Hermit of St. Sava

St. Sava I - The First Archbishop of Serbia

In 1196, when Sava was 21 years of age, he received the greatest gift of his life: his father, Stephen Nemanja, decided to abdicate the throne ofthe Kingdom of Serbia and become a monk in Studenitsa Monastery on Mt. Radochelo in Rashka He took the name Simeon. To replace him on the Royal Throne, the Grand Zhupan appointed his second oldest son, Stephen, as the heir. This news thrilled Sava, as it was for him a spiritual blessing for his many prayers, ascetic efforts and even letters he had sent to his father urging him towards monastic life. Along with his father, Sava's mother Anna, on the same day—the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1196—also received the monastic tonsure and was given the name Anastasia, retiring to the Monastery ofthe Holy Virgin in Kurshumlija near Toplica.

At his son's request, the monk Simeon-Stephen Nemanja, only a few months after his monastic tonsure, left Serbia and traveled to Vatopedi Monastery. There for the first time in three years he met his favorite child, Sava, who by this time was an experienced and well-respected monk. 

Sava spent a little less than two years at Hilandar after his departure from Serbia (1217-1219). The moment he left, Serbia's situation worsened both domestically and internationally. The miracle-working oil exuding from the holy relics of his father Simeon stopped flowing. The people were outraged at King Stephen for driving Sava away. Under no terms would they accept the Pope's support and disavow Orthodoxy. As a result, Stephen wrote to Sava imploring him to return. Stephen also renounced his western ties and attempted to reconcile with the Byzantine emperor in Nicea, Theodore Laskaris (1204-1222).

Prior to his return, Sava traveled eastward to Nicea, the city where the Imperial Patriarch Manuel Sarantenos (1215-1222) resided, the highest ecclesiastical authority permitted to grant independence to a local Church. By granting autonomy to the Church of Serbia, Rome and the West's attempts to capture the Balkans could be thwarted. Also, the Archbishop of Ochrid was becoming too powerful; with independence granted to the Serbs, his power would diminish. The Serbian Orthodox Church, now independent, would remain under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate. 

Sava was consecrated in Nicea on the Feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 1219, becoming the first Archbishop of the newly autonomous Orthodox Church of Serbia. He was 44 years old at the time.

In the spring of 1234, Archbishop Sava, age 59, only five years after his first trip to the Holy Land, decided to make a second pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This time he had particular goals in mind. He wanted to garner support for the Bulgarians who were seeking the ecclesiastical status of autocephaly. Previously, the Imperial Patriarch residing in Nicea had recognized this new situation in Bulgaria, but the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch had not followed suit. Sava also hoped to seek this same type of support from these Patriarchs in behalf of his own autonomous Serbian Orthodox Church. His mission was to promote the federation of Orthodox sister churches with Jerusalem as the eternal mother Church. There is no doubt that these ecclesiastical missions demonstrated a far-reaching and even prophetic insight on the part of Sava. For the Serbs, he was setting in motion something which would come about only one hundred years later—the autocephaly of the Serbian Church.

Due to the astute ecclesiastical wisdom on the part of Sava in 1219 in Nicea, the Serbian Church was able, in 1346, to obtain her own autocephaly, i.e., her own Patriarch. Political and economic life also flourished, following the example of the Christ-like Sava, in the centuries following his repose in the Lord. A unity among the Serbs, based on their adherence to Orthodoxy and maintenance of the political ideals of their beloved St. Sava, allowed them to develop into a Balkan power to the point that in 1346 the Serbian King Dushan the Powerful was given the title of "Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgars and Albanians."

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Happy Descent - Ibar

"Happy Descent" is a manifestation of recreational and entertaining character. In the most unusual vessels, thousands of people gather along with inevitable trumpets and barbecues on the water. The day before the start begins the gathering of the participants of the downhill, the camper at the start.

The start of the race is at the foot of the medieval fortress Maglič, 25 km upstream from Kraljevo.

River Ibar flows through picturesque scenery of Raška District, with several mountain tributaries: Raška, Dubočica, Studenica, Pivnica, Lopatnica. It is very convenient for all kind of water sports and fishing. The water level in May and June is rather high due to snow melting so the rapids provide the 4th and 5th grade of wild waters. This 25 kilometres long adventurous part of river abounds in rapids, whirlpools and narrow passes, followed by the calm course of water near Kraljevo.

