Ha! Otvaranje je bilo vrlo zanimljivo zato što se baš toga dana su tekli radovi na popločavanju ove ulice, a ja sam se dogovorio sa jednim drugom koji je imao bušilicu i te tiplove i sve to i bezbedili smo kabl jer je trebalo sprovesti struju do tamo. To je nekih 15, 20 metara odavde od prostorija gde se mi sada nalazimo, bivših prostorija Ilegalnih poslastičara, kasnije izdavačke kuće Kornet. Tako da se dogodilo da smo postavljali tablu tamo tačno u momentu kad su tamo popločavali i bilo je prepuno peska, smetali smo tim radnicima i oni su nama smetali i nije im bio jasno šta mi to radimo, šta sad mislim postavljamo neku ploču nije im bilo jasno da to nije... da ne radimo za grad, pošto ta tabla manje više izgleda kao i sve druge table. Jedino im je bilo čudno što je pod uglom od 90 stepeni, ali su oni mislili da to tako mora zato što je takav zid pa ne znam šta. Nisu se oni pitali ko je Salvador Dali. Čak je to izašlo u mnogim novinama, neposredno kad se pojavila ta tabla jer mi smo se kao multidisciplinarna grupa bavili svim i svačim pa i plasiranjem lažnih vesti i onda smo ovo pustili kao neku vest da je svečano otvoren ćošak Salvadora Dalija. To su skoro svi mediji objavili. Mnogi od njih nisu shvatili uopšte da je to neka vrsta umetničkog rada, nego su kao, čak se sećam i nekog naslova u nekim novinama pisalo je: Nije moglo drugačije. Znači, oni su shvatili da su oni morali da stavljaju tu tablu jer je takav zid. E sad, posle toga su krenuli grafiti na tom ćošku ali i na ćoškovima u ovom kraju. To je taj neki sam vrh Dorćola, ispod PMF-a, pa Jevremova, Kapetan Mišina, Višnjićeva i Jovanova ulica. Na svim ćoškovima je nešto počelo da se pojavljuje, a naročito na ovom čošku Salvadora Dalija. Za neke radove smo i saznali ko su autori. To se sazna preko fejsbuka i tako... kao, “a znam to je radio moj drug” i onda se ispostavi da ga poznajemo. Bilo je nekoliko onih stensila one klasične Dalijeve fotografije. One njegove iz profila sa karakterističnim brkovima. Čak 4 ili 5 različtih. Mislim znam da su različiti, nisu bili iste veličine i nisu bili isti sprejevi. Jedan od njih je i uokviren u okviru akcije Maje Radovanović, danas udate, ne mogu da se setim kako... koja je uokvirila u stvari uramila jedan od tih stensila Salvadora Dalija. U to vreme je niklo još nekoliko zgodnih grafita na tu temu i to je kao neki zlatan period tog ćoška koji je trajao možda jedno 6,7 meseci. Tad se pojavio i Mikrob. Sam se javio i rekao: “Ja bih isto da doprinesem nešto ćošku”. Postavio je jednu skulpturu svoju, neki ventilator. U to vreme je radio sa grupom Radar a ovo nije mogao kao Radar zato što nije imao saglasnost Mićunovu koji je bio drugi član te grupe nego je to baš bio njegov, Mikrobov rad. Možda čak i poslednji. Ne znam...vrlo brzo posle toga se razboleo i umro. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// It was very fun at the opening day, because at the same time that very street was just being paved and me and my friend who had a drill and metal anchors and a cable because we had to bring electricity 20 meters away, from here where we are now – there used be an illegal confectionary here, and later there was a publishing house Ice Cream Cone. So we headed to hang the street plate as they were paving the street, so there was a lot of sand, and we were disturbing those workers as much as they were us, they had no idea what we were up to with the street plate, they thought the city must have sent us, because the plate is pretty much the same as other plates in the town, though it was odd that it was bent at 90 degrees, but they thought: “O well, that wall is uncommon”…Not for a second had they wondered who Salvador Dali might be. It was in the papers, just after the plate was set, because were are a multidisciplinary group that, above other things, deals with misinforming the public, so we released the news that there was The corner opening ceremony, and it was covered by all media, though many did not realize that it was a kind of artistic work but they wrote something like: “It had to be done that way”. So they understood that the plate had to be placed there regardless of such wall. After that, some graffiti appeared on that and other corners around there, at the Dorcol top, beneath The Faculty of Science: Jevremova, Kapetan Misina, Visnjiceva and Jovanova Street. Things were appearing on every corner, especially on the corner of Salvador Dali, and we managed to find out, via facebook, who the authors of some works were, and it turned out that we knew some of them quite well…There were several stencils of that photo of Dali’s face in profile with the famous moustache, 4-5 different ones, different sizes, different sprays. One of them was even framed during the action of Maja then Radanovic, and I can’t remember her married name. So she put a frame on that stencil, and some other stencils appeared in that time, so it can be considered a Golden age of that corner that lasted for 6-7 months. Even Microbe called and said that he wanted to give his own contribution to that corner so he placed one of his sculptures- a ventilator. In that time he was working with the group Radar, but Micun was against this, so Microbe did it on his own, and maybe it was his last work, I’m not sure…but soon after that he got sick and died.

