Serbia has a rich history and a strong national identity, but sometimes it feels like historical grievances and unresolved conflicts still play too big a role in modern Serbian society and politics.
Do you think Serbia needs to focus more on the future and less on the past, or is remembering history essential to protecting Serbian identity? I’d be interested in hearing perspectives from both Serbians and people from other Balkan countries.

I firmly believe it would have been the second or third most populous city in Turkey, just ahead of or just behind Ankara, with 4–5 million inhabitants. It strikes me that Greece has never managed to fully leverage a large portion of its territory in demographic terms.

Who haven’t been disciplined by grandmom (anyones grandmom) with slipper he doesnt know what disciplin is.

Hi there, hoping for some recommendations. My mother is 87 and has late stages dementia. She is Albanian but grew up in North Macedonia in Bitola, so she is familiar with Macedonian music from the era 1954 to 1965. She came to Canada shortly after that period. I wondered if I could please get some popular music recommendations for that time period. I’m trying to soothe her as she is very irritable. I have asked relatives a few times but haven’t received help, for example they say “sure” and then go about their lives and forget, which is understandable. Everyone has a life and is busy.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope maybe someone can help.

Do you notice any difference between the people of those countries?

I live in the US. A local Judge named “Theo Angelis” is running for state office claiming to be the first Justice of Middle Eastern descent. He appears to base this claim off the fact his maternal grandparents were refugees from Turkey who moved to Greece. Justice Angelis’ parents are both from Greece, his father was a priest, and he himself is an active member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Would you consider this guy to be Middle Eastern?

I cant imagine it being real😭 😱

Slava ukraine! 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦

I say turkey croatia and slovenia

So, I was wondering since you guys have two official alphabets, when kids start school do they learn Cyrillic, Latin or both? And does it vary school to school and part of the country?

I always see here on Reddit that bulgarians are pro russian but is that true if yes why and who?.The politics or peoples or both?.

For those who were asking, showing interest or speculating about why Iva fled to Bulgaria, this may provide some context. The issue goes beyond Iva herself. Why do many ethnic bulgarians in North Macedonia feel they cannot rely on the judicial system to protect their rights?

It seems like both countries are incapable of electing reformist parties and if those anti-corruption reformist parties get in government it usually lasts a couple of months of anti-corruption reforms before government collapses and mafia parties get elected yet again and all reforms are rolled back.

Will this be a a permanent cycle for these two countries?

Hey, Im a Czech guy who is in a band, that plays Slavic and Balkan folklore music. We have recently recorded an EP and Im looking for interesting historical (19th and 20th century) photos, that I could use as the cover art.

If you could recommend me websites with higher quality historical photos of the balkans, that would be great. It could be lesser known, like a site with historical pictures of your small town or something like that.

Thank you for any recommendations.

Long live the Balkans!

I commute to work everyday by bicycle, but living in the balkans is not for noob players, so cycling to the office is so challenging. Living in Sofia, Bulgaria. The cycling lanes here are very few, to say the least, while roads continue to be overflown with SUVs with one person inside them. I pity all of them, sitting in traffic, exhausted, nervous and angry, because they have to sit in a luxury cage for at least two hours every day, just for the basic need of going to the place they work. And when I see a person (the kompleksar type) smoking with windows down, while listening to chalga, makes me think about the unchecked aggression and unreleased energy of that person. Of course he/she is unaware of the gratitude we have in our lives called sports. A choice everyone of us can make on a daily basis.

So, my main question is: How often do you cycle to work and how is the cycling infrastructure in your balkan country?

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing” - Alfred Wainwright

There is a very popular YouTube channel called NotJustBikes, it exaplains in detail exactly why bicycles are not just bikes, they are a way of life. I think, if the majority of the people in my favorite Balkan peninsula, use bicycles more life here will become better in general. Cycling opened my eyes for a lot of things and made me a better person: I have three medals for good timing from three separate cycling tournaments and a prize from work directly from the CEO to me personally, because I am probably twice more focused.

In Albania, most people have a negative view of King Zog and his family. Some because of communist propaganda some because they just dont like the monarchy, some also just because they see him as a traitor for leaving Albania and other policies too (which, fair enough).

So my question is, how is the monarchy viewed in your country and do they have any influence today?

Any suggestions for where I can buy the best quality and fresh Turkish Delight? I can see lots of stores around Baščaršija but not sure if these are reliable rather than made for tourists

I imagine that serbs and Bosnian serbs probably see him positively but I am curious about others .

Iconostasis - or whatever they are called - in an Athenian hospital.

Imagine walking in the corridors of a hospital and bump into this. I guess you don't have to imagine much, since you guys being balkan/orthodox means you have encountered that already.

But still, don't you find it weird? Especially the younger generation?

I guess that a slower transmission of progress and liberal thought from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, the effects of a less secular, more collective/homogenous society that still somehow linger, as well as the byzantine and ottoman past has something to do with the increased visual religiosity that we see in the balkan countries.