Resurgent Serbia | Bangkok Post: travel

TRAVEL SCRAPBOOK

As peace has returned to most of the Balkans, countries in the region, including those that broke off from the former Yugoslavia, are opening their doors to tourists. And Serbia, despite the unsettled conflict with Kosovo to its south, is no exception.

To the Serbs, religion is a crucial part of life. And the most important spiritual sanctity in Belgrade is this grand cathedral dedicated to Saint Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the founder of Serbian law and literature. Saint Sava was born a prince during medieval times. But like his father King Stefan Nemanja, who left the throne to become an orthodox monk in 1196, he decided to follow the religious path and still managed to contribute so much to his country. The former king himself was also a highly respected monk and canonised as Saint Simeon.

Homeland of the Serbs, one of the most prominent of the many ethnic groups that inhabit the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia maintained a federation with its closest ally Montenegro and hung on as Yugoslavia until 2003.