While you can only be born a Tatar anywhere else in the world, in Serbia for a long time you could become one by choice (sadly, they've since closed up shop).

Here, Tatars were the name for postal couriers handling especially important state documents. And the Serbian Post Office, which appeared in 1835, was actually first called the "Tatarska služba" (later renamed "Srpsku Poštu"). Serbs considered Tatars to be the fastest and most skilled riders. Well, you know what they say—a horse becomes what you name it.

It was a respected job with decent pay. As a bonus, sometimes came fame: many Serbian Tatars were well-known throughout the country. I mean, covering nearly 1,000 km from Istanbul to Belgrade on horseback in just 5 days—that's no small feat!

Particularly notable is Serbia's last Tatar, Rista Prendić. Famous both because he was the last and because he brought the news that the Turkish army was finally leaving the country.