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lupestripeDescribed as the most charming city in Kosovo, on Monday I headed south to Prizren, which was about a two hour journey by bus. After a breakfast omelette and some bread served with a selection of preserves, the kindly hotel staff called me a taxi to get me to the bus station, which was slightly out of town to the south-west. As we drove, we went passed the impressive new blue and white national stadium - a sign of Kosovo's recent regeneration - although it's safe to say that improvements haven't yet been made to the bus station, which was very much in the traditional Eastern European style. Upon speaking to the helpful guy behind the information desk, he sold me a ten cents ticket to get onto the platform and told me just to board the bus and pay once I was there. Fortunately, I did not have too long to wait as the next bus to Prizren was already there and due to depart in about fifteen minutes so I found myself a seat and waited for the bus to leave. Once it had set off - with it only being about one third full - a gentleman came around selling tickets and I was delighted to discover that the trip was just €4 one way. I could not get a return ticket but the price was just the same, which represented excellent value.
It had snowed in the rural areas overnight so the flat plains and subsequent mountainous terrain was sprinkled in snow, adding a beauty to what otherwise was a rather grey day. Snapping pictures from the bus was quite difficult when it was moving, so I had to content myself with taking snapshots whenever the bus halted, which fortunately was quite often to pick up and drop off passengers. The towns through which we went did seem quite developed and there were a number of houses being built, mainly shells but the building materials are actually the cheapest part of construction here, with the wiring and plumbing being the huge outlay. As a result, many families have a 'house in the country' they are slowly constructing while still living in the heart of the city. There were also a number of businesses on the roadside, suggesting a reasonably strong economy.
The journey did not feel like two hours so I was surprised when I was deposited at Prizren bus station shortly before noon. The main problem was, like Prishtina, the bus station was somewhat out of town and with no maps on my phone available thanks to a technical error preventing me from getting data (thanks EE!), I had to resort to using the map in the guidebook. Alas, the bus station was too far out for it to be covered, but fortunately we had driven through the city centre so I just went back the way I had come on the bus. There was also a helpful guy at the information desk here who pointed me in the right direction. Luckily, I was going the right way and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I noticed a street name that I recognised, turning left down this road to find myself strolling right beside the river which flows through the heart of the city, cutting it in two. It was only a short walk from here to my first destination, which was the start of the guided walking tour recommended by my guidebook. I did this in a rather brisk fashion but it still took about three hours to complete, with me opting to climb up to the castle which was perched on a hillside overlooking the city. This turned out to be an excellent choice as the views from the top over the city below were breathtaking, despite the consistent misty drizzle which occasionally turned into heavier rain. As I walked up there, I followed tourist information signs demarking the 'Journey of the Stone' which effectively was a route you could walk which highlighted some of the buildings in which stones from the castle had subsequently been used. It succeeded in personifying a stone who was happy to now form part of the music school which had been founded in 1947 because it enjoyed the melodies but it also said 'I really miss my home'. It was the first time ever I had felt emotion for an anthropomorphic piece of stone. Interestingly, as I was reading this sign, two kids called me over wanting to practice their English, pointing me in the direction of the castle while on the way down I got to hear the evocative sounds of a lady performing her operatic arias.
The best thing about the castle was the panoramic views, not only over the city but also behind to the dark and forboding mountains beyond. It was these mountains that we had driven through on the bus, but they had an ominous tinge in the fading light. It was 3pm by the time I had gotten up to the castle and thus the sun had already started to set, with the thick cloud only accelerating the dawning of night. The castle itself was largely in ruins and built in a very similar fashion to the one in Belgrade. The perimeter wall still stands along with seven arched rooms which is where soldiers used to defend the castle and now secluded an amorous couple who I rudely yet inadvertently interrupted. The watchtower was largely still intact too, while it was interesting to note that there had already been significant restoration of the place. In the centre there was a large open area with a wooden stage, where concerts are now presumably held, while I enjoyed the secret back tunnel which I believe was used primarily to get water to those defending the place.
Despite all this, my favourite thing walking up to the castle was actually the tiny Orthodox Church of Hrista Spasitelja. Built in two stages between 1335 and 1348, it was partially destoyed in the riots of 17 March 2004, where KFOR troops baffingly sat and watched Albanians loot a number of Serbian monuments across the country. There's only one way in and out of this place and perhaps the steep road was too tight for tanks - plus the mandate for KFOR was confused as it was meant to be purely peacekeeping - but either way the church is now securely locked up and out of bounds, a sad indictment of the intolerance which still exists in this region.
