Get to know Serbia- Smederevo Fortress

ENG: Welcome to the another article dedicated to my country – Serbia.  This way I want to share with you all the beauties of my country and get to know it better. A large number of my readers are foreigners, who have heard of Serbia but they do not home much this country has to offer. Therefore, these series of articles will introduce to you Serbia at its best! For this post, I choose a very dear destination for me, and one of the destinations I have visited recently- Smederevo.

Smederevo is city in Central Serbia, near Belgrade. This city lies on the banks of Danube River and it is one of the most important historical sites in Serbia.  Smederevo was capital of medieval Serbia during 15^th century (from 1428 until 1459) and the ruler of Smederevo and Serbia at that time was Despot Djuradj Brankovic. During his rule, he built one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval fortresses in Serbia- Smederevo Fortress.

The fortress of Smederevo is built at the place where rivers Jezava and Danube meet. Therefore, this fortress was built as a defensive fortress but also as a home to the Royal Family. The building started in 1428 and lasted for 2 years until 1430. The chief architect was the Byzantine, Kantakuzen, the brother of the princess Irina (Despot’s wife). This fortress is unique in medieval Serbian architecture and was inspired by Constantinople.  The fortress has an area of 14,5 hectares and it is considered to be one of the biggest fortresses in Europe. The fortress has a triangle shape. In the north top of the triangle, you can see the “ Small Town“ and the rest of the area is known and “The Great Town“.

The city of Smederevo was attacked several times by Ottoman Empire ( in 1439, 1453, 1456, 1459). The town resisted and the men fought for few decades, but at the end, in 1459, they surrendered without fight. This meant the end of the last Serbian medieval state. After this capitulation, Serbia was officially under the rule of Ottoman Empire for than three centuries.

As you can see, this fortress was an important site for Serbian people. This fortress stands here as a reminder of the resistance of Serbian people. Today, this is one of the most visited fortresses in Serbia and one of the most visited tourist attractions in Smederevo. During summer, the fortress revives as many events, concerts and theater performances are held here.

I hope you enjoyed this short story of one of the greatest Serbian fortresses. The next post dedicated to Serbia will show you little bit more about natural beauties of Serbia. So, until the next one, enjoy, travel and visit Serbia.

SRB: Dobrodošli! Evo još jednog posta u seriji tekstova posvećenih Srbiji i turističkim potencijalima naše zemlje. Moja prva destinacija je jedna od meni omiljenih i jedna od poslednjih koje sam posetila. Danas vam pišem o Smederevu, odnosno Smederevskoj tvrđavi.

Smederevska tvrđava je jedna od najznačajnijh u srpskoj istoriji. Ovo je mesto na kome je nestala srpska srednjevekovna država i mesto na kome su Srbi dali svoj poslednji atom snage za odbranu zemlje od Otomanske imperije. Smederevka tvrđava sagradjena je na ušću reke Jezave u Dunav, na strateškom položaju idealnom za odbranu zemlje, okružena Dunavom i Ugarskom. Vladar Srbije u 15. veku, bio je despot Đurađ Branković, koji je srpsku prestonicu iz Beograda premestio u Smederevo. Izgradnja tvrđave započela je 1428. godine i trajala je 2 godine, do 1430. godine. Glavni arhitekta izgradnje tvrđave bio je Vizantinac, Kantakuzen, brat žene despota Djurdja, Irine.  Upravo iz tog razloga, izgled tvrđave bio je inspirisan Konstantinopoljem, i predstavlja jedinsten primer srpske srednjevekovne arhitekture.

Površina tvrđave je 14,5 hektara zajedno sa kulama koje okružuju utvrđenje. Tvrđava je izgrađena kao odbrambena, vodena, tvrđava ali i kao dom vladarske porodice. Osnova tvrđave je u obliku trogla. U severnom temenu trougla, nalazi se takozvani ” mali grad” do se ostatak naziva “velikim gradom”.

Grad je bi pod opsadom Turaka u više navrata ( od 1439. do 1459. gdine). Dve decenije, srpska vojska se opirala napadima i čuvala svoje granice ali je na kraju morala da preda grad Turcima, bez borbe, 1459. godine. Ovaj događaj se smatra krajem srpske srednjevekovne države i zvanični početak Turske okupacije srpskim narodom.

Danas, Smederevska tvrđava procveta tokom leta, kada je centar dešavanja u gradu. U tvrđavi se održava veliki broj koncerata, manifestacija i pozorišnih predstava. Najpoznatij događaj je svakako Smederevska jesen.

Nadam se da ste uživali u ovoj kratkoj priči i fotografijama iz Smedereva. Sledećeg puta, donosim vam priče sa veće nadmorske visine i predstavljam vam prirodne lepote naše zemlje.

