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Marina Mirković | The Balkan Explorer

@thebalkanexplorer

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Telling the story behind Balkan places 🧭
History • Folklore • Sacred sites • Yugoslavia • Brutalism • Hidden gems • Events • Food

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🇷🇸 Kafana (restaurant) SFRJ. Belgrade

Step into a place where time literally stopped — this restaurant feels like a living piece of Yugoslavia. From the interior to the food, everything looks like it’s straight out of another era… and somehow, it still works.
#kafana #yugoslavia #tito #belgraderestaurant #belgradewhattodo taken in Belgrade, Serbia by @thebalkanexplorer

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📍The Military Medical Academy (known as VMA) is a famous hospital in Belgrade. A brutalist titan born from the vision of Yugoslavia. In a world of profit, this was built for the people. Free, advanced, and monumental. #brutalism #yugoslavia #socialistmodernism
#belgrade #tito taken in Belgrade, Serbia by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇲🇰 The Black Drim River starts right here, flowing out of Lake Ohrid — one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe. 💙
Its crystal-clear water stays around 10–12°C all year, creating a unique ecosystem with rare endemic species.

Surrounded by untouched nature and the slopes of Mount Galičica, this place feels incredibly peaceful — no wonder people keep coming back.

📍Ohrid, North Macedonia 🇲🇰
#ohrid #northmacedonia #explorebalkans #naturelovers taken in Ohrid by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇧🇦 Of all the places I’ve visited across the Balkans, Jajce is one where I could imagine living. The old town, clean streets, local food and nature so close to everyday life — I really liked the combination.

A waterfall in the centre, green spaces and a slower pace. I came to explore, but left thinking: I could live here. taken in Jajce, Bosna i Hercegovina by @thebalkanexplorer

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An unexpected piece of Roman history in Jajce, Bosnia & Herzegovina. 🏛️

This ancient sanctuary was dedicated to Mithras, a god worshipped through secret rituals across the Roman Empire. His cult was especially popular among soldiers.

Hidden for centuries, the sanctuary was discovered by accident in 1931 during the construction of a house.

Swipe to take a closer look. → taken in Jajce, Bosna i Hercegovina by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇧🇦 Pliva Waterfall is located in the centre of Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Pliva River meets the Vrbas. Around 20m high (roughly the height of a six-storey building) it cascades over a natural tufa barrier and is one of the town’s best-known landmarks. taken in Jajce, Bosna i Hercegovina by @thebalkanexplorer

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Hidden Bosnia. Just 25 kilometres from Banja Luka, waterfalls flow beneath wooden watermills. Welcome to Krupa na Vrbasu. taken in Banja Luka by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇷🇸BRUTALIST ANGLES. Belgrade’s “25. maj” sports centre, designed by Ivan Antić and completed in 1973, captures the bold architectural spirit of socialist Yugoslavia. Its name means “May 25”, the date celebrated as Youth Day and Tito’s official birthday. Overlooking the Danube, its dramatic concrete overhangs and sharp geometric lines still give it the look of a spacecraft parked on the riverbank. taken in Belgrade, Serbia by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇧🇬 Bulgaria’s communist monuments are being removed, relocated or preserved - reflecting the country’s complex relationship with its past.

Accross Sofia, some symbols disappeared, some moved to museums, and some remain in public spaces.

Like many former communist countries, Bulgaria continues to navigate its legacy.

#Bulgaria
#communism
#socialism
#easterneurope
#balkanhistory taken in Sofia, Bulgaria by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇬🇷 An Ottoman sultan Murad II built this bathhouse in Thessaloniki in 1444.

This is Bey Hamam. People called it the Baths of Paradise.

Can you imagine lying on this marble slab for a massage? Afterwards, you could rinse off with water from these marble basins.

Surprisingly, it was used until the 1960s. taken in Thessaloniki, Greece by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇬🇷This is the Church of Saint Demetrios in Thessaloniki.

It was an early Christian basilica, then a mosque for centuries. In 1917, a fire almost destroyed it.

But look closely. Fragments of old wall paintings still cling to its columns. Inside, you’ll find a Renaissance tomb, reliquaries and icons — different chapters of the church’s story.

And just when you think you’ve seen it all, you go downstairs.

Beneath the church is a crypt built into an ancient Roman bath. According to tradition, Saint Demetrios was imprisoned and killed here.

The fire nearly destroyed the church above. It also led to the rediscovery of what lay beneath. taken in Thessaloniki, Greece by @thebalkanexplorer

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🇷🇸 Golubac Fortress rises above the Danube at the entrance of the Iron Gates gorge and dates back to the 14th century.
One of the most dramatic places I’ve visited in Serbia.

#Serbia #BalkanTravel #Golubac #Danube #HiddenEurope taken in Golubac Fortress by @thebalkanexplorer

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