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Fishing on river Ibar

Valley of Joy, Spas and Eco-tourism

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Maglič Fortress at river Ibar

Maglič Fortress (Serbian Cyrillic: Маглич [mâɡlitʃ]) is a 13th-century castle about 20 km south of Kraljevo, Serbia. The castle is located atop a hill around which the Ibar river makes a curve, about 100 m above the river. The fortress protected the only road that connected the Great Morava Valley and Kosovo polje. Its name means The Foggy One from the Serbian word "Magla" (Магла), meaning fog.
Maglič was included on the list of Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance in 1979.

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Golija Biosphere Reserve

Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve is situated in southwestern Serbia and belongs to the inner zone of the Dinaric mountain system. It covers a mountainous region and includes a mosaic of different ecosystems such as forests, shrubs and lakes. The local population cleared parts of the forests over centuries and thus created species rich pastures and meadows which are still maintained today. In the area, many non-governmental organizations are interested in the protection of the natural environment and in the implementation of sustainable development principles. With the establishment of a biosphere reserve, these organizations will be able to carry out their programmes and contribute to the functions of the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, based on a rich history of scientific research and observations.

UNESCO MAB Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve

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Studenica Monastery

UNESCO World Heritage: Studenica Monastery

The Studenica Monastery was established in the late 12th century by Stefan Nemanja, founder of the medieval Serb state, shortly after his abdication. It is the largest and richest of Serbia's Orthodox monasteries. Its two principal monuments, the Church of the Virgin and the Church of the King, both built of white marble, enshrine priceless collections of 13th- and 14th-century Byzantine painting.

The monastery Studenica, dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Virgin, is the mother-church of all Serbian temples. It was constructed over a quite long period of time. The first stage of works were completed by the spring of 1196, when Stefan Nemanja abdicated and took monastic vows at the monastery. When he later left for Hilandar, his son and successor Stefan took over the care of Studenica. Nemanja died in Hilandar in 1199. Nemanja's third son Rastko (Saint Sava), after reconciling with his brothers Stefan and Vukan, moved Nemanja's relics to Studenica. Under guardianship of Sava, Studenica became the political, cultural and spiritual center of ´medieval Serbia. Among his other endeavors, Sava composed the "Studenica Typikon", a liturgical book of orders where he described the life of Saint Simeon (Nemanja), leaving evidence of the spiritual and monastic life of his time.

Studenica enjoyed continual care by the members of the Nemanjić dynasty. King Radoslav added a splendid narthex to the church in 1235. King Milutin built a small but lovely church dedicated to saints Joachim and Anna.

Since the fall of the last of the medieval Serbian states in 1459, the Turks often assaulted the monastery. The first of the significant restorations of the damage took place in 1569, when the frescoes in the Church of the Virgin were repainted. In the early 17th century, an earthquake and a fire befell the monastery, and historical documents and a significant part of the artistic heritage were destroyed and lost forever.

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Sopoćani Monastery

Flowing to the north, still following the western side of Kopaonik, the river reaches Raška, Brvenik, Bela Stena, Baljevac, Ušće, Bogutovac, Mataruška Banja, Žiča and Kraljevo, finally emptying into the Zapadna Morava.
Here, the river receives its major tributaries: the Raška, Studenica and Lopatnica, from the left, and the Jošanica.
In this section, the river has carved the 40 km (25 mi) long and 550 m (1,804 ft) deep Ibar gorge, which is the natural route for the major road in this part of Serbia, the Ibar highway. This stretch of the river is famous for its pinched meanders and gigantic whirlpools. The whole area, 110 km (68 mi) long (meridionally stretched) and 15–20 km (9–12 mi) wide, is known as Ibarski kraj (Serbian: Ибарски крај)

UNESCO World Heritage: Stari Ras i Sopoćani

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Megalithic observatory

River Ibar - The Cradle Of Mediterranean Civilization

The Ibar, also known as the Ibër and Ibri (Albanian: Ibër, Ibri; Serbian: Ibar, Cyrillic: Ибар, pronounced [îbar]), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, Kosovo and Raška in Serbia, with a total length of 276 km (171 mi). The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rožaje, eastern Montenegro, passes through Kosovo and flows into the West Morava river, Central Serbia, near Kraljevo.
It belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin, but till the 20th century it also belong to Ionian Sea, because the bifurcation of Nerodimka tributary on Kosovo, passing near Kokino (Macedonian: Кокино) a Bronze Age archaeological site approximately 30 km from the town of Kumanovo, and about 6 km from the Serbian border, in the Staro Nagoričane municipality. It is situated between about 1010 and 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen (Татичев камен) summit and covers an area of about 90 by 50 meters, overlooking the eponymous hamlet of Kokino.