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Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta

ENG: Hi gourmands! How are you today? It’s been a while since I’ve written the last recipe on my blog. Last articles where completely dedicated to traveling, hotels and restaurants, but now it’s to for all of us to cook something by ourselves. You know that I love fast, “easy to make ” recipes but that give as a result an amazing, delicious dish. I love cooking and baking for my family and friends. I love making them happy and at the same time, I’m also making myself happy. So, today, I wanted to share with you one of the favorite dishes of me and my family- it’s creamy chicken and mushroom pasta.

Preparation time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500 g of pasta ( penne, tagliatelle, tortiglioni, farfale, maccheroni of fusilli which I have used)
• 1/2 kg of boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 kg of mushrooms
• sour cream
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic
• 1 onion
• 3 table spoons of flour
• Parmesan ( cooking and serving)
• Oregano

Preparation:

Firstly, in a pot add water, some salt and olive oil. When the water starts to boil, add pasta in and let it cook for  approximately 7 minutes. Than,  put some olive oil in the pan and wait until it get hot. When it is hot, put onion , garlic and chicken in to fry. When it’s almost done, add mushrooms, and cook it until the water evaporates. After that, add 3 spoons of flour to get more ticker sauce.  When it’s all done, add sour cream and Parmesan. When the Parmesan is melted, your sauce is done! For the end add oregano, pepper and salt and some other aromatic herbs if you want.  While you were cooking you’re sauce, your pasted has cooked and you can mix it with the sauce.  Your lunch or dinner is now done and you can serve it to your friend or family. Put pasta on the plate and add some more Parmesan on the top of it.

Enjoy!

SRB: Zdravo dragi moji gurmani! Kako ste danas? Odavno nisam sa vama podelila neki novi recept. Poslednji članci su bili u potpunosti posvećeni putovanjima, hotelima, restoranima, a sada je vreme da nešto i sami skuvamo. Znate da volim brze recepte koji se lako spremaju ali koji imaju kao rezultat fantastično, ukusno jelo. Volim da kuvam za svoju porodicu i prijatelje. Tako ih činim srećnim ali u isto vreme i sebe učinim srećnom ukoliko se njima dopada moj novi recept. Tako sam danas rešila da sa vama podelim jedan od mojih omiljenih recepata i jedno od omiljenih jela moje porodice- pasta sa piletinom i pečurkama.

Vreme pripreme: 30-35 minuta

Sastojci:

• 500 g paste ( pene, taljatele, tortiljoni, farfale, makarone, ili fusile koje sam koristila i ja)
• 1/2 kg pilećih grudi bez kostiju
• 1/2 kg šampinjona
• pavlaka za kuvanje
• maslinovo ulje
• so
• biber
• beli luk
• crni luk
• Parmezan
• 3 kašike brašna
• origano

Priprema:

Pre svega, sipajte vodu u šerpu i dodajte malo soli i ulja. Kada voda proključa dodajte pastu da se kuva i kuvajte je otprilike 7 minuta. Dok se pasta kuva, na drugoj ringli stavite tiganj sa ulja da se zagreje. Kada se zagreje, stavite crni i beli luk da se proprže. Nakon toga dodajte i piletinu. Ispržite piletinu i nakon toga dodajte pečurke. Pečurke će pustiti dosta vode, tako da treba da kuvajte ovaj sos dok voda ne ispari. Kada bude pri kraju dodajte 3 kašike brašna, pavlaku za kuvanje i promešajte. Nakon toga, dodajte i izrendan parmezan. Kada se parmezan stopi sa sosom, vas sos je spreman. Dodajte za kraj origano, so i biber i još neko aromatično bilje ukoliko to želite.  Dok ste spremali sos i pasta se skuvala tako da ih  sada možete pomešati. Vaš ručak ili večera su spremni i možete ga poslužiti svojim prijateljima ili porodici. Sipajte pastu na tanjir i za kraj izrendajte jos malo svežeg parmezana na vrh.

Uživajte!

Inspiration for this dish:

Evia- Neglected Paradise

ENG: Welcome to Evia, the second largest island in Greece. This island is located in  Aegean Sea. Evia or Euboea, is relatively new travel destination considering that tourism has started to develop here a decade ago.

On the  area of 3684 square meters, on the Evia island, you can find two main tourist centers, Pefki and Edipsos. The administrative, cultural, political and financial center of the island is Chalcis. The island of Evia has around 200 000 residents during the year, but during the summer, that number  is significantly increasing, because of large number of tourists.

The nature of this island is breathtaking! On the north part of the island there are mountains with the highest peak of the island, Dirfis, 1743 menters high. On the south, there is  more flat land. Main part of the locals is working on their fields full of olive trees and producing home made olive oil. Olive oil from Evia, is considered to be one of the best in Greece.

