Author’s Note
145 Words
Author’s NoteBefore 1919 the Balkans consisted of numerous small countries, besides several larger ones. The countries themselves were, and still are, extraordinarily beautiful, their peoples are courteous, proud, good-natured but capable at times of extraordinary violence.
They are poets, musicians, weavers and shepherds in countries of wild extremes.
The summers are very hot, the winters very cold, the rivers overflowing or dried up with tall mountains and flat plains everywhere.
Most Balkan people are intriguers and plotters. But they are also intelligent, impetuous, brave and fascinatingly dashing.
The major groups are Croats, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Slovenes and Macedonians and the numerous minorities include Turks, Rumanians, Albanians, Hungarians, Slovaks and gypsies.
My favourites are the Hungarians – a war-ravaged nation for centuries, they have survived as an heroic people. It is a country of beautiful women, handsome men, outstanding horsemen, famous musicians and persecuted but indestructible and colourful gypsies.
- Writer
