It will take place in Ilok in the Slavonia region of Croatia
Friday, Oct. 25, 2024

Chairperson of the day will be Daan Everts former Ambassador of the Netherlands

The Sultans Trail is a cultural route between Vienna and Istanbul. The route traverses through eight countries in Europe: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey.

The route passes important sites and monuments, from early times to the birth of modern present-day nations. It connects with Roman and Byzantine history and the medieval Kingdoms of Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

Located on the route of the Trail, Ilok is a striking place.
The old town overlooks the Danube River. A bridge just downstream from the river brings hikers and bikers to Serbia.
Our meeting will take place in the former castle, which now houses the Municipal Museum of Ilok. The museum has a collection of Ottoman heritage.

To our delight, we have found engaging speakers of various disciplines willing to explain their views on aspects of culture and history. And the theme of travel will receive extra attention. The official language will be English.

Themes

The four themes that will be discussed concern: history, culture, heritage, and travel; interrelated, but also with views on the contemporary geopolitical situation and on challenges for the future policies of the Sultans Trail.

1. Travel
   The merits of the type of travel of the Sultans Trail (slow tourism). Comparison with other cultural routes and other forms of tourism.
2. Stories from and about the trail and region
   Descriptions of travellers in the region from the past, early modern times and contemporary experiences. Narrative prose about the region to convey knowledge and dispel misunderstandings.
3. History
   Attention to important aspects of the region’s history and its significance for the present time.
4. “Traveling with a mission”
   The route and travellers with more than just adventure and tourism motivations.

There will be important speeches, such as:

• Ottoman heritage:
  Neglected or contested! But also, to be promoted?
  Views expressed by Aleksandra Terzic, Emina Hodzic, Andrea Rimpf.
• “From the end of World War One up to Now:
  A birds-eye view on developments in the region of the Sultans Trail” by historian Trvtko Jakovina
  
• The Danube River
  As important geological phenomenon, linking but also dividing      people. Was there ever a common Danube civilization? Or should that be invented for the present time and the future?
  Wolfgang Limpert navigates the waters and knows his harbours.
• Can tourism build bridges?
  Tourism initiatives by youth organisation Proni after the Yugoslav Wars; Irena Mikulic stresses the importance of education;
  Damir Juric keeps pleading to build a replica of an Ottoman Bridge;
  Miloš Ničić reveals the links of the triple qualities of tourism, culture and peace.

Representatives of tourism organisations will discuss the peculiarities, common grounds but also big differences between types of tourism.
Mass-tourism or adventurously going slow?

Also the present state of the art of the Sultans trail itself.

Chairman
Drs. Ton Waarts