Battle of Marina
You might find odd the fact that in the first part of
the story about Battle of Marina I chose a lady to tell the story,
but for the locals in Marina (Bossiglina at the time), Katarina (Kate)
Despotova is a real hero. Something like Joan of Arc for the French. It is
somewhat a brutal story, but it has to be told.
A Story of
brave women of Bossoglina
June 26th
1657.
My name is Katarina Despotova, I am a young widow from Bossiglina. My
husband was killed by the Ottomans along with many other brave men of our
village. There are few of us left alive now and this is a day when a woman cannot
act as one. That is why I am, along with
thirty other woman, wearing mens clothes, a sabre and acting like a man.
Our fortress has been under siege for days now. We are hungry and filthy
and tired. There are screams, blood and death at every corner. I have no time
for tears, but some do run down my cheeks as I see them breaking into the Tower
full of women and children. And then, a huge blast! My brave friend and
companion Jele Marunova, a young girl dedicated to God, blew three barrels of
gun powder and sent all the souls from the fortress to heaven. Some to God,
some to Allah; none survived.
I am not afraid, I am not sad, I am not horrified. I was born to be at
this place at this time. I have lived this short life to fight this battle and avenge my beloved
husband. I was born to kill six Ottoman soldiers with a sabre before being
captured.
I have the pleasure of seeing the shame in Ahmed-pasha’s eyes while he
takes our hats off and realizes that his soldiers were fighting and being killed
by the woman of my village. I have the pleasure to see them scared as
they take us to slavery in Bosnia. A small group of women, heavily guarded by
men armed with guns and sabres.
They’ve made us slaves and no one will ever know our end. But you can
bet that a woman form Bossiglina knows how to make an exit. And it never is a
quiet one ;)
