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g; 107373 1! A WAYFARER : D.... ''' YUGOSLAVIA' 1 1ROM TIU-; LAKK OF A WAYFA&ER IN YUGOSLAVIA by LOVETT FIELDING EDWARDS With 16 plates and endpaper maps NEW YORK ROBERT M. McBRIDE & COMPANY 1939 CONTENTS I. THE GATEWAY TO YUGOSLAVIA: SUSAK . I Prelude in Sarajevo: SuSak, the Frontier Gate: Trsat: The Last Countess: the Church of the Frankopans: Introduction to the Karst: Futine: A pan-Slav beano: Old Allies. II. THE ISLAND OF THE FRANKOPANS: KRK . 15 Tunny ladders: The Gates of Senj: Ivo of Senj: The Frankopans again: BaSka: Fruits of the sea: The Place of the Dead: The Croat sacred script: Dom Vinko: <Boce>. III. LOVE AND LOBSTERS: RAB 30 Hermits and nudists: Rab, the place of the living: Wine and lobsters: Storm-bound: Interlude with Poldi. IV. THE FJORD OF THE GIANTS: ZRMANJA . 39 Along the Velebit: Gendarmes and Dolphins: The Military Frontiers: Slavonic Gods; Forgotten seas: 9 Obrovac: 'The Matchmaker : Karin and Benkovac: Yugoslav penny bloods. V. CRUISERS AND CATHEDRALS: SlBENIK 53 Stage entrance: The Cathedral of Sibenik: A talkative priest: The Falls of the Krka: Paean to elderly English- women: Visovac, an island monastery: Skradin; malaria and goats. vi. VANISHED GLORIES: BIOGRAD AND VRANA . 64 An idealistic hotelkeeper: The Wedding of the Sea: Croat Sea-power: Vrana of the Templars: Ottoman Hans: Zlarin: Coral fishing and emigration. VII. REBELLIOUS SPLIT 74 Diocletian, his trout: A historical labyrinth: Rebellious Split: Deliverance from Pharaoh: The people of the mountains: Salona: A Roman menu: Bulid and Shaw: The winds of Kits. V via. CITY OF PIRATES: OMI 86 Medieval racketeers: The Gorge of the Cctina: The Republic of Poljice: Corpus Christi on Brae: Povlje: A very bad donkey: Selca t a village of stonemasons: Toma Rosandit, a great artist. Vlii A WAYFARER IN YUGOSLAVIA IX. THE ISLAND OF WINE: VIS ..... 96 r The wines of ] is: KomiZa: The Sense of smt-ll: Ifaechus and Freud: Miracles, true and false: Vis: I'chi Lufat: The Cathedral of Korfula: The-MoreZka Dance: The Nerctva estuary: Elusive pelicans. X. DXJBROVNIK ........ IO8 A Pearl of Great Price: The Feast of St. Wahn: The last aristocrat: Literary glories: Three things unfaithful: Dubrtrvnik River: St. Paul at Mttila: Mnn&wse.$: Cartat: Ivan McStravic, another great artist. XL THE BOKA KOTORSKA ...... 124 The Guild of St. Trifun: Seafaring tradition: Entrance to the ftoka: The hie of the Dead: An unhnntiintttire guide: Kotnr: llerccgnovi; The monastery of Sarinti: A peasant from the city: Kutira: Sfilocer: Famine on board: The Montenegrin Railway. xn, CORSAIR CITY: ULCINJ ...... 133 Two thousand years of piracy: Pirate tales: The \egrws of Ulcinj: Loquacious barbers: The Languages of OW; Amorous complications: The Salt of the KU* th: tthartic* ter of the Albanians: Fortress of Ghnsts. XIIL LAND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN .... 144 Old and AVc Bar: tius travel in Yutyishtria; The Whirlpool Market: The Lake of Skadar: llhturv / Montenegro: KjegoSt J^wf, Prince, and rrthite: Character of the Montenegrins: Cetinje: The A'w;*m'*< Gorge: The Lwcen Road. XIV. FROM EAST TO WEST: SARAJEVO IN TRANSITION. 156 Farezi'clt to the Sty: The Karst again: ftusnittn //ttr/;Vif Mostar; andMtislcMSjPotitelj: lyater-buttlt*: Mttstafffs shop: HtiS-Cartija; a lesson in tiring: Surtijwtt in transition: The 'swdatinke* : Turkish dam ing ; A historian. XV, THE FOREST COUNTRY ...... 174 The Timber Industry: r&oko: Tr&xmik: fYw* Rv Jajce: A tiognmil catacomb: Ottoman nth* in dt ation: The JPliva lake: Through the forests: tfrn Prijcdor. XVI. TRAPPISTS AND TURKS: BANJA LUKA . |88 liwija Luke, City of the rfoiers: A Moslem suwntt -r resort: Fish-breeding: The Bmnitm ficuyittnt: The melancholy carp; A Peasant Spti: Maria Stern, <i Trappist monastery; Modern GentMn Art, CONTENTS IX XVII. ZAGREB 194 Matija Gubec, tradition and fact: Great modern church art: The McStrovic crucifix: The Yugoslav theatre; Krleza and Nusic: Aristocratic tradition: Virtues and vices of Zagreb: On the Slijeme: A peasant festival: St. Florijan does his stuff. XVIII. SLOVENIA 203 The Slovene language: Slovene history: The Counts of Celje: Maribor: Gothic and baroque Ptuj : The Orpheus Stone: Libations to Liber and Libera: Crna Breg: Mountains and moonlight: Slovene reminiscences: Triglav: An international train: Slovenjgradec. XIX. YUGOSLAV SYNTHESIS I BELGRADE . 2l8 Zetnun, its storks: Danube barge-dogs: History of Zemun: History of Belgrade: Virtues and vices of Belgrade: A City of Gourmets: Mt. Avala: Foreign Affairs: Oplenac, the Royal Mausoleum: Life and Death of Karageorge: Mosaics: The Death of King Alexander. XX. THE HOME OF CAUSES WON: SOUTH SERBIA . 