My Images of SEE – 22:57, Fri 12th August

One of my preparations was to exchange currency. With Euro’s for Ljubljana in tow, I decided to trade those in for Dinars now – as I will need them next week at any rate. So I spoke to the lady on reception to change my notes & to pay for the room. Her, and the guy with her, were both very polite. This proved by their help in calling the train station for me, to see if I needed to reserve a seat for the Nis to Sofia train (luckily we didn’t).

I then changed then packed. Liam went ahead, downstairs, to book a taxi to the train station. Whilst downstairs waiting, we could appreciate the views that the hotel boasted of the west of Nis – terracotta roofs flowing down the hill, to a green plain stretching out towards the airport.

Our taxi collected us, and delivered us to our destination for 200 Dinars. I asked a woman at the desk for the platform for the Sofia train. “1 or 3”. Great. So we waited on the platform. After 10 minutes a short train arrived. I asked a more official looking person. He said it wasn’t this one, but it would arrive in 25 minutes (that was its departure time). Anyway, we waited as the crowds grew for the train. 

When it did arrive, the embarkation was scruffy and there was a distinct lack of seats. So we perched in the gangway, forced to stand. However, we were next to an open window which was pleasant. This proved a plus over the first 2 hours of the journey, as the scenery was spectacular. 

Serbia is very green, hilly & mountainous, and dramatic. Its population is also sparse. We chugged along through wide, open valleys, and deep, narrow gorges. All in splendid sunny weather. The train itself was similar to last nights – 2 carriages of seats and one sleeper. It travelled (when it did) at approx 50 mph.

Before we got to the border, some seats came available so we grabbed them. At least we had comfort, although the water situation was looking tense. Anyway, the border control was quick on the Serbian side (unique?) but on the Bulgarian side it was a rather more sedate affair. I think we settled into the notion that we were always going to be late. 

By the time we left the Bulgarian side of the border, we were an hour late. However, the last leg of the journey went like a breeze. Bulgaria was a lot flatter, but agriculture was still dominant here.

We arrived at 19:00 at the dated, yet platformed, station. I got cash, and some liquid, and then we walked to the straight road that would take us to the hostel. At first, it looked grim but as you got further into town it became pleasant, and akin to Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin. After 20 minutes of back breaking walking, we found our location. Sort of. We went down the wrong way of the road, but returned and found our side door. Tucked behind old Soviet constructed façades, we witnessed a quaint old Inn. It was quiet, as it was off the street, but bustling, as there was a hive of activity. We went in and a woman welcomed us. She took our passports and aid to grab the complimentary pasta and beer whilst she sorted our stuff out. After a welcome refreshment, and catching 10 minutes on the wifi, the girl talked us through our accommodation, house rules & the city map.

A lad called Damien, of Sofian heritage but an English-speaking world upbringing, took us across the street to an apartment, which our room was in. It was lovely and big, but the fuchsia walls were garish. Once he left, we left for beers. However, once purchased, we saw a sign for McDonalds. So we followed our hunger the 500 meters to it, and then returned to fill ourselves and relax. A group of Spanish people returned, and offered us a drink. We politely refused, as we were shattered. We then slept.

My Images of SEE – 10:41, Fri 12th August

After coffee, we meandered our way back to the square, and to an Italian restaurant facing into the square. I had a pesto lasagne which was lovely. However we didn’t spend all of our time there, as we were harassed by a wasp. So we went over to Trend for a beer until 19:45. We then slowly walked back to the train station, bidding farewell to Skopje. We arrived at 20:10 and went direct to left luggage. We paid our 77 Denars and collected our belongings. We then went up to Platform 4. The train was already there, but the lights were out as people boarded. We just followed. The toilets look vile, however, in my condition, I think I can bear it. We found a cabin that was free and put our bags in the overhead holders. The cabin was old school in its set up. 3 chairs in a row, twice, with a sliding door and curtains to boot. It was dark outside now.

