On the way from Pristina to Prizren, if you travel via Urosevac, nestled in the mountains is Brezovica—one of the oldest and largest Serbian villages in the area. If you climb up the mountain from here, you will find the remains of an old mountain skiing center for tourists, which was once famous throughout Yugoslavia. Abandoned, shabby buildings of hotels and restaurants, playgrounds and closed shops, rusty cable railways and cars, deserted houses with roofs that are about to collapse—it’s a heavy, sad feeling of forsakenness and uselessness. As you climb a little higher, you look at the brand-new villas of newcomers who consider this land to be their own. But you feel that here, in the mountains, it is not power and wealth that reign, but goodness and peace with nature and obedience to its laws and beauty. That is why the Serbs who live in their tiny world of several mountain villages surrounded by the crown of their “mountain queen”, as they call Sar Planina, quite rightly consider themselves to be its true masters, for they know their land and know how to appreciate its eternal beauty.
Among these “Serbian mountain-dwellers” lives Boban Stojanovic, a young geographer, ski instructor and guide to the boundless beauties of Sar Planina Mountains. He is convinced that the beauty and tranquility of life depends on whether you live in harmony with God and His wonderful Creation, whether you know how to see and appreciate this beauty, and whether you thank the Creator for it. According to him, in this case you have freedom and independence from all the momentary whims of politics or fleeting new crises that shake society. Therefore, Boban prefers not to sigh, not to get angry, not to shake his fist at the heavens, and not to complain about life. He says that it is all very simple:
“First and foremost, we should give special attention to ourselves: our own hearts, homes, the villages we live in, and our thoughts, instead of spewing curses. Kindness, peace and love for your land—in my judgment, that is what’s required for a good life. It seems to me that many people share my views, which is very encouraging. The earth, God’s Creation, knows how to appreciate love and will definitely respond when the right time comes.”
Max the dog
Using social media, in less than ten years of his traveling through his native mountains he has been able to introduce thousands of nature lovers from all over Serbia and the surrounding area to them, his dog Max, and the village of Brezovica. In winter there are crowds of tourists in the village: those who are older come to ski down the mysterious slopes and forests, while children learn the basics of skiing at the school organized by Boban.
The house built with Boban’s own hands “The majority of guests come from central Serbia, but also from Montenegro. All of them are Serbs. I like that there are a lot of guests. There is always someone staying in my mountain hut. Well, the ‘hut’ is a log house, something like a chalet. My friends and I built it ourselves, with our own hands, a couple of years ago. We wanted all the details to be designed in the good old Serbian style, and we succeeded. Thank God, we have clever hands. There is a living-room with a fireplace, a kitchenette, a bedroom and polati.[1] We took old photos our relatives had and built everything according to them. And for decoration we collected old carpets, lanterns, dishes and chests from our neighbors. It all turned out great.”
Among other things, Boban practices photography and arranges hiking tours to the mountains. People are happy: at last you have a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and immerse yourself with your mind (and heart!) into a good fairy tale, which is actually quite real—you just need to look more closely. To plunge into the wondrous world of nature, to come to your senses, and to calm down… This means so much to modern people! Boban has been taking marvelous photographs and is thinking of organizing an exhibition.
“Sar Planina is one of the most beautiful and richest mountain ranges in Europe. There are over 2000 species of plants here, there is a huge diversity of fauna, and our waterfalls, streams, and mountain rivers—what else do you need for happiness?”
The interior of the house
So what makes these mountains special? What inspired this young man to devote his whole life to them? Boban says:
“The soul. Whoever comes here will always feel the soul, the heart of these mountains. He will see locals, talk to them, laugh and pray a little. Well, how can anyone remain indifferent here? He will learn the age-old history of these places with their ups and downs, grief and happiness... Of course it’s not Paradise, but it’s at least a little reminiscent of it. So we should fight, not despair.”
There are no specially equipped tracks for tourists, no parks or special “tourist zones”. Boban is even pleased with this situation. Let nature remain untouched; we don’t need any “tourist destinations” with “tourism-focused”, dirty cities.
“It's better this way. Living beauty is better, otherwise its uniqueness will disappear—there are many examples of this. Now as many as nine hydroelectric power stations have been built. We protested and asked them to protect the mountains. By the way, local Albanians, our neighbors, and all the local inhabitants also protested. But protests will have little effect, because these hydroelectric power plants are already here. We only hope that nature will not respond as it can when its laws are violated. And it can answer seriously. However, who can be blamed but man, who considers himself smarter, and lives for short-term gain?…”
The common struggle for the purity of their native mountains unites Serbs and local Albanians. Incidentally, there have been no clashes on the grounds of nationalism in Brezovica: they have lived and continue to live peacefully. The harsh mountain life, with its own laws and specifics, forces people to live in peace and mutual respect. Therefore, no one here is surprised when a Serb helps his Albanian neighbor or vice versa—this is natural here, as it should probably be everywhere. But the noise of “peacekeeping” helicopters can constantly be heard. Their noise is deafening, brazen and insolent. These “peacekeepers” have their own borders and their own laws, which have nothing to do with natural laws. Tired of the noise, the people live by the beauty of their mountains, not recognizing alien borders, and thanking those who know and respect the boundaries of common sense.
Guests of Sar Planina Mountains. Maria Vasic with her daughter Nadezhda
“Actually, I shouldn't let you go to the mountains alone, but since you’re so sure... However, I see that you are well prepared. Okay, go ahead, but be careful. You will see a lot—glacial lakes, the cell of the holy anchorite Petar of Korisa, the peaks of the mountains... The road goes through the forest everywhere, but it is not always fit for vehicles. It is even hard to go on foot. You will come back in eight or nine hours. Believe me, it’s worth it. The experience is unforgettable. On your way you may encounter bears, wolves, lynxes, chamois… And every time I am asked if I’m afraid of such encounters. No, I’m not afraid. At first I was worried, but then I got used to it. The main rule here is that nature avoids man. ‘Don't touch me, and I won't touch you.’ But man has become a stranger to nature (here it is: one of the consequences of the fall), and therefore he is always fearful. He is afraid of his own shadow—that’s what we’ve come to. But it all depends on the person himself; if his heart is kind, nature will be drawn to him. There have been such cases. Ask the monastic fathers.”
