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Category: South East Europe Culture

Gobeklitepe

Göbeklitepe- The World’s First Temple

12,000 years ago, the world’s first temple, Göbeklitepe, was built near Urfa in Turkey.  Massive carved stones were arranged in rings by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools. The stones are covered in carvings of foxes, lions, vultures, and scorpions using only stone hammers and blades. The tallest pillar is 16 feet […]

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Art Across Times and Places – Video

The timeless influence of Art SEEfest hosted a discussion about the intersection of art, architecture, and diverse cultural traditions paying homage to the avant-garde art movement from the 1920s, a nod to the trailblazer of his day, Kazimir Malevich, and his geometric abstract art. The late Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born architect of world-renown, famously spoke about […]

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vines with ripe purple grapes

The Real Origin of Wine in South East Europe

Contrary to popular beliefs, wine did not originate in France. Archaeologists found wine residue dating back to over 8,000 years ago in Georgia. It is said that the people of modern-day Georgia discovered that grape juice ferments to wine after it was buried underground during the winter months. You may be familiar with the terms […]

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mixing ingedients for dolmas

SEEfest Alumna Gets Distribution for “HOMEMADE” Documentary Web Series

SEEfest Accelerator Alumna Ivana Strajin Joins Forces with Dunn Vision Food is so personal. Growing up, some of my favorite childhood memories were those spent in the kitchen cooking with my dad and baking with my mom. As a kid, I didn’t realize that what we were preparing had any cultural significance. It was just […]

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Mira Furlan

The Meaning of Mira Furlan

SEEfest had the honor of joining an international panel hosted by UCL, University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies on February 3rd, 2021 paying tribute to Mira Furlan. You can watch the conversation below.    The recently departed Mira Furlan (1955-2021) was a legend of Yugoslavian theatre and cinema, representing the hopes and […]

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small boat on the sea

Exploring The Adriatic Coast of South East Europe

Often considered among the most beautiful waters to see and swim in, the Adriatic Sea is an integral part of life in South East Europe, specifically in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, and Italy, whose borders run along the Adriatic coast. One of the Adriatic coast’s striking features is the white stone which marks the ever-shifting […]

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wooden scoop with cornmeal

Cornmeal—Originated in the Americas, A Staple Ingredient Binds Many Cultures Together

Corn, or maize—its indigenous name, was first domesticated in the Americas around 10,000 years ago by indigenous people. Today, it is one of the topmost distributed food crops around the world—even more than that of wheat or rice—and has various purposes such as biofuel, animal feed, cornstarch, corn syrup, and raw-eco material. Now that we’ve […]

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Croatia Olive Tree

Olives of the Mediterranean

A field of olive trees. Meandering between the parcels of land are walls of loosely-stacked stones, dividing the trees among neighbors. From a high vantage point, the walls are hidden beneath the trees’ leaves, slim and dappled with sunlight, and in such abundance that they form a sea of their own in the field. The […]

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hand moving pieces on chessboard

South East Europe Loves Chess!

The super-successful Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit, shone the spotlight on South East Europe’s long history of world-class chess. It’s no coincidence that many world-masters have emerged from SEE. Grandmaster is the highest title one can be awarded in chess, and former Yugoslavia is a region that birthed an unusual amount of them. This month […]

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rubiks cube

Inventor of the Rubik’s Cube Gets a Movie

A Rubik’s Cube movie and game show are set to be in the works. Learn about the creator and the story behind his famed invention that will soon be on the screen. The great inventor from South East Europe, Ernő Rubik is the Hungarian mastermind behind the beloved mechanical puzzle that has been sold more […]

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