At 20:45 on the dot, we left. But that was about as much luck as we got last night. We had a nice and bouncy ride out of Skopje, when we suddenly stopped 10 minutes. 3 minutes later we continued, discovering our delay to be a road crossing. We bumped along to the border, 10 minutes late, and had our passports checked; the lady asked if we had anything to declare. 10 minutes later we stopped on the Serbian side. A repeat of the border procedure here too. Then we were still waiting. And waiting. The drilling began. About an hour later I saw, 2 carriages down, a worker drilling then climbing into the roof. They then came into our cabin. We had to move as they suspected something up in the roof. How odd. Didn’t look like there was enough room.

1 ½ hours later we had the all clear and departed. We were in a cabin with two local women, who Liam noticed were fascinated with my piercings. We then moved into another carriage as ours was shut off! So we knew that we would miss our connection, and confirmed this by the guard. So we sat there glum. It then dawned on us that we would need a hotel. So we fretted over that as the guidebook said that Nis train station was 2km out of the city.

At 03:05 we arrived at Nis. In vain, I asked if the Sofia train was late at the desk. It had gone. So we walked out of the station, and right, to the main road. It was quiet. We looked right and noticed two adverts for a hostel and a hotel. We opted for the hotel as it took credit cards. This was our 3^rd country, albeit unintentionally. We walked up a road off the main road; a wall had daubed on it a swastika. Our fears were raised. We then reached a junction, so decided on left. We then saw a pack of dogs. Fears raised more, but subsided once passed. The road was quiet and claustrophobic, and odd car would pass raising our heartbeats should they stop near us.

At another junction, we saw a sign with further directions to Hotel Tami. We walked 200m, then left at the lights for 1300m. We hugged a park to our left that curved left then straightened out. The odd car still passed, and we were now walking up hill. After what seemed like an eternity, we saw a sign pointing right. After 2 minutes up hill we saw in big red neon lights the hotel sign. What a relief. 

A fast pace took us to its doors. They had rooms, a twin, for €65 – excellent. It was 4* too! We handed over our passports then went upstairs to collapse. I returned to collect our passports and was relieved that they took Euro’s for Dinars. We drifted off at 04:30 until 09:00. We then had breakfast and prepared for the day.

My Images of SEE – 17:30, Thu 11th August

After another snooze at the hostel last night, I collected enough energy, and given enough prompting from Liam, to go out to eat. That was at 21:15. We walked along 11 October to the square. We just settled on the Pelister again. We sat down – busy as last night there too – and ordered a medium Margarita to share. We didn’t want to mis-judge the meal size again. So I managed a couple of slices and also some ice cream to cool my stomach. We then walked back to the hostel for 23:00. It was to be another restless night.

We woke up slowly at 08:00, and understood we had to pack. So we half did so, before we went out to the pharmacy 150 yards away to get medicine. Armed with my Eastern European phrasebook, I (hopefully) ordered the correct medication. We then went back, showered, then packed up. We left the key in the door to our room for our host then left. We walked to the train station where I again asked if the train to Nis. A different lady gave me the answer I wanted. “20:45, Platform 4” Excellent. And no need to book either.

We walked around the dark, dingy and altogether sinister train station to the baggage room. No-one was there, so we returned to the lady at the ticket booth. She said to go to the man at information. We did, and he off loaded our bags for us. He gave Liam a chitty and wrote down ‘YY’ that we interpreted as seventy seven to pay when we return. So we left the train station for the old train station, now home to the City of Skopje museum. 

Somewhat surprised that it was free, we appreciated a free visit. However, the exhibit was tiny. However it was informative about the earthquake and local archaeological finds. We then walked into the square, then left, to the post office. I then posted my postcard to Kirsty and Sean for 36 denars – bargain. I just made note of our progress, and where we were going to next.

I then walked Liam past the nearby Government buildings, who didn’t appreciate its architecture at all. Neither did I to be honest. We then turned a corner to observe the St Kliment Orthodox Church. Almost tent-like in its shape, the domes I felt owed more to the Ottoman Empire than any Christian theme. It was new however, and perhaps wanted to fit into its historical surroundings. 

