Servia, Youngest Member of the European Family: or, A Residence in Belgrade and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844.Paton, A. A. (Andrew Archibald)
History
Servia, Youngest Member of the European Family: or, A Residence in Belgrade and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844.
Paton, A. A. (Andrew Archibald)
Serbia -- Description and travel
On leaving Ushitza, the Natchalnik accompanied me with a cavalcade of
twenty or thirty Christians, a few miles out of the town. The
afternoon was beautiful; the road lay through hilly ground, and after
two hours' riding, we saw Poshega in the middle of a wide level plain;
after descending to which, we crossed the Scrapesh by an elegant
bridge of sixteen arches, and entering the village, put up at a
miserable khan, although Poshega is the embryo of a town symmetrically
and geometrically laid out. Twelve years ago a Turk wounded a Servian
in the streets of Ushitza, in a quarrel about some trifling matter.
The Servian pulled out a pistol, and shot the Turk dead on the spot.
Both nations seized their arms, and rushing out of the houses, a
bloody affray took place, several being left dead on the spot. The
Servians, feeling their numerical inferiority, now transplanted
themselves to the little hamlet of Poshega, which is in a finer plain
than that of Ushitza; but the colony does not appear to prosper, for
most of the Servians have since returned to Ushitza.
Poshega, from remnants of a nobler architecture, must have been a
Roman colony. At the new church a stone is built into the wall, having
the fragment of an inscription:--
A V I A. G E N T
I L F L A I I S P R
and various other stones are to be seen, one with a figure sculptured
on it.
Continuing our way down the rich valley of the Morava, which is here
several miles wide, and might contain ten times the present
population, we arrived at Csatsak, which proved to be as symmetrically
laid out as Poshega. Csatsak is old and new, but the old Turkish town
has disappeared, and the new Servian Csatsak is still a foetus. The
plan on which all these new places are constructed, is simple, and
consists of a circular or square market place, with bazaar shops in
the Turkish manner, and straight streets diverging from them. I put up
at the khan, and then went to the Natchalnik's house to deliver my
letter. Going through green lanes, we at length stopped at a high
wooden paling, over-topped with rose and other bushes. Entering, we
found ourselves on a smooth carpet of turf, and opposite a pretty
rural cottage, somewhat in the style of a citizen's villa in the
environs of London. The Natchalnik was not at home, but was gracefully
represented by his young wife, a fair specimen of the beauty of
Csatsak; and presently the Deputy and the Judge came to see us. A dark
complexioned, good-natured looking man, between thirty and forty, now
entered, with an European air, German trowsers and waistcoat, but a
Turkish riding cloak. "There comes the doctor," said the lady, and the
figure with the Turkish riding cloak thus announced himself:--
_Doctor_. "I' bin a' Wiener."
_Author_. "Gratulire: dass iss a' lustige Stadt."
_Doctor_. "Glaub'ns mir, lust'ger als Csatsak."
_Author_. "I' glaub's."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account