Park, Slovenia Parenzana, Istria, Croatia Stari Grad - Vrboska, Island of Hvar, Croatia Travnik - Vlašić, Vlašić mountain, B&H Midžor - The Peak of Serbia, Stara planina National Park, Serbia Durmitor Circular MTB route, Montenegro

Mountain bike

Gary Fisher 29er Sport Wahoo

When it comes to mountain bikes we need not go any further than ‘The Man’ himself, Gary Fisher. Fisher is considered to be one of the inventors of the mountain bike, although while he was somewhat of an innovator and sportsman he was not quite so successful in the business world. He was forced to sell his company to Trek Bicycles, and now they are marketed as The Gary Fisher Collection. Nevertheless, this line of bicycles offers both quality and choice; with that in mind, we have decided to choose an entry level model, the 29er Sport Wahoo. The model in question is a versatile cross country and/or trail rider bicycle, and utilises such patented features as a G2 geometry frame and offset forks which give it superb control over rough terrain. It has an aluminium frame, disc brakes, and front suspension, making it perfect for a true off-road experience. With the Gary Fisher frame and customised components made by Shimano, Bontrager, and Sram, there is not much more that we can say. This bike speaks for itself.

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to do list Tom Novy in Split

Juan Carlos Ferrero in Umag

Axel Rose in Split

July 7th - September 1st

July 14th

July 15th

Summer at Gardoš

Croatia Open Umag

Šerbedžija & Stefanovski

Gardoš Tower, Zemun, Belgrade Open air festival of dance, music, theatre and cabaret

ATP Arena,Umag (17h, 20h) / Semi-finals of the oldest & most prestigious tennis tournament in Croatia

Mali Brijun, Brijuni (20:15h) / An actor turned poet and a world class guitarist - memorable

July 12th -July 15th

July 14th

July 15th-July 16th

Life Celebration Fest

Estelle

Croatia Open Umag

Fort Punta Christo, Štinjan, Pula / Psy trance festival: share positive energy, love, light...

ATP Dance Arena, Umag (23h) / English Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter

ATP Stadium, Umag (20h) / The semis and the final, plus concerts, events...

July 12th -July 16th

July 14th

July 16th

Electric Elephant

Hed Kandi

Arcadi Volodos

The Garden Tisno, Murter / Electronic music festival and boat parties

Imperium, Split (22h) / Enjoy the romantic species of disco-box house music

Rectors Palace, Dubrovnik (21:30h) / Witness the supreme technical mastery of the piano

July 13th

July 14th - July 28th

July 17th

Tom Novy

Pula Film Festival

Guns ‘N’ Roses

Imperium, Split (22h) / German house star doing his magic

Arena and other venues, Pula / The region’s oldest running film festival

Spaladium Arena, Split (20h) / Take me down to the Paradise City!

July 14th

July 15th

July 19th

Chris Liebing

Sven Vath

Laurent Garnier

Kupari beach, Dubrovnik (23h) / Watch out for your ear drums Minimal Techno

Noah Beach bar, Novalja (20h) / Electronic music icon at Pag, party on!

Hartera Festival, Rijeka (20h) / The man with the red face

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Dreadzone in Pula

Carl Cox in Zrće

The Shapeshifters in Zrće

July 20th

July 21st - July 22nd

July 25th

Asian Dub Foundation

Fašinada

Željezničar vs. Maribor

Hartera, Rijeka (20h) / The legends of dub music

Kotor / Sailing regatta around the Bay of Kotor

Grbavica Stadium, Sarajevo (20:30h) / UEFA Champions League qualifier B&H vs SLO

July 20th

July 23rd

July 26th

Cosmic Gate

Valter defends Sarajevo

Axwell

Papaya, Zrće (20h) / A blast from the trance past

Kinoteka BiH, Sarajevo (19h) / A WW II Yugoslav Resistance Movement film classic

Revelin Club, Dubrovnik (22h) / Swedish house at it’s best.

Do not even think of not being there.

July 20th

July 24th

July 26th - August 18th

Gramophonedzie

Adam Nussbaum Trio

Film Under The Stars

Kalypso, Zrće (23h) / The very best of the regional house scene

Lighthouse Club, Vodnjan (21h) / A special treat for all Jazz fans

Ljubljana Castle / Open air cinema featuring the most acclaimed titles

July 21st

July 24th

July 27th

10th Seasplash Festival

Night of Sephardic Cuisine

The Shapeshifters

Fort Punta Christo, Štinjan, Pula / Open air - music & lifestyle festival via reggae, dub, breakbeat...