We then went to a café between the river and the mall for a beverage. After that we ventured across the bridge again to the bazaar and beyond to the National Museum of Macedonia. Again, architecturally it looked more like a disused school, but inside this dated building were interesting documents on the history of Macedonia covering the last 150 years. 

A small section had archaeological finds. The other side of the building had the ethnographic exhibition. This I found the most interesting. It had 40 + mannequins of past national dress and small models of how houses and homes looked like in times past. 

Before leaving, the nearby Mustapha Pasha mosque began its call to prayer. It was an amazing experience. It felt far removed from ‘Europe’ but also fit in with our location. We then made our way further up to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. The exhibition was ‘Balkans: Love it or leave it’ and had some provocative pieces and some excellent political messages. One focused on the various names the ‘West’ cast him/her as ‘East Europe, Central Europe, South East Europe, Balkan’ all the while remaining in Bucharest. Very interesting. 

We took in the magnificent views of the city on this glorious day, then walked back down the hill to the square, and on to the Irish bar. Here we ate and had drinks for 2 hours, just to relax and use up our time. We then headed over to the Ramstore to buy some local wine to take home, and snacks for the train. I then exchanged 2,000 denars back for €30 and we then had coffee.

Thoughts on Karl Kasers' The Balkans and the Near East

Most texts that seek to provide an historical perspective tend to focus on a time span of no more than a couple of centuries, or focus on an area defined by modern state boundaries. Some may even focus on a ‘people’ and cover a more expansive time. Yet none attempt what Karl Kaser has, which is to tie together a shared history over an expansive area known as the Balkans and the Near East.

He diverges from the norm by his approach to time and space. The earliest time that the book covers is from the formation of sedentary communities; that time when nomadic communities began to remain in one place, usually due to agriculture and the domestication of animals. The geography covered avoids modern state boundaries, but focuses on the territorial extents of the former Byzantium and Ottoman Empires.  It is within these two demarcations that he writes his shared history of the region. Yet this notion of shared does not seek to account for similarities only. It also looks at how different areas within this region diverge from each other, and seeks to explain why it is they do.

An example of this would be his observation of preindustrial modes of economy. One group being tied to the land, and the other as roaming, highlights the difference between sedentary and nomadic peoples. But what makes a group stay or move can be for many reasons. Whether they deal with livestock or crops, whether the climate is arid or wet, the degree of contours to determine seasonal economy (shorter distances to higher climes can lead to a diverse economy all year round, as opposed to a seasonal economy); and from these, lead on to the need to develop new technologies for a non-suitable environment, different modes of exchange of commodities once people move to production for surplus, and new ways of structuring society.

This highlights Kaser’s style in the book. The focus on a theme usually covers a time from several millennia BC up to the time of one of the empires, aside from a couple - such as pre- and post-industrial economic structures. Others complement each other such as the section on ‘Migrations’ and a later one on ‘Demographic Developments’, or ‘Family and Kinship’ followed by ‘Gender Relations’. Only on a few occasions did you feel a sense of repetition, but the ability to weave in something already mentioned symbolises the unity of the themes, underscoring the objective of the book being that of a shared history, temporally, spatially and thematically.

One chapter stuck out for me especially; that on ‘The Relevance of Writing Systems’. This chapter reflected the writings of Michel Foucault in ‘The Order of Things’. In that, he looks at the development of language from an oral expression to indicate hunger in the guise of a whimper, via the growing development of complex oral sounds to indicate further things, to the ability to draw a mark (either on wall or in sand) abstractly to indicate an object or a motion; finally to reach a nuanced and diverse set of linguistics and literature the world over. Kaser looks at this development in the region, and places emphasis on the development of language, especially written language, for the Book religions. The script was meant to keep the message for eternity and remain unchangeable. Those able to read it had the power to interpret the messages so had considerable leverage. But even if the written text remained the same, the interpretation could alter – and thus lead to schism and separations. Kaser deals with the religions earlier in the book, but this provides a neat summing up of how world religions are divided within themselves.

