D r Ioanna Batsialou, a specialist in mesotherapy, aesthetics and an- ti-aging medicine, also specialist in physical medicine and rehabil- itation, was born in Athens, but her home for almost 30 years has been the Serbian capital. She fell in love with Belgrade the in- stant she arrived in Serbia in 1990 to study medicine, and this love, she says, has grown ever stronger with the years. “I planned to go to Prague or Buda- pest, but my father, who worked in the Min- istry of Defence, had a friend in Belgrade, an attaché at the Greek Embassy, and he managed to persuade me to change my decision. Belgrade seemed grey and dark compared to Athens to me back then, with people wearing dark colours, but the en- ergy of the Serbian capital and the people living there made me feel at home after just a few days. I soon realised that Serbs and Greeks are very similar people. Every Greek who’s lived in Serbia wants to return.” She learnt Serbian during her rst year in Belgrade, then in 1991 received a student’s transcript index for the Med- ical Faculty. “It somehow happened that it was pre- cisely at that time that the war broke out in Croatia. I considered packing a suitcase and returning to Athens, but I changed my mind. I told myself: I will not go back, what hap- TOP
Doctor Ioanne was awarded for her charitable work in 2017 with the Order of Saint Sava - the top award of the Serbian Orthodox Church Humanitarni rad doktorke Ioanne nagrađen je 2017. godine Ordenom Svetog Save — najvećim priznanjem Srpske pravoslavne crkve
pens to people in Serbia will happen to me. I missed my family, so in 1993 I convinced my brother and sister to come to Belgrade to study. When I graduated from college, I again considered that it was time to pack my bags, but then my brother and sister persuaded me to stay.” She earned her doctorate in 2003, packed her things again, gave up her at and decided to throw a farewell party be- fore leaving Serbia. “And at that very celebration I meet Dragan, my future husband. I didn’t think love at rst sight existed; that that only hap- pens in lms. And then it happened to me. I enrolled to study sub-specialisation in hy- perbaric medicine, then began my great work in the eld of mesotherapy and an- ti-aging, I travelled constantly, and slowly gained patients. I planned to return to Ath- ens with my brother, sister and Dragan af- ter the wedding and to open a clinic there, to work there as a family.” All plans halt with death of her broth- er Georgie. She remains in Belgrade, opens her clinic and nally realises that her life in Serbia is complete. “Here I most love the
spite everything they’ve gone through over the past several decades. I love Serbian mon- asteries and churches, Serbian patron saints’ days, my ‘godmotherships’. I have 33 god- motherships – that’s how many times I was a godmother/maid of honour at baptisms and weddings in Serbia. I’m in love with the Drina, Uvac, Fruška Gora, Zlatibor, Palić... She says that the food in Serbia is similar to Greek food, and that‘ćevapi’, Karađorđe’s schnitzel, meatballs and llet in cream are her favourite dishes. She also adores Serbian folk music, especially Serbian ‘kolo’ music. “My daughter Teofanija, who’s now ve years old, is already going to folklore dance. I support Red Star, and Novak Đok- ović is my favourite athlete, because he is the most powerful proof of what one per- son can achieve in life through their own work, eort and energy. I’ve toured the whole world, and if I could choose again I’d live in Belgrade.
people, their ghting spir- it, joy for life, and the fact that they have not lost their spirit and faith, de-
IOANNIN IZBOR JOANNA’S CHOICE
VRAČAR Ovde živim već 26 godina. Poznajem i volim svaki vračar- ski ćošak, ulicu, park, kafanu... Iznova se divim lepoti Hrama Svetog Save, a posebno Crkvi Svete Trojice, koja se gradi i čiji sam ktitor. Obožavam i Kalenić pijacu... KALEMEGDAN Kad god imam slobodnog vremena, sa ćerkom Teofanijom odem na Kalemegdan. Fascinira me lepota tvrđave, kao i pogled na ušće Save u Dunav. Na kraju uvek svratimo u re- storan Kalemegdanska terasa . POZORIŠTA Zaljubljena sam u beogradska pozorišta, a najčešće idem u Narod- no i Jugoslovensko dramsko. Bar jednom nedeljno sam u pozorištu – što za velike, što za male. ZEMUNSKI KEJ Volim potez do hotela Jugoslavija . Ta šetnja mi je nakon na- pornog radnog dana najbolja antistres terapija. KOŠUTNJAK I ADA Nakon uživanja u Košutnjaku i ručka u nekom od tamošnjih re- storana, najčešće se spustim na Adu Ciganliju da prošetam po- red jezera.
VRAČAR I’ve been living here for 26 years. I know and love all of Vračar’s cor- ners, streets, parks, taverns... I admire again and again the beauty of Saint Sava Temple, and especially the Church of the Holy Trinity, whi- ch is being built, of which I am a patron. I also love Kalenić Market... KALEMEGDAN Whenever I have free time with my daughter Teofanija, I go to Kalemegdan. I’m fascinated by the beauty of the fortress, but also the view of the confluence of the Sava and Danube. At the end, we always drop in at Kalemegdanska Terasa restaurant. THEATRES I’m in love with Belgrade’s theatres, and most often go to the Natio- nal and Yugoslav Drama. I’m at a theatre at least once a week – both large ones and small ones. ZEMUN QUAYSIDE I like the stretch to Hotel Yugoslavia. That stroll, after a hard day’s work, is the best anti-stress therapy for me KOŠUTNJAK & ADA After enjoying Košutnjak and lunch at some restaurant there, I usu- ally head down to Ada Ciganlija to walk beside the lake.
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