 | McLae´s guide to Serbia |  |
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Serbia Internet country code: .yu / .cs International telephone prefix: +381  The first Serbian state was formed in the early 11th century, expanding to a Balkan empire until the mid of 14th century. In 1389, after the Kosovo battle, Serbian empire finaly fell to the dominance of the Turks. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal Tito took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-Tito Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia". All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, one year after the conflict in the Kosovo province between the Albanian separatist movement and the Federal and Republic armed forces started escalating, NATO started an extensive bombing campaign across the whole State Union which lasted several months. This conflict resulted in the placing of Kosovo under UN administration. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of Milosevic and installed Vojislav Kostunica as president. The arrest of Milosevic in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegran components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose state union of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro (SCG). An agreement provided for the possibility to hold a referendum on independence after three years of the promulgation of the constitutional charter. This referendum was held in Montenegro on May 21, 2006, and Montenegro declared their independence. Languages: The Serbian language is almost identical with Croat, Bosnian or Bosniak (differences are mostly in vocabulary [bread = cro. kruh, sr. hleb, bo. hlijeb and similar], but almost all inhabitans understand all versions). Before the era of aggressive nationalist cultural and linguistical policies in former Yugoslavia, it was known as Serbo-Croat, although today people in former Yugoslavia do not use any more this general expression for their common language. Eating and Drinking: When ordering a burger ask for 'pljeskavica' (pronounced: plee-eska-veetsa), and ask for cheese curd (like sour cream) (pronounced: kei-mahk) it tastes better than it sounds. Stepin Vajet at and Duff both at autokomanda are the best grill fastfood restaurants in town. Also try c'evape (pronounced: che-vapay), they are small parcels of minced meat, grilled with hot spices. It is considered a local fast food delicacy. Highly recommended to carnivores. Burek (pronounced Boor-ek) is very delicious. It is made with either meat, cheese or sometimes apple. Not for dieters as it is quite oily. Morning is definitely the best time to eat this (sometimes sold-out by afternoon). Respect: When toasting in Serbia, as in many countries, you must look the person in the eye as you toast. It is rude not to. Always greet people with good morning (Dobro jutro) /afternoon (Dobar dan)/evening (Dobro vece) /night In Serbia they say "molim" which means a variety of things including: pardon me, excuse me, forgive me and can also be used for you're welcome. Do not say "šta" (pron. shta) which translates to "what" as is often used in English to get someone to repeat something. That would sound rude. Learn the polite version of "you" and use it, especially when addressing older people. |
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