The overall conclusion, which Kaser threads seamlessly through the entire book, finds its origins in the first chapter – ‘Power and Dominance’. What he observes is a shift of power and dominance, both in its geographic sense and in its content, over the time frame of the book. He sees this shift as moving away from the Near East toward the Atlantic overall, with the content of this power and domination gradually being asserted in the economic sphere. He pinpoints the 500 years from the 11^th century as the period where a turning point was reached. Accidental factors, developmental dynamics, and Eurasia Minor’s economic-spatial and socio-cultural handicaps (lack of natural resources, deteriorating agriculture, late coming to printing, thus knock on to education and knowledge economy) as internal and external forces, lent themselves to this shift.

Given the breadth of knowledge that the book attempts to cover in its geography and time, it does provide a rounded and novel approach to the history of a wide region often studied across factitious disciplines. Although the depth of knowledge is lacking, the further reading lists do allow the specialist to delve further into a specific theme. Overall it successfully compels the reader to think differently by forging two hitherto academically separated regions – Oriental and Occidental – into one innovative approach to history of such a diverse region.

My Images of SEE – 19:09, Wed 10th August

After waking up this morning, me and Liam went over to the train station. It was my understanding that we had to reserve seats. Upon arrival, I asked the lone worker if she spoke English. ‘A little’. Great. So I asked her if I have to reserve a seat to Nis. She said no. I then asked her what time the train was tomorrow evening. She replied with 9 o’clock. I thanked her then left. We noticed a left luggage room too, so we can use it tomorrow. Walking back to the hotel, to drop off the train tickets I took with me, I began to question her train time. So back at the hotel I checked. Indeed there was a train, but at 09:00! The evening train was at 20:45. Tomorrow a.m. I will ask again.

We then walked into town, to the square, then up to the Old Railway Station, now a museum, and went to the Ramstore. `Liam exchanged money, and we had a frappe each. Cold coffee is lovely. We then continued along this road, turning right at the European Union building. We then hit pedestrian roadworks, and with Liam wearing flip-flops, we danced around the road. We then turned right again and back to the square. We decided to cross the river over the (thrice?) re-build Roman bridge. Looking back at the square just reaffirmed my dislike of all the monuments being erected. 

We walked past an old Orthodox church on our left, and the Daut Pasha – the former bathhouses. We then walked up a hill, and this felt like a proper Ottoman experience. Low buildings, 2 storey’s, but lower than anything back home. The vendors putting their wares on display. The street, or lane, was cobbled, and it was a mixture of shops and café’s. Very quaint. We kept walking up until it became quiet. So we turned around, saw the sign for the Kale Fortress and wound round another lane to the right, before reaching the buttress of one of the towers. 

We followed a wall along to some steps and climbed them to an open park, with the walls stretching from left to right about 200 yards away. We walked up to a gate, then along the wall to the entrance. However, a man in a hut at the entrance squeezed the one word of English he knew. Closed. So we made out way past the Mustapha Pasha, down a straight road to steps that led to a ‘bridge’ over the bypass. It began to rain then. 

So we hurried, poor Liam in his flip-flops, to the Soviet shopping mall. After 20 minutes of wandering around, we located a café and ordered soft drinks. It was only 11:00. We left after 40 minutes, trying for a while to catch the waitress’s attention to pay. I was feeling exhausted with this stomach bug, so we went back to the hostel. I must have slept for 3 hours but intermittently woke up. I decided to eat the pretzels we bought at the Ramstore earlier to try and quell it.

After much cajoling by Liam, we left our hole to go to the Velo Centre, near the train station. Similar to the Ramstore, it had a supermarket, a food court and shops. I decided I needed salt, so we got some fries from McDonalds (Only 2 countries visited, and 2 McDonald’s to match). We then walked along the river, past the Irish pub in the shopping centre and the various bars and restaurants located between the Soviet-era construction and the river.

As I bought postcards, I wanted to cut across ‘Makedonija’ to the post office, but got cut short. So we went to a café call Trend. Funnily enough, it was where my colleague from my former employment and I had dinner 2 ½ years ago. We lazed there for an hour before heading back to the hostel.