Belgrade Stories…
Whether you are coming to Belgrade for the first or the umpteenth time, your attention will certainly attract Kalemegdan – fortress which proudly rises above the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.
The story of Mehmet Pasha’s Fountain
At Kalemegdan, hidden a bit from the main pedestrian routes, in the shade of plane trees, the fountain of Mehmet Pasha Sokolović is located. It was built in the second half of the sixteenth century as a memorial to a very important event from this period.
Namely, Sultan Suleiman in 1566 led the great battle to conquer the current Hungarian fortress named Siget. The first sultan’s vizier was then Mehmet Pasha Sokolović.
The Turkish army was more numerous, but the battle protracted and soldiers` military morale was declining. Unfortunately, Sultan Suleiman dies of natural death in his tent. Mehmet Pashal continued to give all commands, and, in order to avoid spreading the news of the death of the sultan that would endanger the outcome of the battle, Pasha decided to make up the dead sultan and drove him through the Turkish camp every day. The battle ended with the victory of the Turks and the vizier sent a horseman to Istanbul to call the Sultan Selim`s son to come to Belgrade, to Kalemegdan to meet there.
At the place where the fountain is today, Selim learned that his father was dead and that he becomes Sultan instead of the Sultan.
An important event during that time, of course, but more important is that the faithful servant Mehmet Pasha – from the moment of death of the Sultan Selim to the surrendering of authorities – made decisions independently and always faithfully to Turkish empire. He had no dilemma whether to serve the dead sultan as best as he can or not. All this is interesting knowing that the vizier was originally Serb, who was taken as a Janissary to Turkey to serve there.
The fountain was erected by faithful vizier to enhance passengers and curiously surprise them with an interesting story.
Therefore, without a doubt, visit this fountain at Kalemegdan: you might find that a tree that loomed over it can discover some more unusual secret stories!
Author:
Ljiljana Petrović