Pa evo... Par reči za moje odrastanje na Dorćolu i mesta koje je obeležilo moje detinjstvo i koje bi trebali svi građani i ljudi koji dođu u Beograd, odnosno na Dorćol da vide. To je prvo Čukur Česma - mesto gde sam ja počeo da izlazim kao dete prvi put. To je jedna česma u spomen jednom dečaku koji je nastradao tu, u vreme događaja iz 19. veka. Mesto ima inače značaj, jer je bilo za okupljanje mladih, a taj kulturno-istorijski značaj je tu što je to mesto koje je bilo povod za rat između Turaka i Srba. Naime, dečak je bio sa krčagom u redu za vodu i onda se tu... šta se dogodilo? Došli su Turci bahati, age, hteli su preko reda da sipaju vode, dečak se pobunio i oni su ga ubili to je bio povod da se... da se Beograd oslobodi od Srba. Sve ostalo je već poznato, istorija. Danas u 21. veku mnogi mladi se tamo sastaju, tu se i neke ljubavi dešavaju i tako... Svako ima svog konja a ja sam Dorćolac, imam moju Čukur česmu. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Well…here are few words about my growing up in Dorcol and a place…that marked my childhood and that should be visited by all citizens and people who come to Belgrade, to Dorcol. It is Cukur fountain, a place where I started going out as a child. It is a fountain raised in a memory of a boy who died there during some of the 19th century events. The significance of the place is that young people gather there, and cultural-historical significance is that this place was the cause of the Serbian-Turkish war. The boy was waiting in a line with a pitcher to fetch some water, and then something happened, the arrogant Turks-aghas came, they didn’t want to wait in the line, the boy rebelled and they killed him, and it was the cause to…to clean Belgrade of Serbs…everything else is known, history. Today, in 21st century many young people meet there, they often fall in love etc. Everybody has something of their own, and I have my Cukur fountain.

Kako se pojavila Strahinjića Bana? Sećam se još uvek dobro vremena’ 89. kada se neko otiskuje recimo u šetnju. Od tamo Dositejeve, Francuske do Kalemegdana. Ide tako pod noćnim krošnjama, znači samo na sredini ulice postoji samo red svetiljki, parkirani automobili, tišina je. Čuje se ponegde lavež, ponegde se čuje televizor, i u takvoj tišini znači potpuno jedna divna meditativna šetnja, pločnik svetluca ako je kiša. Dođe se do parka. Tu se napravi neki krug i vrati se kući. Negde pred ponoć to je bila jedna od najprijatnijih šetnji. Druga veoma prijatna šetnja bi mogla biti recimo Bulevarom revolucije ili bilo kojom od tih dugačkih ulica noću. To je onaj trenutak kad ne želiš ni na šta posebno da misliš a želiš da se fokusiraš ipak na sve… Želiš neki dodir s gradom ali da on ne bude preterano intenzivan. I već ‘93. i danas tu su razni Kandahari, razni orijentalni sportski prenosi, ritmovi ovakvi, mašine nafurane... to rad motora... Šta reći? /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// How did Strahinjica Bana street come into being…I remember those times well…it was ’89…When somebody, for example, went for a walk, let’s say from Dositejeva street, along Francuska street to Kalemegdan Fortress, they walked by night beneath the treetops, and there were only rows of street lanterns and parked cars, so it was very quiet…you could possibly hear a dog barking, or a TV, so it was a real meditative walk, the pavement sparkled if it was raining…then you reached the park, you made a round and went back home. Around midnight, it was one of the most pleasant walks…a very long and pleasant walk could be, let’s say along Bulevar revolucije, or along any of these longer streets by night…It was one of those moments when you were reluctant to think about anything, but still wanted to focus on everything…you wanted to be connected to the city, but not too intensively. And, from ’93, and still today, there have been various Kandahar’s, different oriental sport broadcasting, some rhythms, fancy cars…and engine sounds…what more is to be said?

