Phespirit goes to Serbia
Niš     September 2006

WINDOW PAIN

Having crossed the border from Macedonia, Phespirit gazes with feverish excitement at the Serbian landscape.

See how his body is unnaturally contorted? This posture is the result of having a narrow headrest positioned at shoulder-level for the entire duration of a very long train journey.

VARIOUS THINGS

This photo, taken from the 8m-high walls of Niš Fortress (Tvrdava), captures all the key features at the heart of Niš:

• the Istanbul Gate of Tvrdava;
• the bridge over the River Nišava;
• the towering Hotel Ambassador;
• assorted concrete abominations.

SKULDUGGERY

How to take revenge when the enemy army is annihilated ..... and yet victorious?

For 19th century Ottomans the answer was to decapitate the Serbian dead and to build a Skull-tower. It was intended as a warning for others but predictably it became a focus for Serbian nationalist pride.