I can see why Prizren is described as Kosovo's most beautiful city, but anywhere in December looks a little drab, particularly on a dark and murky day. I found the roads quite busy, particularly the narrow backstreets on the north bank of the river, and although I did appreciate the town's prettiness, I can't say it grabbed me like other places did. However, this is the place where there is more survivng Ottoman architecture in Kosovo than anywhere else so it was great to see a number of mosques, with their evocative call to prayer cutting right through the bones. The Sinan Pasha Mosque near the pedestrian area on the south side of the river is the main mosque and indeed as it is raised above the road, you can see it from most places in Prizren. There were also a number of other smaller mosques but the one with the greatest legend was Maskut Pasha Mosque to the east of the city. Dating from 1833, the garden of the mosque contains some old graves and it is linked to a tekke which is associated with Albanian separatism and the second League of Prizren. Sheh Musa Shehzhade Shehu was assassinated by Slav communists in 1944 and the tekke destroyed six years later. There is a huge Marash tree with a two metre wide trunk here too, with this tree unique to the Balkans, surviving as it does due to the sheltered conditions. It is believed that originally three trees grew here from three pieces of wood taken out of fire by the founder Sheh Sylejman. Interestingly too, there was a tearoom on the site of the tekke but this too was destroyed by the communists and replaced with a qebaptore, which still stands to this day. There is an interesting restaurant near this site now called Marashi and further up there is a mill-themed place with a ropey looking shooting range. I went for a walk down the riverside for a while, towards the aforementioned black mountains, noting the fast flowing water and accepting that this was where a number of mills used to stand. These were all destroyed, with the eighteenth century Shotman Mill going in the 1990s.
There are a number of bridges across the river in Prizren, again with differing histories. The Stone Bridge (Ura e Gurit) is perhaps the most famous one in the city, having been destroyed by floodwaters in 1979 and painstakingly rebuilt three years later. It's quite a steep archway and leads to the main cobbled pedestrian area on the south bank, already described. Further up from there is the Serbian Orthodox St George's Cathedral, which again is closed to the public largely because of the 2004 riots. You could at least get into the grounds but there were a number of strongly worded signs saying the building was protected by law. Opposite this was a small cafe where I decided to take a break, largely because I had noted the Sabaja Brewery sign hanging outside. This is the only craft brewery in Kosovo and so I did want to try the three beers in their range, sensing this would be an opportunity to at least sample one. So it proved as I opted for the IPA in a rather smokey living room style saloon, coming to the conclusion that the beer was steady but typical of a nascent brewery. Later in the day, once I had done all of my sightseeing, I decided to try the most famous qebaptore in the city - Te Syla 'Al Hambra. Here I went for seven cylinders of meat, which was served with salad and warm fresh bread, and it was both succulent and delicious. The moist meat worked tremendously well with a bottle of Peja Beer and with everything coming to €3.50, I was more than happy. The place had something of an informal canteen feel and indeed the business started out forty years ago as a street vending place, with this vibe still maintained. Indeed, you can see the meat being grilled in front of you over a glass counter near the entrance, although I had opted to dine upstairs out of the way.
In the restaurant I noticed that there were two geocaches in the city - one annoyingly at the castle which was now difficult to get to in the dark and one in the League of Prizren complex. I had been here earlier in the day, but with a little time to kill before my bus (as it turned out there was NO bus at 6:30pm so I had to hang around at the dismal bus station for another half hour for the 7pm service), I decided to try and find the cache. Alas, one of the wardens was keeping a close eye on me as I searched so I couldn't discover it in the end, but at least I got to see this pretty little square in the dark as the atmosphere was quite different. I had been here earlier in the day and this collection of houses sits behind the impressive blue and white painted Gazi Mehmet Pasha mosque, which was built in 1566 and is another dominant building in the city. I felt a little on edge walking around the grounds of this mosque taking photos, thinking people were staring at me, but I suspect I was just being too self-conscious. Anyway, the League of Prizren complex consists of a number of whitewashed buildings which were rebuilt in 1999 after being burnt down by Serb forces in March of that year. The smaller of the two buildings faces the road and had two elderly gentlemen sat outside, smoking and chatting. This is now a museum but it being Monday, it was unfortunately shuttered. The larger courtyard building is also part of the museum but again this was closed so I only got the opportunity to walk around the neat circular grounds. Anyway, without getting too much into the history, the League of Prizren was formed in December 1877 as a result of Serbia acquiring Albanian land and forcing 50,000 Albanian Muslims to flee into Kosovo. The Ottoman Empire was weakening and Albanians were alarmed by the strength of the Serbs and so Albanians in Prizren began to organise on a scale not seen since Skenderbeg, who I mentioned yesterday. The League tried to push the Albanian cause to the great powers of the time - namely France, Germany and the UK - and although most of their appeals were rejected, it did bring those issues to the fore. Outside the courtyard there is a statue of three figures on a plinth marked by the date 1878, which is also the year mentioned on plaques as you enter the complex. It was certainly in this year they were most active, meeting several times and writing formally to the Berlin Congress in July of that year. Many of the men involved here are national heroes and some of their houses are still preserved, albeit in varying states of repair. The guidebook highlighted some of them.
