A Date With History in Niš
A boundary between East and West from the Roman Empire days. Controlled by Ottomans from the Middle Age to the 19th century. Incredible fortress with a 16th century mosque and an underground Roman city. Deep archeological and war history. Let’s explore Niš, Serbia.
Only 164 kilometres from Sofia, this city is perfect for a day trip. Being the third largest city in Serbia and the birth birthplace of Constantine the Great, it was a great place for a little date with history. We arrived around 9.00 am and started with the Skull Tower, a stone structure embedded with human skulls. This was a reminder of the bloodshed during the Serbian Uprising. So the Serbians were surrounded by the Ottomans and they knew if captured they would be impaled, so the commander decided to kill himself and his people. The tower was built using the skulls of the fallen rebels.
Our next stop was the Red Cross Concentration Camp, a place that held over 30,000 people during the German occupation of Serbia in the 2nd World War. It was a transit camp and operated by the German Gestapo. Inside there were very sad stories on the wall and belongings from people being held. When leaving this concentration camp in 1944, the Germans burned the whole documentation which originated during the camp’s existence. Primarily due to these circumstances, it was difficult to identify all the inmates and victims. The verses of the Nish poet Ivan Vuckovic were carved on the frieze of the monument on the Bubanj hill: “…we were shot… but never killed, and never subdued… we crushed the darkness, and paved the way for the sun”.
We then went for lunch to a recommended Serbian restaurant called Galija. Alright, need to clarify the following. Serbians smoke pretty much everywhere. There are no regulations preventing them from smoking in confined spaces. For example, in this restaurant everyone was smoking. Yes, it was a confined area with no windows and no ventilation. People were OK with this. For us it was really hard to enjoy our lunch as we couldn’t stand the smoke. So we ordered a light meal for the sake of trying and leave as soon as possible. After that we had coffee in another well-known place but once again, we needed to quickly run away as people smoking inside.
The last stop before heading back to Sofia was at the National Museum. This archaeological hall presented numerous exhibits telling a vivid story of Niš history and culture from the Neolithic Age and Roman period to the Middle ages.
Time go come back as it was a very long day both physically and emotionally.
