Balkans

UnBalkanize

« Balkanization, division of a multinational state into smaller homogeneous entities. The term is also used to refer ethnic conflict within multiethnic states. It was coined at the end of World War I to describe the ethnic and political fragmentation that followed the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the Balkans. » Encyclopedia Britannica

Burial celebration at the cemetery. Romania, Maramurès area. 2015 The mourning period for Eastern Orthodox Christians lasts for forty days. Within those forty days, the third day, the ninth day, and the fortieth day all have special significance. After forty days, memorials are celebrated at three months, six months, nine months, one year, and on the anniversary of the death for at least seven years.

A traditional village that the Serbian film director Emir Kusturica built for his film Life Is a Miracle. Drvengrad, Serbia. 2015. « I lost my city [Sarajevo] during the war. That is why I wished to build my own village. It bears a German name : Küstendorf. I will organize seminars there, for people who want to learn how to make cinema, concerts, ceramics, painting. It is the place where I will live and where some people will be able to come from time to time. There will be of course some other inhabitants who will work. I dream of an open place with cultural diversity which sets up against globalization. » E. Kusturica.

Wooden church. Romania, Maramurès area. 2015. In Maramureș today almost 100 wooden churches still stand, about one third of their total two centuries ago. Besides the extant wooden churches, a major source of knowledge is still saved by a number of practicing senior carpenters with relevant knowledge and skills in traditional carpentry.

Burial celebration at the cemetery. Romania, Maramurès area. 2015. The mourning period for Eastern Orthodox Christians lasts for forty days. Within those forty days, the third day, the ninth day, and the fortieth day all have special significance. After forty days, memorials are celebrated at three months, six months, nine months, one year, and on the anniversary of the death for at least seven years.

Maramures aera, Romania. 2015. Burial.

August 15th pilgrimage & celebrations, Nicula Monastery. Gherla, Romania. 2015. Nicula Monastery is an important pilgrimage center in the north of Transylvania. The church of the monastery housed over time the famous icon painted in 1681 by the artisan Luca of Iclod

Merry Cemetary. Sapanta, Romania. 2015. Merry Cemetery is filled with more than 1,000 blue wooden crosses in Sapanta, Romania. These unique gravestones share the deceased’s story through detailed bright and colorful pictures. Stan Ion Patras is the original artist of these gravestones, but after he passed away, his apprentice Dumitru Pop Tincu took over. The pictures often show how the deceased died and the colors have special meanings.

Pilgrims, Nicula Monastery. Gherla, Romania. 2015. Nicula Monastery is an important pilgrimage center in the north of Transylvania. The church of the monastery housed over time the famous icon painted in 1681 by the artisan Luca of Iclod

Pilgrims. Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegoniva. 2013. Pilgrims on the way to the statue of Virgin Mary, on top of Podbro’s Hill. Since 1981, when six local children claimed they had seen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Medjugorje has become an unapproved destination of Catholic pilgrimage. It has been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Medjugorje.

Pilgrims. Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegoniva. 2013. A group of pilgrims with a priest for a celebration on top of Podbro’s Hill. Since 1981, when six local children claimed they had seen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Medjugorje has become an unapproved destination of Catholic pilgrimage. It has been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Medjugorje.

Guca Festival, Serbia. 2014. Annual brass band festival. 600,000 visitors make their way to the town of 2,000 inhabitants every year, both from Serbia and abroad.

Guca Festival, Serbia. 2014. Annual brass band festival. Miles Davis said a Guča Festival visitor: “I didn't know you could play trumpet that way”.

Guca, Serbia. 2015. Beside the festival, locals are playing with numerous attractions.

Guca Festival, Serbia. 2014. Annual brass band festival. 600,000 visitors make their way to the town of 2,000 inhabitants every year, both from Serbia and abroad.

Kukès, Albania. 2014. Musicians during a traditional wedding.

Guca, Serbia. 2014. Beside the festival, locals are playing with numerous attractions.

Istanbul, Turkey. 2015.

Kukes. Albania. 2014

Istanbul, Turkey. 2015.

Istanbul, Turkey. 2015. Elections week, Billboard.

Visegrad, Bosnia y Herzgovina. 2014. In close proximity to the Serbian border, the town was strategically important during the conflict. A nearby hydroelectric dam provided electricity and also controlled the level of the River Drina, preventing flooding downstream areas.

Guca Festival, Serbia. 2014. Annual brass band festival. 600,000 visitors make their way to the town of 2,000 inhabitants every year, both from Serbia and abroad.