Speaking of bridges, the newest one, Ura e Arastes, is a blue metal thing where people can place locks with messages written upon them. It's a twee sentiment and one rarely encouraged yet here they were offering locks for free it seemed. Aside from this, I also got to see a number of other interesting sights including the Gazi Mehment Pasha Hammam which was similar to the brick structure we saw in Tbilisi. Built in 1573 at the same time as the nearby mosque, it ceased operation in 1926 for women and 1944 for men. It served as a storage area for a while but it kept falling into disrepair then being used again for a different purpose, which perhaps explains why it wasn't open to the public when I was there. Further up this street there was a range of bridal shops, but of most interest was the minaret of Arasta Mosque, which was saved in 1960 when the rest of the mosque was bulldozed to make way for a shopping centre. It was built in 1526 and it is interesting to spy this wonderful piece of architecture surrounded by communist concrete monstrocities.
There were a number of other buildings I saw too, including municipal ones such as the white fronted edifice that used to be the headquarters of the defunct Bankos Bank. Near here on the northern bank, there was a number of narrow winding roads with a few hiddden gems including the Levisja/St Petka Church which was again badly damaged in the 2004 riots. It is also closed to the public and looks something of a forlorn sight. This was the last area I visited before my kebab-based meal, with the sun very much setting by the time I had explored this district and made it back to the river. As the sun went down, the temperature noticably became colder although it wasn't a particularly warm day as it was. After my food and aborted attempt to find the geocache in the League of Prizren headquarters, I made the fifteen minute walk back to the bus station only to discover I needn't have rushed as there was no 6:30pm departure to the capital and I had to wait until 7pm. I was a little nervous, but pretty relaxed considering I had been told 7pm by a number of people, but there was one member of staff who in an attempt to be helpful tried to get me on the wrong bus, which was only going to a town halfway back. I therefore spent forty-five minutes just pacing back and forth waiting for the right bus to arrive, a situation not helped by the fact the buses were all parked in the incorrect stands.
The journey back to Prishtina was in the dark, and thus I took the opportunity to have a snooze. Even though the bus was nowhere near full, some charlie still ended up sitting next to me for most of the journey which was a little annoying. I got a little concerned when the entire bus decamped at two stops towards the outskirts of Prishtina, only to find that the latter was just the main entrance road to the bus station and the driver was more than happy to drive me down the slip road and into the place proper. It was really odd being the only passenger on a large bus though. However, this was nothing compared to the nightmare taxi journey I had to endure from the bus station back to the hotel. With no choice but to take one of the cabs parked outside the entrance to the bus station, I should have realised things weren't going to go well when he insisted I didn't need to wear a seatbelt. It descended from there, with him first asking me "do you want to go fuck fuck?" before inquiring "do you want to fuck fuck my girlfriend?". This was one of those questions which should go unanswered and I tried to be evasive, with him perhaps sensing my discomfort and subsequently turning his horrendous Albanian R&B music to full volume. He kept asking me whether I liked it and I kept lying saying that I did, but ultimately, the hotel could not come quick enough. He kept talking about going to a club, which at 9pm on a Monday evening definitely didn't appeal, and the only saving grace was that I knew the landmarks back to my hotel and thus I was confident he was taking me the right way. Suffice to say, I have rarely felt so relieved than to be deposited back at my place of stay and I swiftly headed back inside, spoke to the guy on the front desk a short while and retired to my room to get a shower and chill for the rest of the evening.
It had snowed in the rural areas overnight so the flat plains and subsequent mountainous terrain was sprinkled in snow, adding a beauty to what otherwise was a rather grey day. Snapping pictures from the bus was quite difficult when it was moving, so I had to content myself with taking snapshots whenever the bus halted, which fortunately was quite often to pick up and drop off passengers. The towns through which we went did seem quite developed and there were a number of houses being built, mainly shells but the building materials are actually the cheapest part of construction here, with the wiring and plumbing being the huge outlay. As a result, many families have a 'house in the country' they are slowly constructing while still living in the heart of the city. There were also a number of businesses on the roadside, suggesting a reasonably strong economy.