Hebrew Museum, Sarajevo / Culinary event dedicated to the cuisine of Spanish Jews

Papaya, Zrće (20h) / Electronic duo going strong

July 21st

July 25th - August 15th

July 26th

Carl Cox

BELEF

Valkane Beach Fest

Zrće Beach, Pag Island (21h) / One of the all-time techno greats

Kalemegdan Fortress, Belgrade / Open air festival featuring more than 300 modern artists & performers

Valkane Beach, Pula / Electronic music festival featuring Adam Beyer, Sister Bliss, Alex Gaudino...

© Antonio Pagano

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Richie Hawtin in Novalja

Boy George in Hvar

Wattican Punk Ballet in Ljubljana

July 27th

July 30th

August 3rd - August 5th

Sevdah with Sejo Pitić

Luca Ciarla Quartet

Montenegro Open

Sevdah Art House, Sarajevo (20h) / Sevdah concert, traditional Bosnian love songs

Kino Kriterion, Sarajevo (21h) / Italian Jazz quartet, irresistible Mediterranean sounds with a Gypsy touch

Tivat / International sailing championship

July 12th -July 15th

July 30th - September 2nd

August 3rd

Richie Hawtin

Trnfest

Freemasons

Noah Beach Bar, Novalja (20h) / One of the top three tech-house DJs in the world

KUD France Prešern, Ljubljana / 21st International Fine Arts Festival

Papaya, Zrće (20h) / English house duo getting down and dirty

July 28th

July 31st

August 3rd

Bačvice Beach Festival

Sevdah night

Wattican Punk Ballet

Bačvice, Split / Westbam and regional DJs - a taste of the Love Parade on Baće

City Hall Stage, Sarajevo / Closing event of the Baščaršija Nights

KUD France Prešern, Ljubljana (20h) / Hungarian punk band makes some noise

July 29th

August 2nd

August 4th - August 10th

Boy George

Fredde le Grand

Starigrad Film Festival

Carpe Diem, Hvar (20h) / Once a singer now a DJ - come and hear what he has to play

Revelin Club, Dubrovnik (22h) / Dutch superstar DJ setting Dubrovnik ablaze

Paklenica National Park / Music film festival set in spectacular surroundings

July 29th

August 2nd

August 6th - August 12th

Chillout Jazz Night

Red Cabaret

Dragačevo Brass Band Fest

Boris Smoje, Sarajevo (20:30h) / Jazz concert for the easy going folk

KUD France Prešern, Ljubljana (21h) / Cabaret performance and burlesque show

Guča village / The largest European festival of folk trumpeters and brass bands

Summer 2012 97

The Roots in Šibenik

Tom Jones in Pula

Red Hot Chili Peppers in Zagreb

August 7th - August 10th

August 13th - August 18th

August 26th

Terraneo Festival

Jazzinty Festival

Mosquito Sunday

Šibenik / Parov Stellar, Thievery Corporation, The Roots and many more

Novo Mesto, Croatia / Lower Carniola Jazz festival

St. Bartholomew Church, Ljubljana / Traditional arts and crafts market and music performances

August 8th

August 14th

August 29th

Calisto String Quartet

Tom Jones

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Kongresni Trg, Ljubljana (21h) / Open air classical and film music concert

Arena, Pula (20h) / The legend at work

Hypodrome, Zagreb (20h) / Concert highlight of this summer, and of the last few, for that matter.

August 9th

August 20th

August 30th

Ning & Hoppe

Jesus Christ Superstar

Outlook Festival

Rectors Palace, Dubrovnik (21:30) / Violin and piano concert

Križanke Summer Theatre, Ljubljana / Musical by Bronowski Productions (UK)

Fort Punta Christo, Štinjan, Pula / Electronic beats at their best

August 10th

August 23th - September 2nd

August 30th - September 1st

Los Romeros

Young Lions

Nights in Old Town

Rectors Palace, Dubrovnik (21:30h) / Classical and flamenco guitar concert

Old Powerplant and other venues, Ljubljana / International theatre and dance festival

Old city centre, Ljubljana / Festival of open air concerts concluding the Ljubljana summer event season

August 11th

August 24th - September 1st

September 1st

Bob Sinclair

Špancirfest

Belgrade Foam Fest

Aurora Club, Primošten (22h) / French club music superstar

Varaždin / Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Leningrad Cowboys, etc…

Belgrade Arena / International DJs, foam and party all night

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good stuff / staying fit

Destinations Map Ljubljana

Otočec Zagreb

Portorož Motovun

Belgrade

Zrće

Kornati

Sarajevo

Split

Guča Mostar Mljet

Dubrovnik

Kotor

Cetinje Podgorica Skoplje

Ada Bojana Ohrid

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