The Kokino "megalithic observatory" should be distinguished from the wider Kokino archaeological site. While the observatory consists of two platforms of a combined area of about 5000 square meters, the site covers about 30 hectares. From this area, an abundant amount of fragments of ceramic vessels, dated to between the 19th and the 11th centuries BC. Also found was a mould for casting bronze axes, and a pendant. The remains of vessels filled with offerings were found deposited in cracks in the rocks, which gave rise to the interpretation of the site as a Holy mountain.
The claimed archaeo-astronomical site itself consists of two platforms with an elevation difference of 19 m. The claim of the site representing an astronomical observatory was made by Stankovski and by Gjore Cenev in 2002. According to this interpretation, the site includes special stone markers used to track the movement of the Sun and Moon on the eastern horizon. The natural predisposition of these andesite rocks to crack vertically and horizontally caused forming of almost ideal cubic rock blocks that could be easily shaped and wisely used by the prehistoric dwellers as areas/positions for observing the movement of the Sun and the Moon and for performing religious rites.  The observatory used the method of stationary observation, marking positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstice, as well as the equinox. Four stone seats or thrones are placed in a row on the lower platform. According to Cenev, A stone block with a marking on the upper platform marks the direction of sunrise on summer solstice when viewed from one of the seats.

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UNESCO World Heritage:

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo

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Poljica Republic by the river Cetina

The Poljica Republic or duchy (Croatian: Poljička republika, in older form "Poljička knežija") was an autonomous community which existed in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period in central Dalmatia, near modern-day Omiš, Croatia.
It was organized as a "peasants' republic", and it's best known because of the Poljica Statute first written in 1440.

Gourmand attraction Poljićki soparnik is still live remaining of that time:

 

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Environment of the river Cetina

Cetina has its source in the northwestern slopes of Dinara. Rising from a spring at Milasevo near a small village called Cetina, located 7 km north from Vrlika, it flows a distance of 105 km to the Adriatic Sea. A large artificial lake begins near Vrlika, the Peruća Lake, which was created by a dam some 25 km downstream. Cetina then passes into the lower portion of the Sinj karst field, through the city of Sinj. After that it runs eastward, through the city of Trilj and then back westward around the Mosor mountain, before flowing into the Adriatic in the city of Omiš.
Apart from its visible basin, the Cetina also receives a lot of water from the west Bosnian karst field via underground routes. Its lower course begins from the Gubavica Falls (49 m a.s.l.) near the village of Zadvarje (20 km from Omiš). Here it leaves its canyon and flows into a valley which has nevertheless retained something of the appearance of a canyon.

The latter portion of Cetina and its relatively large drop in altitude was used to build several substantial hydroelectric power plants. Its water is also bottled as Cetina.
The total drainage area of the catchment is around 12,000 km², and the annual discharge is around 105 m²s⁻¹ as a consequence of a mean annual rainfall of 1380 mm.
Bounded to the east by the Dinaric Alps, which rise to an altitude of 2000 m, and to the northwest by mountain Svilaja, the majority of the catchment drains calcareous rocks of Cretaceous age, predominantly limestone. Rocks of Triassic and Jurassic age also crop out in the catchment and include dolomitic limestone and flysch. The underlying karst geology controls relief with a series of structurally aligned basins separated by high ridges.

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River Cetina

Cetina (pronounced [t͡sɛ̌tina]) is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of 101 km (63 mi) and its basin covers an area of 1,463 km² (565 sq mi). Cetina descends from an altitude of 385 m at its source to the sea level when it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.

