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After photo-monographs such as Gypsies of the World, Kazakhstan, Medjugorje, Serbia, Kazan, Vojvodina, Montenegro, Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Haggadah, well-known photojournalist Dragoljub Zamurović is preparing to shoot a photo-monograph about the Danube – the river that connects the largest number of nations and nationalities in Europe.
Although many volumes of scientific, tourist, cultural and historical books have been written about the Danube River, as well as scores of monographs and photo-monographs depicting a wide span of the river’s history and geography, from its source to its mouth, the Danube continues to invite fresh perceptions, revelations and fresh records of its boundless mystique; the beauty of its banks and environment, the beauty of the river itself, the life that surrounds it and the life in its depths. New technologies offer new possibilities so that challenges and ideas are many.
| From the entry point at Bogojevo to the exit point at Radujevac, the flow of the Danube through Serbia is most interestingly diverse.
This is why Zamurović has opted to embark on an ambitious enterprise of authoring a new and comprehensive photo-monograph under the working title The Danube Odyssey, taking Serbia and the Danube’s most dramatic section – the Djerdapska Klisura gorge – as its point of departure.
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The photo-monograph will embrace a broader area around the river, from the life and customs of the people who live along it, its fl ora and fauna, and undiscovered natural beauty.
The Djerdapska gorge measures some 100 kilometers in length. It begins at the Golubačka fortress on the Serbian side of the river and at Babakaj rock on the Romanian side. In one day all four seasons can alternate in what is Europe’s largest gorge, and with them, the colour of the water, sky, rocks and plants change their subtle hues. The lonely and harsh Babakaj rock is well-known to fishermen and navigators. The dramatic appearance of Babakaj rock, with the Danube’s turbulent waves and stormy skies, has been portrayed by painter Djordje Krstić. Sites like Mali Kazan and Veliki Kazan, the Lepenski Vir archeological site, Emperor Trajan’s Tablet and many other cultural and historical monuments are located in the Djerdapska Klisura gorge. With construction of the "Djerdap" dam and the hydro-electrical power plant in the 1960s, the water level of the Danube rose considerably. Many settlements, excavations sites and river islands were submerged, while cultural and historical monuments were moved to higher ground. Thus, the river waters covered Adakale, the island where the infamous Ottoman warlords Aganlija, Kučuk Alija, Mula Jusuf and Mehmed Fočić Aga were beheaded. Gone too, among other things, were places like ancient Brnjica, Dobra, Donji Milanovac and Tekija, and on the Romanian side – Oršava, Jelešnica, Dubova, Svinica… New urban areas with the same names have since been built.
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The famous Emperor Trajan’s Tablet has also been moved to another location. It was literally cut off with a hefty chunk of riverside rock and elevated to a new point some 20 metres higher. This undertaking has been compared to dislocating ancient the Egyptian temples with the colossal figure of Ramses II at Abou Simbel when the dam on the Nile at Assouan was built in the 1950s. The only difference was that in Egypt the temples and the large figure were taken apart and transported in parts weighing between 15 and 20 tonnes each. Emperor Trajan’s Tablet, however, was removed with a single rock weighing as much as 300 tonnes! Renowned Belgrade architect Milorad Dimitrijević was in charge of this operation.
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| One can hardly find anywhere else along the flow of the Danube in Serbia where traditional life has been so preserved as in the area around the Djerdapska gorge and the eastern parts of Homolje.
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In the villages of Mosna, Klokočevac and Blizna, or at the Golo Brdo hill near Tekija for instance, smoke still rises out of chimneys from soot-covered furnaces in which people make charcoal. In Mosna, such furnaces can be found five metres from the river bank, where the Porečka Reka River flows into the Danube. There, the Porečka River spreads into a delta that is used as a place for spawning. |
This is where one can also see the charcoal-making furnaces emitting smoke, as fishermen languidly wait for a bite, and where the surrounding shrubbery hides large flocks of various wild ducks.
In the morning hours, the Porečka River fills this part of the Djerdapska gorge with clouds of mist, making it appear as if the water is boiling and giving off steam…
Traditional folk religion, folklore and national dress are especially well preserved among the Wallachians along the Danube and in the Homolje region. In this part of eastern Serbia, rituals of an unusual cult of the dead, probably derived from Neolithic times, have been preserved among local Wallachians. Commemoration services include releasing brook waters over a log or dancing for the dead around large bonfires.
Tugboats and luxurious white river cruisers, with flocks of tourists flashing their cameras, navigate on the Danube. They take pictures of Trajan’s Tablet, the Hajdučka Vodenica watermill, and on the Romanian side – the white monastery called Mrakonija, the portrait of the Dacian King Decebel carved on a rock and the rocks of Kazan that continually change colour. There is also the range called Greben, Lepenski Vir and the Golubačka Fortress…
And then, at a distance of several kilometers from the riverbank in the high country near some stream, the whisper of a watermill fl oats in the air; women carry babies on their backs in weaved basket-like Wallachian bags while men make charcoal, dance for the dead or catch wolves, foxes or badgers. At the same time, young people sit in front of the computer and search out the world on the Internet. This is also part of the diversity and wealth of Djerdap.
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World Heritage
Dragoljub Zamurović obtained a new single-seat balloon from Spain in order to take aerial shots of the Danube. Zamurović had this to say about his work on the photo-monograph and outdoor photography: "The editorial staff of the ULUPUDS photo-monograph has decided to go ahead with finalising the project The Danube Odyssey. A four-member team headed by myself and Bogdan Ibrajter will spend one year on a specially prepared vessel sailing the Danube, its tributaries and adjacent canals through Serbia.
"Apart from photographing from the water and land, aerial shots from the balloon will be taken of people and the landscape. This will be the first time that a balloon with a photographer will traverse the entire length of the flow of the Danube in Serbia. Also, aided by special equipment, the underwater world will be photographed. All told, some several hundred thousand high-resolution digital colour shots will be taken.
"A permanent exhibition will be set up on the deck of the vessel so that the local population will be able to see the photos wherever we dock. The team will be able to get better acquainted with the lives and customs of the people who live along the Danube. Team members will also be able to use such meetings to collect valuable information about the Danube.
"The result of this research adventure will be a photo-monograph that will show the natural beauty, architectural, archaeological and geological landmarks, as well as portray the lives and customs of the many nationalities who live along the Danube from Bogojevo to Radujevac. Special attention will be devoted to portraying the different national and religious communities and their mutual understanding. In addition to an edition in Serbian, the monograph will also be issued in the English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian languages", Dragoljub Zamurović sets out.
"The next stage will be to involve presentation of the material to the broader international public. The team will sail for two years along the Danube, through all ten countries, from its source to its mouth. Together with the photographs from Serbia, there will be a rich collection of books on the boat, including a replica of the famed monograph by Italian scientist Luigi Fernando Marsilio, published in 1726 in Amsterdam…."
A number of publishers have already been contacted from different countries. Some have shown interest in making the future photo-monograph part of their publishing plans. However, funds are still lacking for such a large project. The editorial staff at ULUPUDS lacks sufficient funds to cover the project cost. Any financial support by sponsors is most welcome and will help present our country and people in a world-class book in the way they deserve.
The photo-monograph editorial staff may be reached at: +381 62/ 1238-218. |
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