Some time ago, overcome by a listicle-making urge, I considered putting together a playlist of highly orientalist Yugoslav songs with entries such as Bebi Dol’s Mustafa and Brekvica’s “Loša”. While trawling though YouTube I realised the absurdity at the heart of the endeavour: much of our pop music is “oriental” in the sense that it was influenced by Turkish (or wider Silk road) rhythms and … Continue reading Non-Western Balkans: an identity struggle
East to the Sun je putopisni blog, na kome Srđan opisuje svoje avanture po uzbudljivim destinacijama, od Mongolije, preko Irana, pa sve do putovanja po Balkanu. Beleške East to the Sun – Instagram i Twitter Prvi post iz Dečana Priče iz Irana Saveti o putovanjima Pratite Pokretače i na iTunesu, TuneIn, Stitcheru i YouTubeu,a i slušajte nove epizode na Radioaparatu svakog ponedeljka od 16h. Za Pokretače i slične sadržaje, lajkujte The Nutshell Times na … Continue reading Pokretači #54 Srđan Šajinović – East to the Sun / Banja Luka
As the last summer of 2010s is slowly coming to an end, I thought that it was a high time for a listicle celebrating songs from countries of ex-Yugoslavia that marked the past decade for me. I don’t want to claim that they are the best songs made in the past decade in the region, nor a fair representation of what is going on on … Continue reading 20 Yugosphere songs from 2010s that you have to hear before 2020
Muharem Bazdulj je pisac, novinar i prevodilac. Jedan je od najnagrađivanijijh pisaca sa prostora bivše Jugoslavije.
Pričali smo o njegovim spisateljskim početcima, vrednosti štampanih medija, kao i o tome kako je biti “javni intelektualac” u BiH, Srbiji i šire, što je i jedna od tema njegovog novog romana: Kvadratni koren iz života. Continue reading Pokretači #48 Muharem Bazdulj
While foreign rule and power struggles often brought havoc to the Balkan peoples, it also left behind a diverse cuisine in which various influences merge and make the best use of the region’s fertile lands. While some regional specialities do not cross borders, the limits between the national cuisines in the Balkans tend to be blurry, with many nations enjoying same foods, albeit claiming them … Continue reading Brief Histories of Favourite Balkan Foods
Why do some nations have ‘interests’, while others are stuck with ‘ancient hatreds’? Continue reading Let’s Stop Irrationalising the Balkans
Donald Niebyl founded and manages Spomenik Database, a website dedicated to monumental Yugoslav WWII memorials. Donald not only travelled up and down former Yugoslavia visiting monuments (or ‘spomeniks’ as they are called in local languages), but he also researched and wrote detailed history of many of them, soon to be published as a book – ‘Spomenik Monument Database’ (pre-order on Amazon). Notes Spomenik database on … Continue reading Pokretači #31 Donald Niebyl – Spomenik Database / Illinois, USA
For most people, tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina is synonymous with visiting Sarajevo and Mostar, and perhaps Trebinje, Medjugorje and the Sutjeska national park. This, however is unfair to the rest of this stunning country, which does not only offer a lot of wonderful unspoilt nature throughout, but also ancient fortresses, churches and mosques, which have persevered through its turbulent past. Last week I went on a … Continue reading Bosnia’s dramatic north: Jajce, the Vrbas River Canyon and Banja Luka
