Crkva Petrova

The Oldest Church in Serbia (Saint Peter or Crkva Petrova) lies just 3 kilometers from central Novi Pazar. It's old gravestones and green, hill side location is evocative of old Celtic churches in Ireland. It was here around a thousand years ago that Stefan Nemaja organized the council that outlawed the Bogomil heresey in Serbia (I have no idea what that means but it sure sounds important).



The church was locked, so the Mrs. asked a local if she knew where to find someone with the key. The woman, who was herding about a half dozen goats, said that she could tell her where to get it, then handed her her goatherder's staff, walked away, and told her to keep the goats off the church grounds. Needless to say, the Mrs. was not happy and unprepared to tend to goats, but after a few minutes the woman returned and gave us directions to a house to get the key. That house had a garden full of ripe plums that we were free to sample, and the attendant brought out an enormous, heavy, iron key to let us inside. After a look around, we walked back to busy, central Novi Pazar, without the goats.