How to get here? Well, if you are travelling by plain, you can land at the airport in Athens, and than take a car to get t the island. When you are coming here by car, you will get to the port of Glifa. From Glifa, there are ferries every 30 minute to the small port of Agiokambos, at Evia island. When you get to this port, you will ride 10 more minutes to Edipsos or 20 mnutes to Pefki. The first ferry runs at 6 o’clock in the morning and the last one at 8 o’clock in the evening.

As you already know, there are two main tourist centers in Evia. They have many similarities, but they are essentially completely different. Pefki is typical Greek summer resort with hotels, villas, beaches, cafes and restaurants and Edipsos is more like a small spa center on the shores of the Aegean Sea. Pefki has more beaches and it is more adapted for tourists, but Edipsos is world famous spa. Celebrities and historical figures like Aristotle, Maria Kalas, Greta Garbo, Marco Aurelius, Aristotle Onazis, Winston Churchill spend some time here, relaxing and recovering. The water temperature in Edipsos spas is between 30 and 70 degrees Celsius.

You are probably wondering why is this paradise neglected and not that popular like the other Greek islands? Me, too! This island have to offer so much to tourists, but considering that that tourism is still developing here, I believe it will be one of the most visited island in Greek in  few years time. Here, you have breathtaking nature, beautiful beaches, spa by the sea, delicious Greek cuisine, hotels and restaurants. So, I’m suggesting you to visit it, before it becomes hot spot for tourists all around the world.

SRB: Dobrodošli na Eviu, drugo ostrvo po veličini u Grčkoj. Ovo ostrvo je smešteno u Egejskom moru. Evia ili Eubeja, je relativno mlada turistička destinacija uzimajući u obzir da je turizam na ostrvu počeo da se razvija tokom prošle decenije.

Na prostoru od 3684 metara kvadratnih, nalaze se dva velika turistička centra- Pefki i Edipsos. Administrativni, kulturni, finansijski i politički centar ostrva je Halkida. Na ostrvu tokom godine živi oko 200 000 stanovnika dok se tokom letnje sezone broj ljudi na ostrvu znatno povećava zbog veliko broja turista.

Priroda ovog ostrva će vas ostaviti bez daha. Na severu ostrvu, prostiru se planinski venci i među njima je i najveći vrh ostrva, Dirfis, sa visinom od 1743 metara. Južni deo ostrva je dosta pitomije, sa više ravnica i maslinjaka. Najveći deo stanovništva ostrva se bavi poljoprivredom, uzgojom maslina i proizvodnjom maslinovog ulja. Maslinovo ulje proizvedeno na Eviji, smatra se jednim od najboljih u Grčkoj.

Kako doći do ostrva? Ukoliko dolazite avionom, najbliži aerodrom se nalazi u Atini, odakle morate automobilom dalje do ostrva. Najveći broj turista iz Srbije, do Evie dolazi autobusom ili automobilom. Ukoliko putujete drumom, pratićete autoput E-75, sve do luke Glifa. Odatle svakih pola sata polazi trajekt to Agioskambos luke na ostrvu. Prvi trajet polazi u 6  a poslenji u 20 časova. Vožnja do ostrva traje oko pola sata odakle vam posle treba još 10-tak minuta do Edipsosa i 20 minuta  do Pefkia.

Kao što več znate, dva najznačajnija turistička centra su Edipsos i Pefki. Iako imaju dosta sličnosti, kao i sva druga turistička mesta u Grčkoj, ova dva mesta se dosta razlikuju. Pefki je više tradicionaln turističko mesto, sa prelepim plažama, restoranima i kafeima, dok je Edipsos pored svega toga i banja na obali Egejskog mora. Poznate i istorijske ličnosti poput Aristotela, Marije Kalas, Grete Garbo, Marka Aurelija, Aristotela Onazisa, Vinston Čerčila i srpskog kralja Petra I Karađorđevića, posećivali su ovo mesto i uživali u svim blagodetima blata i mineralnih voda. Temperatura mineralnih voda u Edipsosu je između 30 i 70 stepni.

Sada se verovatno pitate, zašto je ovaj raj zanemaren i nije toliko popularan kao ostala ostrva Grčke? Iskreno, i ja takođe! Ovo ostrvo ima toliko toga da ponudi turistima, ali uzimajući u obzir da se turizam ovde tek razvija, ne sumnjam da će u narednim godinama postati jedno od najposećenijih ostrva Grčke. Ovde, možete pronaći, neverovatne predele, čist vazduh, prelepe plaže, banju kraj mora, fenomenalnu Grčku kuhinju, restorane, kafee i hotele- sve što je potrebno za savršen odmar kraj Egeja. Zato vam preporučujem da ga što pre posetite, dok još uvek ne postane pretrpan turistima iz celog sveta.

Photo by: Jasna & Miloš Petrović