Vlasina picnic area near Sokobanja, Mount Ozren

The Vlasina picnic area is located on a mountain pass between Ozren and Devica, at an altitude of around 940 metres, not far from Sokobanja. It's known for its wide open meadows, pine forests and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. For those who enjoy a more active day outdoors, there's also a well-marked hiking trail leading to Oštra čuka on Mount Devica, just 1.8 kilometres long. I visited Vlasina in June, when temperatures in the cities were already getting pretty high, but up here it was really pleasant. With a gentle breeze and beautiful views, I genuinely enjoyed spending time with my friends, who also consider this one of their favourite places to escape into nature. What probably none of us knew at the time was just how interesting this mountain pass is from a historical perspective. In fact, an old road once crossed Vlasina, connecting the Sokobanja and Niš basins, and traces of it can still be found near the picnic area. Locals know it as the Turkish Cobblestone Road (Turska kaldrma), and its remains were studied as early as 1964 by researcher Gavro Škrivanić, who described a route running from Bovan through Vlasina, Zatok and Milanov kamen, before continuing towards villages around Niš. What's even more interesting is that historical evidence suggests this route was used during the Ottoman period, and probably even earlier. Archaeologists believe the Turkish Cobblestone Road may have been part of an old caravan route connecting Paraćin, Sokobanja and Niš, possibly dating back to the late Middle Ages. However, the history of roads across Mount Ozren could go back much further. At the nearby site of Kopane pare, another stone-paved road was discovered, which researchers believe may date back to antiquity. It may have connected two fortifications on opposite sides of Ozren, Tatumirov grad and Lipovački grad, where evidence of settlement dating from the 4th to the 6th century has been found. Of course, it's still not known for certain when these roads were built, but it's clear that Ozren was once a much more important route than it is today. What I find particularly interesting is that we were sitting there on Vlasina, enjoying the nature and the views, completely unaware that nearby were the remains of a road that people had probably travelled along hundreds of years ago, and perhaps much longer than that.