The curvy road brought us to one of Serbia’s most sacred sites, UNESCO-listed Studenica Monastery. It was established in 1196 on the slopes of Mt. Radočelo near Studenica River by the founder of the Serbian empire (and future saint) Stefan Nemanja and developed by his sons Vukan...
Novi Pazar, town, southwestern Serbia. It lies in the Raška River valley, in a rough and hilly country near the site of Stari Ras, which was the capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. The town was rebuilt by the Ottoman Turks after their conquest of the...
This Serbian Orthodox Monastery was built in 1170 on a hill surrounded by woods above the city of Novi Pazar. It was commissioned by Stefan Nemanja, who dedicated this church to St. George for letting him out of the dungeon cave, in which his brothers put him. The monastery represents the...
The Sopoćani Monastery, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is an endowment of Serbian king Stefan Uroš I (1243-1276). The monastery was built around the year 1260 near the source of the river Raška, 17 kilometers from the town of Novi Pazar. The church has a form of the Romanesque three-nave...
We stayed overnight below Gradina hill near the city of Novi Pazar. In the morning we walked the steep trail (950 m) to the Stari Ras, a 12th-century fortress. It was built there to defend the capital city of the first Serbian state on the accession of the Nemanjić dynasty in 1159. The...
On the way to Stari Ras we have crossed the largest mountain range in Serbia Kopaonik (162 km / 5 hours). Its highest peak is Pančić’s peak that is 2,017 meters above sea level. One section of the mountain is a protected zone of the National Park Kopaonik (car’s eco-fee 700 RSD)...
The narrow road brought us to The Đavolja Varoš (Devil’s Town) situated on the south slopes of Mt. Radan, on the right bank of the Tuta reka (Yellow River). Đavolja Varoš is a unique example of the action of erosion. It is a complex of stone pyramids (entrance 350 RSD) located in...
It was not easy to find the “narrow hole” in the metal guardrail to be able to take a dusty road to Serbia’s Paprika Paradise. The small Serbian village is the self-proclaimed paprika capital of the world, and every autumn it turns a deep shade of crimson. What makes Donja Lokošnica...
We spent day and night at the birthplace of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. City, located in southeastern Serbia, on the Nišava River, probably succeeded a Celtic settlement and was mentioned as an important place in the 2nd century BC by Ptolemy, in his Guide to Geography. Niš...
We arrived late in the afternoon at a beautiful archaeological site Gamzigrad, with the ruins of the Palace of Galerius, near the town of Zajecar in eastern Serbia. In the middle of fields is the fortified compound and memorial complex dating back to the late Roman period. Commissioned by...