Što se tiče samog okruženja radnje, preko puta ovde na istom ovom uglu samo preko puta je bila radnja koja je opravljala televizore i stare radio uređaje, zvala se Rudi Čajavec. I sećam se jako lepo provedenog vremena tamo, ne zbog samog prostora, to je u stvari bila jedna mala zgrada, jednospratna ili dvospratna više se i ne sećam ali ... ljudi koji su tu radili su bili jako dobrodušni i prijateljski nastrojeni u stvari kakav ja pamtim Dorćol ovde kad sam ja počela da svaki dan dolazim na Dorćol. Sećam se da je to u stvari bilo sve osim radnje koja je popravljala televizore. Naime, ceo komšiluk je tu kuvao ručak, kao neka manja menzica. Svi koji nisu imali gde da se hrane. Tu je bio izvesni majstor Joca koji je bio glavni i odgovorni kuvar, a svi mi ostali smo bili posetioci. Svako je doneo šta je mogao, hteo, imao i od toga se pravio ručak. Samo što nisu bili okačili zvono koje bi onako zvonilo kao ručak je gotov… Ovako smo se tako pozivali unutra. Od televizora naravno nisi imao gde ni da sedneš ni ljudski da staviš tanjir ali je svima bilo slatko i fino. Pamtim taj deo mog dolaska na Dorćol. Ne da bi im pravili konkurenciju već da bi im uzvratili gostoprimstvo moj majstor i ja smo ovde imali jednu Kraljicu peći i onda smo rešili da pravimo roštilj i da pozovemo goste na ručak. Kako je ovo stara zgrada pod zaštitom države, ti otvori i dimnjaci nisu funkcionisali kako treba i više smo ličili na ćevabdžinicu nego na radnju - stolarsku za restauraciju nameštaja. Ali smo svi slatko jeli isti taj roštilj koji smo na Kraljici peći ispekli. Komšija Zoki koji je inače limar bio i sad je hvala bogu je rek’o: „Dobro, sad smo lepo jeli a šta ćemo da imamo nešto slatko?”. Kažem: „Pa ne znam šta?”. „Ništa, sad ću ja” i za petnaest minuta dolazi Zoki sa palačinkama. Ja ne znam kako je čovek uopšte peko tako brzo palačinke tako da nam je to postalo onda... znalo se u Dorćolac na roštilj, preko puta sa kašikom, a Zoki sa palačinkama se nije menjao. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// That store was there…there, across the road, on the same corner but opposite the street was a store where TVs and radios were repaired and its name was Rudi Cajevec. I have great memories of that store, not because of the space itself- it was a small building, one or two-storey, I’m not sure- but people who worked there were very friendly and kind, and that’s Dorcol I remember, it has been like that since I started coming here every day. And besides being a store for reparation of electrical appliances, the whole neighbourhood would come to have lunch there; it was like a mess room, because people who had no food would come to eat. There was also this repairman Joca who was like a main chef, and we were just visitors, and everyone would bring what they had and Joca would make lunch out of it. Only the lunch bell was missing. We would often come self-invited, there was no room to swing a cat, nowhere to put the plate, but we all enjoyed it…I really have great memories of my arrival to Dorcol. We came, not to be competition but to return hospitality…my repairman and I had one wooden stove and we decided to make barbecue and invite guests…and this building was protected by state…anyway the chimneys weren’t functioning very well so this place looked more like a steak house than a repair store, but we enjoyed that barbecue so much. And a neighbour Zoki, who was a tinsmith, actually he still is thank God…he said: “Ok, this was great, but we need some dessert as well.” So, he just went home and came back fifteen minutes later with pancakes. I have no idea how he managed to make them so fast. Anyway it became well known- you go to Dorcolac if you wanted barbecue, opposite the street if you wanted something cooked and Zoki if you wanted pancakes…

Sad za Zavod mogu da kažem da su se do 2004. godine dešavale te čudne okolnosti zaposlenima ili saradnicima koji su bili angažovani ovde u Zavodu po pitanju dežurstava, obavljanja radova, dakle i istraživačima i spremačicma i tehničkom osoblju i tako dalje. Elem, porodica jevrejska, a vi znate da se nalazimo u jevrejskoj četvrti koja je nekad bila dole od ispod Cara Dušana do Dunava, a sada odnosno od 19. veka jevrejska mahala takozvana se proširila i na ovo područje tu u blizini džamije. Porodica koja je ovde nekada živela se prezivala Eškenazi tako da i samo prezime govori kojoj grupi jevrejskog naroda su pripadali, znači tim takozvanim severnim jevrejima koji su govorili jidiš i nemački dijalekat imali. Porodica koliko sam uspeo da dođem u tim arhivskim dokumentima se sastojala od bake, dede, dva sina. Jedan je bio oženjen, drugi nije, što je neobično za jevreje i taj koji je bio oženjen imao je troje dece. Dvadesetih godina je porodica bila na okupu, dakle svi se pominju, kada bi trebalo da je i loza zasađena. I postoje dve verzije njihovog stradanja u Drugom svetskom ratu. Jedna jeste, da je pošto je ovaj prostor Dorćola dosta stradao u šestoaprilskom bombardovanju, da je jedna od bombi pala i da su oni svi