Three crosses and a gull

A seagull down by the Danube. There appear to be three crosses on this photo, though one is actually the top of the mast of the ship where the seagull is perched. The two real crosses are on Belgrade's main church and patriarchy, which stand across the Danube from where I took the photo.

Saint Mark's Church Optical IIllusion

St. Mark's Church was built from 1931 to 1940 on the site of an older church (1835). It was designed in the Serbo-Byzantine style by architects, Petar and Branko Krstić. At the south end of the church there is a sarcophagus with the remains of the Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan (he'll be coming up on this blog in a couple of days).St. Mark's Church is home to one of the most valuable collections of Serbian 18th and 19th century icons.

I took this photo outside at night because I liked the light on the arches. When I changed it into black and white, I realized the light and dark form an optical illusion. Stare at it a bit....

Belgrade's Cathedral Church

Just to the left and a bit below the man walking in my March 28th photo and looking back in the other direction you can see the tower of Belgrade's cathedral church, done in classic style with late baroque elements. It was finished in 1840 and is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The interior is richly decorated with a gold-plated carved iconostasis. The icons on thrones, choirs, and pulpits, as well as those on the walls and arches were painted by Dimitrije Avramović, one of the most distinguished Serbian painters of the XIX century. In the distance you can see the dome of Saint Sava's cathedral, which dominates the skyline from almost all over town.