Rainy Belgrade Highway

The slick cement sizzles under the fast moving tires flying through this european expressway. Calm little puddles go crashing into the air as eighteen wheelers barrel through the dark wet night hauling tremendous cargo on their way to distant lands. The shimmer of street lights glistens in the millions of water droplets cascading all round while drivers squint into the distance trying to stay out of harm's way. Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. In antiquity, the area of Belgrade was inhabited by the Thraco-Dacian tribe of Singi who would give the name to the city after a fortress was founded in the 3rd century BC by the Celts, who named it Singidun. It was awarded city rights by the Romans before it was permanently settled by Serbs from the 7th century onwards. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times since the ancient period by countless armies of the East and West. Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each having its own local council. It covers 3.6% of Serbia's territory, and 24% of the country's population lives in the city.