There’s a peaceful & serene place in Belgrade where all these people planted a tree as a symbol of peace: Gandhi, Gorbachev, Nixon, U Nu, Castro, Queen Elizabeth II, Gaddafi, Mugabe, Haile Selassie, Carter, Brezhnev, Ceaușescu, Brandt, Nehru, Mitterrand, Kim II Sung...
The place is called Friendship Park and has a total of some 200 trees. Located in New Belgrade, near the banks of Danube, it was formed in 1961, ahead of the 1st Non-Aligned Movement Summit. Its attendees planted planetrees, chosen for their longevity, depicting the idea of lasting world peace.
To this day, the Non-Aligned Movement is a group of around 120 countries not formally aligned with any major power, with a firm anti-colonial stance.
So, one can say that this unique park truly relates to the world in its own manner. It actually is an out-of-this-world feeling when you see trees planted by outright dictators next to royals next to leaders of major powers... Each name a story & a symbol and a history.
And then you take a moment to process your thoughts, sit in the shade of a tree planted by e.g. Mohammed Khan, a royal who has established a republic in Afghanistan... just one of 200 stories of this park.
This place continues to amaze me. To me, it tells the most about the slightly complex history of a country in which I grew up. So you can drop by and find out more about how it feels for you. Or just sit back and enjoy its peacefulness and serenity.
Bulevar Nikole Tesle
RSD
free
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