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Mount Durmitor and river Tara Canyon

Durmitor National Park comprises Mount Durmitor plateau and the valley formed by the canyon of the River Tara, incorporating three major geomorphologic features: canyons, mountains and plateaux. Because of its geographical location and range in altitude, the park is under the influence of both Mediterranean and alpine microclimates, which has resulted in an exceptional range of species.
Geologically, Durmitor and Tara canyons are made up of rocky massifs of the Mesozoic era (from the Lower Triassic to the Upper Cretaceous), Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The dominant features are the limestone formations of the Middle and Upper Triassic, the Upper Jurassic and the Upper Cretaceous, especially the so-called Durmitorean flysch. The River Tara, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, has pure, clear waters, a gorge 1,300 m deep and notable floristic and faunistic diversity. The 16 glacial lakes of the Durmitor and the canyons of the Tara, Susica and Draga rivers were formed during the Quaternary period, following the sudden thaw of the snow and the formation of glaciers on the Durmitor and neighbouring mountains. The waters of the largest lake, Black Lake, feed two separate river basins: the River Tara, and underground through the Durmitor Massif, the River Komarnica or Piva. There are numerous examples of weathering processes, rock shapes and land features characteristic of karstic erosion, fluvial erosion and glacial erosion.

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River Tara Rafting

The canyon is part of the Tara River rafting route. The one-day rafting route, from Brstnovica to Sćepan Polje, is 11 mi long and it takes 2 to 3 hours. This part of the canyon is the most exciting because the river has the biggest drop in elevation in the shortest length. There are 21 out of 50 rapids in that part of the Tara. The rapids are Brstanovići, Pećine, the very dangerous Celije rapids and Vjernovički rapids. If one decides to go all the way, rafting adventure is 62 mi long. At the beginning one will see the waterfalls of Ljutica, then you will pass under the 541 feet high monumental bridge of Tara. Next thing you can see on this exciting journey is the old Roman road and the Lever Tara. "Funjički bukovi" and "Bijele ploče" will make you realise how calm and up to this moment nice Tara becomes a wild beauty. "Nisovo vrelo" is the deepest part of the canyon (3608 feet high). Further is the bottom of the mountain top, "Curevac" (5413 feet), that rises above Tara as its "eternal guardian" and one of the nicest viewpoints of the Durmitor area.

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Bučevica cave

Exploration of Bučevica cave

 

 

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Tara - Bajlovića sige

The Tara River Canyon (Serbian: Kanjon rijeke Tare), also known as the Tara River Gorge, is the longest canyon in Montenegro. It is 82 kilometers (51 miles) long and is 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) at its deepest, making it the deepest river canyon in Europe. The canyon is protected as a part of Durmitor National Park and is a tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Tara River cuts through the canyon.
All along its flow, the Tara gets large quantities of water from numerous sources, and quite a few tributaries. The most important tributaries on the left bank of the Tara are Ljutica and Susica, and the most important tributaries on the right bank are Vaskovaska rijeka and Draga. The most important source is the source Bajlovica sige, a source placed on the left bank of the Tara river, giving to the Tara a few hundred litres per second, where the water sourcing from the Bucevica cave falls into the Tara more than thirty metres high, and more than a hundred and fifty metres wide.

Bajlovića sige

Bućevica cave

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Rakitnica

That night the grizzly bear come to visit us. We were placed in "klanice" where usually sheep stay over night. That was a horrible experience. 
This is the first sight in the morning: 

We walked all the way to Konjic.

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Amazing Rakitnica Gorge

Stećak, Bogumils, religions, people`s stories and destinies surround this exceptional gorge made of white marble. 
Probably the wildest place where I ever been.

  

 

 

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Rakitnica Canyon

Rakitnica is the main tributary of the first section of the Neretva river known as Upper Neretva (Serbian: Gornja Neretva). The Rakitnica river formed a 26 km long canyon that stretches between Bjelašnica and Visočica mountains. At almost 1,500m, the village of Lukomir, with its unique stone homes with cherry-wood roof tiles, is the highest and most isolated mountain village in the country. The village is the only remaining traditional semi-nomadic mountain village in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Canyon

A canyon or gorge is a deep narrow valley with steep sides. It is often with a stream flowing through it and is most often carved from the landscape by the erosive activity of a river over geologic timescales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cut through underlying surfaces so will eventually wear away rock layers to lessen their own pitch slowing their waters; given enough time, their bottoms will gradually reach a baseline elevation—which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This action, when the river source and mouth are at much different base elevations will form a canyon, particularly through regions where softer rock layers are intermingled with harder layers more resistant to weathering.

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