Bajrakli Mosque in Belgrade, Serbia

Today we visited the only mosque in Belgrade, the Bajrakli Mosque.  The mosque fits our GCP theme of revolution.  It was built by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire in 1575.  The building was converted into a Catholic church during Austrian rule (1717-1739).  With the return of the Turks in 1741, it was converted back into a mosque.  After restoration by Serbian noblemen in the 19^th century, it survived major damage during WWII, the Soviet occupation of Yugoslavia, and Serbian independence.  Arsonists set fire to the mosque in 2004, but it was repaired.  About 3% of the Serbian population are Sunni Muslims.

We all had to take off our shoes before entering the mosque and the women had to ensure their hair was covered.

Tomorrow we will be leaving our lovely hostel in Belgrade for Nis.

дан три!!

Day Three: Today was filled with interesting new experiences and people. We stayed local in Belgrade and visited mosques, synagogues, and a university. The day started with a look inside of Belgrade's only remaining mosque of the over 200 that existed during the Ottoman Empire. This was my first experience inside a mosque. The girls had to take their scarves and hats and cover all of their hair and stay as covered as possible. Before entering the mosque everyone was asked to remove their shoes and I, of course, found myself in a sort of uncomfortable situation. I had big, gaudy, USA socks on, purely for comfort reasons, and not to obnoxiously show off my patriotism. I was worried that I was representing American tourists in the wrong light, and the last thing I wanted to do was offend the man that had graciously given us a tour. Fortunately, I had leg warmers to cover up the socks for the duration of the visit. Once, my socks were off my mind, I enjoyed every minute of the tour! I guess it was just a minor mosque mishap!

 After that we walked around a bit and saw a fortresses and made our way to the University. We spoke with a lecture hall of English students and then met some of them one-on-one. It was fantastic to meet other students from a different culture and see what their views on Amercia were. We left the university and walked around until Milos took us to get delicious crepe/pancakes. We ended the night early so we could hangout and pack up to leave for Nis early tomorrow morning! So long for now!

First night in Beograd

We were witnesses to Milos' sphere of influence within Beograd and beyond, including at a Soviet-themed bar owned by a friend of his. We enjoyed this "serenade" of traditional Serbian music.

Favorite Moments!

Hi all!

Just wanted to post a few of my favorite shots from the last few days.... :) 

 Day Two:

The group in Novi Sad! :) 

A few beautiful night shots from Novi Sad. Two buildings in the city and a Catholic church! 

Love the reflection! 

Getting to see St. Sava at midnight last night was truly a beautiful experience. The fountains were lit up so nicely against the church itself. 

Day three:

all of us in our socks! 

Inside the mosque. The beads were on the floor on the second level for those praying to use after they complete their prayers. 

We met some AMAZING students today at the University! It was awesome to get to talk to such friendly and funny people. 

From inside the synagogue. I thought it was a beautiful window! 

One of the government buildings in Belgrade! I love the colors of the sky against the dome. 

Climbing.... Or some of the group, anyway! 

WE FOUND NEMO IN BELGRADE, SERBIA! (: 

It's been such an amazing experience so far! We're off to go discuss some of what we saw today and then pack and head to bed. Tomorrow will be an early and exciting day! :) 

Love to all,

Kristina & Team Serbia ;) 

Judaism in Serbia

As part of our trip, we decided to divide up a few topics that we could teach each other about. My topic was Judaism and today we had a chance to visit the only synagogue in Serbia. The history of Judaism in Serbia is a controversial one. In the 15th century, the Jewish population grew rapidly due to people fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. They became heavily involved in the trade business in the Ottoman Empire and once Serbia gained their independence, one of the first acts of King Petar the first was to build the synagogue in Belgrade. After that, there was a waxing and waining of support based on the current ruler. In WWII, Germany invaded Yugoslavia (which included Serbia) and killed about 83% of the Jewish population, including 14,500 of the 16,000 Serbian Jews. After WWII and the Yugoslav wars, most of the Jewish population chose to immigrate to Israel and the U.S. Currently, only about 1,200 Jews live in Serbia, most of them residing in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Also, the rebirth of Serbian nationalism in the past few years has seen an increase in the counts of anti-sematism against the Jews. 

So the current situation for the Jews is one of general dislike amongst the Serbian population. However, it was a good experience for us to get to visit the synagogue and discuss the history. The synagogue was very nice, and out of respect for their religion, the men wore yamakas while inside. Overall, it was just another great day in Serbia!

GCP SLOGAN

SERBIA 2012

- Milos joins the revolution against the Austrio-Hungarian army in the catacombs of the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad

- simply... evolution

Zdravo!!
Day 2 in Belgrade- on our way to get breakfast, we decided to take a picture with some of the graffiti.  Belgrade is covered with graffiti of all kinds.  This example said something like, "study, for you are the knowledge that you gain."  It seemed pretty fitting for our GCP trip!  We spent a lovely day in Novi Sad exploring the tunnels under the fortress Petrovaradin and seeing the sights of the city.  For dinner, we went to Milos' house and ate with his family.  They prepared a HUGE traditional Serbian meal for us... and we have pictures of all of the different dishes.  (I won't post them right now because it would take forever.)  More to come tomorrow! We are headed to bed! 
Laku noc!