	Ostrog Monastery


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There seem to be inexplicable links between a lot of the mysteries of the esoteric world, the similarity of ancient hieroglyphs in places thousands of miles apart has raised even learned eyebrows and left questions which only monumental discoveries can ever answer. Then there are the ancient tales of the plural Gods on whose verity nobody can remotely agree. And, more observable but perhaps as baffling, is the evident tendency religious man has had to construct monasteries in geological nooks and crannies, and on the top of imposing cliffs. Or both.

Ostrog in Montenegro is not the most difficult to access monastery in the world, a point comprehensively proven by the number of visitors arriving (by means of a precarious cliff road) by the coachload. But then neither does it let the side down, nestled into a presumably purpose made hollow in the cliff face which gives it a sense of seclusion invariably indispensable to pursuits of a religious nature such as this.

The monks maintain the property and its religious significance admirably and thousands of people bear witness to their careful preservation of age old traditions. Yet in spite of this and the stunning views from the chapel balconies, the iconic spot as a tourist destination is of limited value other than for the purposes of pilgrimage, a supposition nudged factwards by the presence of very few ostensibly non-Orthodox visitors. The unassertive construction adopting a most assertive posture on the landscape seeks to achieve nothing other than the sanctuary it was originally created for, and the vast majority of those going are themselves there for very little else.

Perhaps simple realities such as this create special places. Ostrog is worth a visit, for an Orthodox Christian very much so for spiritual reasons. For the rest of us, very much so for the views down the valley.