Visit to the Bajrakli Mosque

billkralovec

 

The minaret of the Bajrakli Mosque
The minaret of the Bajrakli Mosque

 

 

Tuesday I tagged along with the grade 8 humanities class as they took a tour of the Bajrakli Mosque in downtown Belgrade. It was my first time to a mosque and I felt like the Ottomans were speaking to me. The name Bajrakli means banner or flagship. The name originates from when the Ottomans left Belgrade in the early 1800’s, this was their lasting monument of their presence.

The mosque was built in 1690 by Sultan Suleiman during the heydey of the Ottomans in Serbia. At the time, there were 22 mosques in the city, and this is the last one remaining today, although the iman told us several newer mosques are being built. The Austrians converted it to a Jesuit church for a short time, and then when they left, it was reopened as a mosque. The iman showed us the window that was walled up on one side of the mosque by the Austrians.

As you can see, the minaret is the classical Turkish style -thin, with a pointed cone peak. The mosque featured a huge dome, typical of the Ottomans and strongly influenced by the Byzantines. I also noted that St. Sava’s Cathedral has a large central dome. 

 

Ottoman Stonework
Ottoman Stonework

The authorities of the mosque were very kind to allow us access to the mosque. I understand in countries with a more strict interpretation of Islam, non-muslims may not be allowed as much access as we did. The iman explained the prayer service, and answered all of our questions regarding the building and the faith of Islam. I guess the Balkan form of Islam is more like the Turkish form than in Saudi Arabia. From his talk I learned the following:

  • Allah has 99 names which are related to His virtues. In a mosque, pictures of humans are not allowed and so the 99 names were written on plaques in Arabic script. 
  • Islam has prayer beads similar to a Catholic rosary. There are beads of 33 prayers or 99 prayers. 
  • The congregation worships in straight lines to emphasize their equality before god. 
  • They always face towards Mecca. 

 

The students align as worshippers would as the Iman explains the prayer service.
The students align as worshippers would as the Iman explains the prayer service.

I would like to thank Mr. Vrbaski for allowing me to attend the trip with his class. I would also like to thank the mosque authorities for giving us the opportunity to experience a mosque. The students unit on Islam was really enhanced with this trip. It was also nice to see the students translating for us, the iman’s Serbian speech to English. 

The mosque trip also continued to perk my interest in learning more about the Ottoman empire. 

 

The girls wore headscarves upon entering the mosque.
The girls wore headscarves upon entering the mosque.

Basketball Season Underway at ISB

billkralovec

 

It is basketball season here at ISB! Four teams (MS and HS Boys and Girls) are preparing for the upcoming games. ISB competes in the Central and Eastern European Athletic Association, which is composed of other international schools. We belong to the small school “blue” division. Each grade category has their own championships and they will be held throughout the month of March. Above are the high school boys in practice last Friday in our bubble gymnasium. They will compete in Helsinki, Finland on March 26-28. They are practicing 3 times a week and we are working on arranging games for the team with local schools in preparation for the championships.

24 Hour Theater at ISB

billkralovec
Laryanus, Zoran, Randa, Hannah, & Pan

 

This process–24-hour theater–condenses creativity to its essentials and boils the collaborative process down in a manner unlike any other in the realm of theater-making. Participants have only one full day to write and stage a play. It puts ‘experts’ and ‘newbies’ on the same playing field, providing nearly instant gratification for all. The anticipatory audience, drawn by curiosity, wonders–will these crazy kids be able to pull it together and keep it rolling? The result: energized (rather than exhausted!) students for the beginning of a new semester of theater. (U of Minnesota) 
The above is a description of the process of 24 Theater. The International School of Belgrade’s Thespian Society and the Grade 11 Theater Arts class put on a 24 hour theater this past weekend. The students arrived on Friday afternoon at 5:00 PM, and overnight, created plays which they performed on Saturday evening. With over 40 people in attendance in our black box performing arts theater, the student groups performed their plays. The photo above was taken from the question and answer period at the end of the evening. The students described their inspiration and the process behind the performance. The plays were excellent and most importantly, it was a great learning experience for the students. They went through the entire process of theater. Congratulations to all of the students and especially our performing arts teacher, Mrs. Patricia Sands! 
Vilmoš, Maša, Flavy, William
Vilmoš, Maša, Flavy, William

 

