THE EXCURSION TO ARILJE
The first Saturday in July 2019 was reserved for a tour across Western Serbia – on July the 6th, NUSANTARA visited Arilje – “The Capital of Serbian Raspberry“.
The excursion initiated with a visit to the “Maslać“ household in the village of Pilatovići, 14 km far from Arilje. The household, named after the family owning it, was reopened 10 years ago and nowadays counts on numerous facilities at disposition of tourists. Members of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship had a chance to see a swimming pool, refresh themselves under sunshades, play with the Todor donkey, mascot of the “Maslać“ household, see wooden huts looking like an Indian village, as well as to have a drink while looking over Zapadna Morava, river bordering Mr. Maslać’s household itself. Radoljub Maslać takes credit for being the precursor of rural tourism in the Arilje county, and for good reasons.
The excursionists headed from Pilatovići to the nearby village of Prilepac. The place has been reputed for two reasons; the first one is the Temple of the Birth of the Holy Virgin, and the second one is a known, and renowned, painters’ colony, often associated with the name of Olja Ivanjicki herself. The church of the Birth of the Holy Virgin was erected by prince Lazar in 1374, in honour of a victory over nobleman Nikola Altomanović of Užice and as a sign of repentance for having been forced to fight against his compatriot. Members of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship had an opportunity to observe the surroundings and surrounding conifer woods from the viewpoint out of the temple’s yard; along with a story about Lazar’s church symbolizing repentance, built 15 years before the Battle of Kosovo, they also heard details about 10-day long painters’ colony starting every September 21st, on the religious holiday of Mala Gospojina. The holiday is the slava day in Prilepac.
After stepping out of the bus in Arilje downtown, members of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship were welcomed by the famous “Monument to Raspberry“ – main industry in the Arilje county! There is no household in Arilje with no raspberry plantations; the population, however, has been increasingly producing flowers. The excursionists were left enough time at disposal this Saturday to take a walk around the town, visit the City Library, the City park; the most precious jewel and most important historical monument in Arilje is, nevertheless, the church of St. Achilles.
The church of St. Achilles is an endowment of king Dragutin Nemanjić, who made it built in 1296. Mrs. Mirjana Stanković, local guide, told the members of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship an interesting story of the most valuable temple of Arilje. The church has been enriched with “The Blue Angel“, famous fresco equaling “The White Angel“ from the Mileševa monastery in beauty, artistry and symbolism. The visitors also saw the fresco featuring king Dragutin, queen Katalina and king’s brother Milutin, as well as the standing figure of Jesus, which had represented Yugoslav art at the exhibition in Paris in 1971. The excursionists also found out that not only the tomb with St. Achilles’ relics, but also the sepulchre of Urošic, the youngest son of king Dragutin, had been deposited in the Orthodox temple of St. Achilles, declared a cultural property in 1947.
Not less interesting was the visit to the „Drenovac LTD.“ company in the village of Mirosaljci, that followed the tour of the city’s downtown. Members of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship were welcomed by Mr. Slobodan Obradović, general manager of the company, himself. Along with rich refreshments and a chance to taste lyophilized raspberries, the owner of the family company explained his guests the process of lyophilization of fruit. The excursionists found out that the „Drenovac LTD.“ company had been the only firm in Serbia performing lyophilization since 1991.
The exclusive news and the production process apart, the visit to the „Drenovac LTD.“ company is an exclusive part in itself – NUSANTARA organized something unusual for its members that first Saturday of July. A chance of being admitted here as a visitor is a privilege – the company does not open its doors for visitors and tourists every day. Especially not in the season of harvest.
Raspberry itself, fresh as well as lyophilized, represented exclusivity for Indonesian visitors – NUSANTARA took 15 guests from Indonesia to the excursion to Arilje. For Indonesians, both raspberry and the company processing raspberries were a revelation. For the Saturday’s hosts of the NUSANTARA Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship, an international visit of the guests coming from such a remote country will certainly be something to remember.
The excursion ended with a lunch at the „Savić“ ethno household in the village of Mirosaljci.
Biljana Đorđević
Photos: Vladimir Ilić and Biljana Đorđević