izginuli tom prilikom i da su ih komšije sahranile u dvorištu kuće, a druga jeste da su se opirali prilikom hapšenja radi odvođenja u logor Staro sajmište ili u onu pokretnu gasnu komoru i da su onda na licu mesta stradali odnosno ubijeni uglavnom da su nasilom smrću postradali nažalost. I tu priču spominjem zbog onog što se dešavalo nakon toga. Nemamo podatke o neobičnim okolnostima tokom pedesetih, šezdesetihtih, sedamdesetih godina jer se Zavod koji je osnovan 1967 godine prvobitno nalazio u Nemanjinoj ulici gde je danas zgrada ministarstava, pa nakon toga u ulici Kralja Petra, da bi se iz te zgrade u ulici Kralja Petra početkom osamdesetih godina preselio u ovu zgradu koju je država sagradila za Zavod za proučavanje kulturnog razvitka. I već tokom osamdesetih godina od strane istraživača, znam im imena, ali razumete me da zbog diskrecije neću pominjati ime, su počele te okolnosti ne samo čudnih događanja noću nego i rano jutro, pa čak i tokom dana. A to je recimo da je neko sam u zgradi da se čuje povlačenje vode ili putovanje vode kroz cevi, pa u garaži tad je to bila kotlarnica isto kao povlačenje džakova sa cementom, pa onda razni čudni zvuci do najčudnijih i najuverljivijih za one koji su to doživeli ja nisam srećom, a to je penjanje uz stepenice a da nikog nema znači da nema fizičke pojave. I naravno da su ljudi zavisno od toga kakav imaju odnos prema svetu religiozan, nereligiozan, ateistički tada možda većinom, sujeverni, ne sujeverni svi isto doživljavali i različito reagovali, većinom uplašeno što je za očekivati kako bi većina od nas, a bilo je onih koji su racionalizovali eto kako smo ih mi odmila nazvali to je treća smena naša, ništa neobično navikli smo na njih... ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// What I can say about the Center (Center for Study in Cultural Development), is that in 2004 some strange occurrences were noticed by employees and assistants engaged for different things, by researchers and cleaning ladies, too. We are now in the Jewish quarter that first stretched from Cara Dušana Street to the Danube, and in 19th century so-called Jewish mahala expanded to this area here, near the Mosque. There was a Jewish family, who lived here, and their family name was Ashkenazi, so it is obvious to what group of Jewish people they belonged to-they were so-called Northern Jews who spoke Yiddish and German dialect. As I managed to find out in the archived documents, the family consisted of a grandmother, grandfather, two sons, one married and other not-which is unusual for the Jews-and the married one had three children. In the 1920’ the family still held together, and all their names are listed in the documents. There are two versions of their deaths in the World War II. Since Dorćol severely suffered the bombing of Belgrade on 6th of April 1941, one version says that one of the bombs hit their house killing them all, and that neighbors buried them in the backyard of the house. Another version says that they resisted the arrest to be taken to the concentration camp in Staro Sajmište (Old Fairground) or to that mobile gas chamber, and that they were killed on the spot. In any case, unfortunately, they died a violent death. This story is important for events that followed. There are no data about unusual occurrences in the 1950’, 60’ or 70’ because the Center, which was founded in 1967, was first located in Nemanjina Street, where today is the Ministry, then in Kralja Petra Street, and only in 1980’ was it moved to this building that state built purposefully for the Center. In the early 1980’, some researchers-I know them by names but it would be indiscreet to reveal them-noticed those strange occurrences at night and dawn, sometimes even during the daytime. For example, somebody was all alone in the building and suddenly strange noises could be heard: flushing the water or odd sounds from the garage that used to be a boiler room and other strange sounds. For those who experienced it-fortunately, I haven’t-the strangest of all was the sound of footsteps on the staircase when they were sure nobody else was physically present. Naturally, most of the people- regardless of their beliefs either religious or atheistic, superstitious or not- were frightened, but some of us, who were more rational, made fun of it and called it “the third shift”. For us, it was nothing strange, we were used to it…

Bog je veći, bitniji, moćniji od svega Božanstava osim Boga nema, svedočim I Muhamed je poslanik Božji, svedočim Pokreni se, živni, s Bogom poveži se Pokreni se, živni, Bogom spasi se Bog je veći, bitniji, moćniji od svega Božanstava osim Boga nema.... ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// God is bigger, more important and powerful than anything There are no other deities but God, I testify And Muhammad is the God’s prophet, I testify Move, liven up, and connect with God Move, liven up, save yourself with God God is bigger, more important and powerful than anything There are no deities but God.