Family Journal: Saturday January 17, 2009

billkralovec

Friday evening after basketball practice I rushed home to get ready for an evening out. We hired a baby sitter for the night, and went out on a double date with the Moynihans. We had a nice dinner at Iguana (they recently changed the name to Na Costra or something similar). It is a small restaurant located downtown on Božidara Adžije Street. The owner lived many years in Melbourne and the food was excellent. Nadia had her favorite, sticky date pudding, an Aussie delicacy. We sat in a cozy table in the window and it was great. I chose a Serbian wine, a grape variety call Vranac, which was perfect. The restaurant is near the big Kalenić market so we did some shopping after wards. The absolutely best place to buy fruits and vegetables in the city, especially in the winter is the Tomato Company. It is located a block away from the Kalenic market, near a Hleb i Kifle bakery. They have rugula, lettuce, plums, etc. They also take care to present the produce well. Nadia and Janna are shown above in produce heaven.

Saturday we awoke to no electricity in the house and we had flashbacks to our time in Anaco, Venezuela. Goran from the school was all over the problem we got power back in the afternoon. Electrical crews were working on one of the poles near our house and last night we had no street lights near our house. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping for the week. We also watched a movie, “Bed Time Stories” with Adam Sandler. In the evening I was the administrator in charge of the 24 Hour Theater production by our school’s Thespian Society. I really enjoyed the show.

Below we took the wood that my future brother-in-law used with the boys. Owen woke up and wanted to hammer nails, so that is what we did. We built a stand for the shovel, rakes, etc. that I have in the yard. I also shoveled off all of the ice and snow from the side walk. My Dad would have been mortified to see a Kralovec family sidewalk in a slippery condition.

Ollie and Owen help me Build a Garden Tool Holder
Ollie and Owen help me Build a Garden Tool Holder

The Bridge On The Drina – Ivo Andrić

billkralovec

 I just finished reading “The Bridge on the Drina” by Bosnian writer, and former long-time Belgrade resident, Ivo Andrić. He won the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature.
UPDATE: I visited the bridge on October 17, 2009. My blog post on the experience is here. 

Andrić lived a full life and he is a great example of the idea of Yugoslavia. His parents were Croats from Sarajevo, Bosnia. He spent his childhood in Višegrad, a small town on the border of Serbia and Bosnia. He studied in Sarajevo and Zagreb, Croatia. He was imprisoned during WWI by the Austro-Hungarians as a revolutionary. After the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes gained independence Andrić began a career as a diplomat for the new government. He held posts in Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and finally, in his peak position on the eve of WW II, to Berlin, Germany. All during this time, Andrić was writing and publishing poems, essays, and short stories. When Hitler occupied Poland, he tried to resign, but the Yugoslav government rejected it. When Germany bombed Belgrade in 1941, he retired from the foreign service and lived the rest of his life in Belgrade. During the war, he wrote three novels that would earn him the Nobel Prize. He donated the prize money to build libraries in Bosnia. You can read more about him at Ivo Andric Foundation web site.

I highly recommend the book, “The Bridge on the Drina.” The Drina is a river that separates Bosnia and Serbia. The bridge he refers to in located in the town of Višegrad, Bosnia. The novel is an epic historical fiction beginning in the 1500’s with the construction of the bridge by the Ottoman Turks and ending with its destruction during World War I. I love history and as all good historical fiction does, it brings alive the facts of history. It got me to think more about the legacy of the Ottomans. They had a large empire for many years, but are not that well known or studied in the US. Andrić tells of the Ottoman’s blood sacrifice, in which the Turks would raid Serbian villages and kidnap young Serbian boys to raise them as Turks in Istanbul. He also describes the public “staking” of a man caught vandalizing the bridge during its construction. The Turks were here in Serbia for a long time. As the novel progresses through time, it is good to have a bit of background of Balkan history. Besides the historical stuff, he tells good stories of people and families. My only criticism is he slides into a bit too much of “magic realism” and I got burned out on that by reading Garcia Marquez and other Latino writers.

The picture above is of the Hotel Moscow which I took in August of last year. Ollie is pictured in front of the fountain. A friend tells me it was one of Andric’s favorite hangouts here in Belgrade. I will go visit his museum soon. The apartment where he lived is now a museum and it will give me a better idea of the man and his works, and I will do another post on the visit. I will also most likely read some more by him. I am especially interested in reading his essay on Simon Bolivar. If any of my blog readers have a copy of that, preferably in English (I am now at the stage in my Serbian language development which I call “early caveman” – for example, Danas lepo toplo i kizovo (today very cold and slippery).

