Vranje is, as we said in the previous sequel, a city with a long tradition. All cities with a long tradition and history have their legends…

One of the legends, the story of Romeo and Juliet from Vranje, is kept by the White Bridge, which is one of the most famous landmarks of this city.

Beautiful Aisha was the daughter of the rich and powerful Selim-beg. Legend has it that Aisha fell in love with the sound of Stojan’s double-pipes, which she listened to as shepherd Stojan passed by leading the sheep past her house. Then she fell in love with his stature and wanted to go to the mountains with him. Stojan did not remain indifferent either. They started meeting secretly in the Vranje River. Stories of forbidden love started in the bazaar. The word about the harassment of a young Turk and a Serbian young man reached the ears of a powerful Turk.

One day, Selim-beg followed his daughter… He had a rifle in his hand. He found them by the river and aimed his rifle at the young man, but the bullet hit his daughter, who covered the young man with her body. The second bullet hit its target.

The last wish of the young Turk was to build a bridge on that place, from the money for her marriage.

The father respected the bequest of his only daughter. In 1844, he built a bridge called the White Bridge. There are two signs on the bridge itself: in Turkish and Arabic, which reads:

“This bridge will be called the White Bridge,
it will serve as a relief
The water that flows under it
let it serve the people for health!
Passers-by, pass once
Across the bridge and return:
You will see that it was built
for the good of every man.
Muhamede Mustafo,
Intercede for the humane owner Aisha…”

Below this text is the Arabic text:

“O Guardian, the owner of this goodness and beauty, Hanuma Aisha, is building this bridge so that God may forgive her sins and the sins of her parents.”

This is how Vranje remembered the event.

Today, more and more tourists from all over the world come to visit the White Bridge: lovers catch water under the bridge with which they spray their clothes to protect their love from evil forces. On Valentine’s Day, a large number of young people, lovers and married couples cross the bridge twice: they say that the White Bridge has a strange effect, inexplicable to this day.

Right next to the bridge, there is a small church of St. Petka, which the locals call by a strange name – the Mosque with a Cross. How did that happen?

The Church of the Venerable Martyr Paraskeva is located near the White Bridge, on the left bank of the River Vranjska. It dates from the 13th century as a medieval Serbian church, built on the site of the relics of an unknown saint, which still lead to a fragrant scent. The Turks turned it into a mosque by adding a minaret but keeping the cross. So, the people called it the Mosque with a Cross. The church was renovated with the help of the people, and only the walls at the entrance remain from the original church…

In front of the church gates, there is a guard dog who knocks off careless visitors with – an unsurpassed charm!

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After our guide told the history of the church, the children replenished the water supply at the church fountain, because we have another walk to the Vranje monastery of St. Nicholas…

Stay with us!

All photos taken with the Fujifilm X-T20 camera with the Canon EFs 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM nano lens adapted to the Fuji body using Fringer adapter.