Standing at the end of the small peninsula of Mahdia, at the foot of the Turkish stronghold Borj El-Kebir, the white graves follow one another towards the turquoise sea and they all point in the same direction, which is the direction of Mecca.
The Mahdia cemetery was founded in the 10th century, which is when the Arabs arrived in the village, and it is still in use.
“The essence of ‘A thousand and one nights’, which is, however, ninety-nine per cent real. What an aroma, how penetrating, how intoxicating, and at the same time simple and clear. Nourishment, the most real and substantial nourishment, as well as delicious drink. Food and intoxication. Scented wood is burning. Home?”
Paul Klee, “The Diaries of Paul Klee, 1898 – 1918”
We left the car right outside the entrance of Voskopoja. The parking lot was empty and the village looked deserted, apart from a few old men drinking and smoking under the porch of the local bar. Our plan was to visit the frescoed churches, which recall a time when Voskopoja was a cosmopolitan metropolis, a centre of arts and cultures and the second largest city of the Ottoman Balkans after Istanbul.
After my best friend’s big, fat, Balkan wedding and a few days wandering around Skopje, the time arrived to explore the rest of the country. So I rented a car, swore for a good 20 minutes imagining a whole week on the (Balkan) roads without an automatic drive and finally took to the ‘Mother Teresa’ highway. Next stop: Mavrovo National Park.
This morning I woke up with a very pleasant thought: one week from now, I will be in the Balkans.
And this won’t be just another Balkan adventure; this time, I’m going back there to attend my best friend’s wedding! (which also happens to be my first Balkan wedding!).
It took me so long to publish this post! In my defence, it was because I spent several months looking for someone who had worked at one of the most important factories in Albania, the big industrial centre of Kombinati Metalurgjik near the town of Elbasan, as I wanted to bring you a first-hand story about this huge industrial area, which is now charmingly abandoned (a truly amusement park for industrial archaeology lovers!).