Ice Covers Belgrade: January 14, 2009

billkralovec

Icy Morning, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Nadia struggles to stay on her feet this morning with the boys. We awoke this morning to a layer ice on everything outside. The temperature was hovering around 0C, and it was a mix of rain and ice. We decided to walk to school this morning because of going down the hill to the school. Oliver getting out the door, fell on his butt. We heard many people with slips and falls, and there were many late arrivals to school this morning. Owen loved the slippery streets and skated to school.

I learned a new Serbian word: KLIZAV which means slippery. I’ll be using the word again in conversation tomorrow as the forecast is for the same. Today we discussed procedures for checking the conditions of the roads and contacting our school community. We’ll be testing these tomorrow.

We made it to school albeit a bit late. We held classes as normal. Tonight I am watching the Partizan vs. CSK Moscow EuroLeague basketball game. With a win, Partizan will qualify into the round of 16.

Update: Partizan Wins!!!

Family Journal: Sunday January 11, 2009

billkralovec

 


I spent most of the morning getting ready for school tomorrow. After a late pancake breakfast, we went shopping in the afternoon to Merkator in New Belgrade, at the Kalenica Market, and then a late dinner at Pizza Hut downtown. We developed some photos also to complete Oliver’s and Ocean’s babybooks. We have a case of first child syndrome where are oldest, Owen’s book is chockers with tons of photos and information and then Ollie’s and Ocean’s are a bit sparse. The kids love looking at them and I think it is important that they see their history. Owen loves looking at his baby photos and wants to hear about his birth.

Tonight will be more prep work for tomorrow. It will be another busy semester.

Announcement for Boys’ Basketball: We will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday evening, Thursday, and Friday this week. Times will be announced tomorrow.

I posted the photo above and below for Grandma Kralovec who loves to see her little granddaughter. 

 

Ocean is starting to feel herself again.
Ocean is starting to feel herself again.

Family Journal: Saturday January 10, 2009

billkralovec

 



Great day today! We lounged about in the morning as I made a delicious breakfast of toast and eggs for the kids. We cleaned up around the house while the boys played Wii. I then took Owen and Oliver to the sledding hill. Owen was awesome on the jumps and Ollie liked rolling down the hill. It has been foggy the past few days in Belgrade and the trees are covered as if it was a hoar frost. It is thicker and snow-like and it makes the trees absolutely beautiful. I hope it continues tomorrow and I’ll take some pictures at school.

I had basketball practice in the afternoon. I came home exhausted and I fell asleep while the family was watching the latest Harry Potter movie. We then played a game of Candyland and the kids ran around the house.

Heating Crisis in Serbia

billkralovec


Serbia is never boring and one of the reasons I really enjoy living here! This week the dispute between Russian natural gas company Gazprom and Ukraine temporarily cut off gas supplies to Belgrade. I had a couple of parents call me to see if we were to have school on Monday because of this. My friend who manages an internatioanal business in the city said he had to send workers home this week because the office did not have heat. On of the school employees in the business office also had the heat turned off in her building. Several students said their families got electric heaters in case of their gas being shut down.

The school uses oil and was not affected. Our home had heat so we didn’t have to worry either. Serbian officials were working to counteract the shortage of natural gas supplies. Happily the dispute was resolved yesterday and natural gas supplies will soon be back to normal.

Many Belgraders use coal stoves to heat their home. A pile of coal was dumped on the street near the exit of our house. Ned, one of the tenants above us, ordered the load. Yesterday, a worker hauled it up to his apartment. With the rising costs of natural gas and oil, it may be the cheapest way to heat a home. Very few Americans burn coal in their homes, mostly in the Pennsylvania anthracite mining area. My father remembers burning coal as a kid in their home and I’ll have to ask him about it when I call him tomorrow. Back then and in the early days of coal in the home, smoke was a problem. I noticed the odor right away and was wondering what that chemical smell was in the air. My sister-in-law noticed the smell also during her visit, recalling the winter odors of Istanbul where she used to live.

I would assume the stoves in Belgrade are not very modern and use clean technology. Fortunately, not everyone burns with coal and I don’t know the percentage of Belgrade homes and apartments that do. Our neighbor and a couple that lives in our building do however, so we smell it often. It doesn’t bother me. I would like to hear from readers who know more about it. I also can’t identify the types of coal. It probably not is the high quality, hard anthracite coal. Belgrade doesn’t feel polluted and we have clear views to the Sava River from our house.

Owen holds a piece of coal.
Owen holds a piece of coal.