Enemies Beware

Nis, Serbia

Aug 26, 2025

In early 1800s, the vast Ottoman Empire held large swathes of western Asia, southeastern Europe and northern Africa. The Serbians led by Stevan Sindelic rebelled in what is called the First Serbian Uprising. And it came to a head in the Battle of Cegar in 1809. Surrounded by Ottoman troops, knowing it was a losing cause, Stevan Sindelic decided to go out in a blaze, rather than be captured. He shot at the Turkish gunpowder stores, killing himself, about four thousand of his troops and about twice that of Turkish troops.

The Turkish command decided to make an example of this battle, sending a message to all insubordinates everywhere. They scalped the heads of the fallen Serbians and embedded the skulls in the walls of a tower built in Nis. A chapel was built around the Cele Kula or Skull Tower in 1894 and so it stands today albeit renovated much more recently. In the pillars of the chapel are images of skulls, a precursor to what lies inside.

Behind plate glass is the remaining portion of the tower. Mud colored, it looks like the walls have pigeonholes. But look closer and you see these are no pigeonholes; they are indentations made by human skulls.

They stare out from rows on every face of the tower. Of the nine hundred and fifty-two skulls that were embedded originally, only fifty-eight remain now.

Look closer still and you see individual ones. Some still sport teeth! Even in its diminished size, it is a thoroughly gruesome and macabre sight. I cannot imagine what the entire tower must have once looked like! One skull, thought to be of Stevan Sindelic sits on a velvet-covered pedestal to the side.

Also from the Ottoman era is the Nis Fortress, supposedly one of the better preserved fortresses of the Balkans. The imposing Stambol Gate, so called because it led to Istanbul or Stambol stares from across the bridge. But like the Belgrade Fortress, this too is a distinctly Disneyesque amusement park. The old Armory is a shop for the usual kitsch souvenirs and at least two toy trains chug along in circles.

The gap between the inner and outer walls is home to a series of basketball courts and a rubbish strewn parking lot.

But this is something I find odd. There seems to be obvious pride in some of the historical relics in Serbia and complete absence of it for some others. It is a contradiction I am at a loss to understand.