Thursday, 09 February 2012

Featured Destination


Ten Plus Reasons to Love Izmir

Aquamarine sea, bone white ruins, the smell of tomato sauce in the air and laundry drying in the sun. Antique temples, horse-drawn carriages. A glass tulip, full of tea, in front of an open... Full Story



Serbia
Sweating out Social Tensions in Belgrade: Yugo Yoga Flexes Mind and Muscle

It’s a humid 38-degree day in Belgrade, and somehow I’ve found my way onto a makeshift stage behind the Museum of Yugoslav History. As a guest at one of the final rehearsals of Performance Klub Fiskulturnik’s eight-day residency at the museum,... Full Story


Macedonia
The Balkans for Armchair Travellers. The Best Books on the Region in English

While recently travellers are more and more obsessed with literary trips - popular, following The DaVinci Code, or more sophisticated, remaking Byron's journey around Europe, - the Balkans stood away from this trend.
Full Story


Albania
Albania's Sexual Revolution Overpowers Virginity Cult

Altin has come home to find a virgin. Tall, good-looking and in his thirties, he is back from Britain where he has worked for more than a decade, seeking an appropriate girl to marry. But three weeks into his stay at his hometown of Korce in... Full Story


Bosnia and Herzegovina
Balkans' Heroes: Bosnia's Papak

Oh, look at that papak! is a phrase quite often heard in Sarajevo. It appears to be very well integrated into the Sarajevo vocabulary. But who is ‘papak’? Considering that in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian the word papak means a hoof (as in a pig’s... Full Story


Turkey
A Blue Cruise in Turkey's Magic Waters

Poet Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu went on a blue cruise in the 1950s with his literary colleagues, writing afterwards in his account: “The blue cruise is a fairy tale, untold, unwritten, unillustrated…” Full Story


Bulgaria
Innocent as a Barbarian, Nostalgic for a Lost World

The creator of DaVinci's sculpture in front of Fiumicino airport is Bulgaria's Assen Peikov Full Story


Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Three is a Magic Number in Sarajevo

While attending the Sarajevo Film Festival this July, for an afternoon, I escaped the red-carpet razzle-dazzle, the glamorous cocktail parties, and the sitting in front of the silver screen in dark cinema halls, which transported me to other... Full Story


Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s New Wine Culture: LEGO Katarzyna

A Pole, a Corsican, a pair of twins, erotic French and wines with foreign-language names – a visit to the Bulgarian wine cellar Katarzyna goes down in memory as a trip to a different country. Or to a new kind of Bulgaria. Either way, the... Full Story


Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s Most Contested Monastery: Saint Ivan of Rila

The Rila Monastery keeps contradictory relics behind its magically painted walls

A gate with large antlers hanging on it and beyond it – a quiet courtyard, fenced in by filigree-decorated walls, even more surprising with their colours and... Full Story




Epicure


Turkey
Izmir Gourmet: Food is in the Air

Food is literally everywhere in Izmir.

The first stop a traveller would usually make, is Passaport – the vivid promenade along the seaside, which has turned into a landmark with its black and white pavement.
Full Story



Curiosity Chest


Romania
Electric Candle Is Fine, Online Blessing - Not

Sound blasters and electric candles, that are switched on by dropping a coin, have long infested Christian churches around the world. Yet virtual prayers and blessings remain controversial practice to religious communities. Lately the dispute surfaced in the Balkans.
Full Story



Useful Reads


Greece
In Sfakia: Passing Time in the Wilds of Crete (2008) | By Peter Trudgill

Crete has long been acknowledged as one of the most singular and unique parts of Greece. Its people keep a fierce hold on their traditions, customs and history. Practically a country of its own, this vast island looms over all others in Greece. Nevertheless, as In Sfakia author Peter Trudgill aptly notes in his preface, “some parts of Crete are more special than others, and Sfakia, on the remote south coast, is certainly one of those.” Full Story




Music


Macedonia
Macedonia: Esma Redžepova's Passion for Humanity

"A Gypsy from the city of Skopje", as she calls herself, Esma Redžepova has more than 40 years of singing and humanitarian efforts under her belt. Full Story