241 Marko Kratjevic* Hero of the Serbs: The Yugoslav National Ballads: Sava, saint and statesman: Prizren: Bathing by bus: The Medieval Monasteries: History of the Serb 'Patriarchate: Lost in Pec: A Moslem Host: Markov Monastir: Good-bye to Yugoslavia, BIBLIOGRAPHY 262 INDEX 265 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE LAKE OF SKADAR .... Frontispiece facing page RAB* 32 PEASANTS FROM THE LIRA 42 LIKA PEASANTS AT OBROVAC 48 Photo: Author MENDING NETS, ISLAND OF SILBA* 70 KOMI&A IOO Photo: Author GATEWAY OF THE PALACE OF THE RECTORS, DUBROVNIK . 112 BUDVA 121 YUGOSLAV ROYAL SUMMER PALACE, AT MILO&SR, NEAR BUDVA 132 A MONTENEGRIN 148 SARAJEVO l6o Photo: Foto Tausch, Sarajevo A SELLER OF *BOZA,' A TEMPERANCE DRINK* . 180 ZAGREB: FROM THE STROSMAJER ALLEY . .196 SLOVENE COSTUME SOUTH SERBIAN COSTUME STREET IN OHRID 250 FROM TETOVO IN SOUTH SERBIA. WATCHING A WEDDING PROCESSION* 256 * Photo: Putfdk MAPS YUGOSLAVIA Front endpapers THE COAST OF DALMATIA .... Back endpapers NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF YUGOSLAV NAMES this book I have made no attempt to anglicize INYugoslav proper names, with the exception of Belgrade (Serbo-Croat: Beograd) and Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croat: Jugoslavia), which would seem absurd to an English reader in their proper form. Otherwise I have used the Latin Croatian spelling throughout. Slovene has the same phonetics and the same alphabet, Serb the same phonetics but the Cyrillic alphabet. Serb and Croat are practically the same, with slight dialect differences, with which it is unnecessary to worry the average reader. Slovene is different, but with similar orthography, so that no one need anticipate any difficulties. All the South Slav dialects are mutually comprehensible, including Bulgarian, though in the case of Slovene a certain amount of oral practice is advisable. Speaking Serbo- Croat reasonably well, I can travel easily and make myself everywhere understood from Mt. Triglav to the Black Sea. Most educated persons in Croatia and Slovenia speak German and French, in Dalmatia, German, Italian, and often English, in Serbia and South Serbia, French. In all large towns there is a group of English- speaking persons, usually with a club. Serbo-Croat is strictly phonetic. One sound is almost designated by one character; in the Cyrillic alphabet always. The foreigner cannot go far wrong if he uses 'continental' vowels and English consonants, with the following exceptions: is c is always ts, as in cats. Example: Car Tsar, "ica" common geographical ending, e.g. Planica Planitsa, or Crikvenica Tsnkvenitsa . XIV A WAYFARER IN YUGOSLAVIA is ch in church. Example: Caak -Chachak. 6 is similar, but softer, as t in the Cockney pronunciation of tube. Most Serb and many Croat and Slovene family names end in L as For practical purposes and 6 may be regarded the same. in fact. dj is English j in judge, the English j dS is practically the same, but harder. It is usually found in words of Turkish origin, e.g. dfcamija = mosque. / is always soft, the English y. Example: Jugoslavia it softens Yugoslavi(y)a. After n or /, merely those consonants, without being separately pronounced, as n in news. Examples: Ulcinj and Bitolj. In the Cyrillic letters. nj and Ij are single r is sometimes a vowel, strongly rolled. Hence such words as trg square, or vrh summit. Crna Gora Ts(e)ma Gora Montenegro . is sh, as in shake. Example: Suak Sushak. is zh as in azure. cf. French in & y % E.g. 2upa Zhupa; j jamais. A WAYFARER IN YUGOSLAVIA I THE GATEWAY TO YUGOSLAVIA: SUAK AM beginning this book on a Wednesday, because I the old Moslem astrologer told me to. I had been to see him before, and was drawn to consult him again; of all creeds perhaps because of my love for learned men which the stars had told him was in my character. He in the was sitting cross-legged in his little booth Sarajevo market, with a pile of dog-eared Arabic books beside him. His face, beneath his turban of gold lace, was good- humoured and lined. Mustafa and I greeted him: 'Merhaba!' and squatted opposite him on the wooden plank that served him for bed and counter. He stared at my Western dress, and put two pairs of scratched crystal spectacles on his watery old eyes before he recognized me. Then he sent his apprentice out for coffee. We started chatting, Mustafa asked him how old he was. *I am seventy-six/ 'And how many children have you?' 'Nine. The youngest is eighteen months/ Decidedly the stars love their votaries ! It was five years since I had last consulted the stars. Would I care to consult them again? He smiled good- humouredly: 'I can tell you what is written there, but dear Allah alone knows if they speak the truth.' Mustafa, too, smiled: 'At least we can see.' The old man searched among his books for his guide those of to the stars, and then asked me my name and my father and mother. The strange English sounds worried him, and he kept repeating them to get them 2 A WAYFARER IN YUGOSLAVIA in Arabic and right. He noted them down characters, from them calculated the mystic number that was to tell me my fate.