The journey did not feel like two hours so I was surprised when I was deposited at Prizren bus station shortly before noon. The main problem was, like Prishtina, the bus station was somewhat out of town and with no maps on my phone available thanks to a technical error preventing me from getting data (thanks EE!), I had to resort to using the map in the guidebook. Alas, the bus station was too far out for it to be covered, but fortunately we had driven through the city centre so I just went back the way I had come on the bus. There was also a helpful guy at the information desk here who pointed me in the right direction. Luckily, I was going the right way and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I noticed a street name that I recognised, turning left down this road to find myself strolling right beside the river which flows through the heart of the city, cutting it in two. It was only a short walk from here to my first destination, which was the start of the guided walking tour recommended by my guidebook. I did this in a rather brisk fashion but it still took about three hours to complete, with me opting to climb up to the castle which was perched on a hillside overlooking the city. This turned out to be an excellent choice as the views from the top over the city below were breathtaking, despite the consistent misty drizzle which occasionally turned into heavier rain. As I walked up there, I followed tourist information signs demarking the 'Journey of the Stone' which effectively was a route you could walk which highlighted some of the buildings in which stones from the castle had subsequently been used. It succeeded in personifying a stone who was happy to now form part of the music school which had been founded in 1947 because it enjoyed the melodies but it also said 'I really miss my home'. It was the first time ever I had felt emotion for an anthropomorphic piece of stone. Interestingly, as I was reading this sign, two kids called me over wanting to practice their English, pointing me in the direction of the castle while on the way down I got to hear the evocative sounds of a lady performing her operatic arias.
The best thing about the castle was the panoramic views, not only over the city but also behind to the dark and forboding mountains beyond. It was these mountains that we had driven through on the bus, but they had an ominous tinge in the fading light. It was 3pm by the time I had gotten up to the castle and thus the sun had already started to set, with the thick cloud only accelerating the dawning of night. The castle itself was largely in ruins and built in a very similar fashion to the one in Belgrade. The perimeter wall still stands along with seven arched rooms which is where soldiers used to defend the castle and now secluded an amorous couple who I rudely yet inadvertently interrupted. The watchtower was largely still intact too, while it was interesting to note that there had already been significant restoration of the place. In the centre there was a large open area with a wooden stage, where concerts are now presumably held, while I enjoyed the secret back tunnel which I believe was used primarily to get water to those defending the place.
Despite all this, my favourite thing walking up to the castle was actually the tiny Orthodox Church of Hrista Spasitelja. Built in two stages between 1335 and 1348, it was partially destoyed in the riots of 17 March 2004, where KFOR troops baffingly sat and watched Albanians loot a number of Serbian monuments across the country. There's only one way in and out of this place and perhaps the steep road was too tight for tanks - plus the mandate for KFOR was confused as it was meant to be purely peacekeeping - but either way the church is now securely locked up and out of bounds, a sad indictment of the intolerance which still exists in this region.
I can see why Prizren is described as Kosovo's most beautiful city, but anywhere in December looks a little drab, particularly on a dark and murky day. I found the roads quite busy, particularly the narrow backstreets on the north bank of the river, and although I did appreciate the town's prettiness, I can't say it grabbed me like other places did. However, this is the place where there is more survivng Ottoman architecture in Kosovo than anywhere else so it was great to see a number of mosques, with their evocative call to prayer cutting right through the bones. The Sinan Pasha Mosque near the pedestrian area on the south side of the river is the main mosque and indeed as it is raised above the road, you can see it from most places in Prizren. There were also a number of other smaller mosques but the one with the greatest legend was Maskut Pasha Mosque to the east of the city. Dating from 1833, the garden of the mosque contains some old graves and it is linked to a tekke which is associated with Albanian separatism and the second League of Prizren. Sheh Musa Shehzhade Shehu was assassinated by Slav communists in 1944 and the tekke destroyed six years later. There is a huge Marash tree with a two metre wide trunk here too, with this tree unique to the Balkans, surviving as it does due to the sheltered conditions. It is believed that originally three trees grew here from three pieces of wood taken out of fire by the founder Sheh Sylejman. Interestingly too, there was a tearoom on the site of the tekke but this too was destroyed by the communists and replaced with a qebaptore, which still stands to this day. There is an interesting restaurant near this site now called Marashi and further up there is a mill-themed place with a ropey looking shooting range. I went for a walk down the riverside for a while, towards the aforementioned black mountains, noting the fast flowing water and accepting that this was where a number of mills used to stand. These were all destroyed, with the eighteenth century Shotman Mill going in the 1990s.
There are a number of bridges across the river in Prizren, again with differing histories. The Stone Bridge (Ura e Gurit) is perhaps the most famous one in the city, having been destroyed by floodwaters in 1979 and painstakingly rebuilt three years later. It's quite a steep archway and leads to the main cobbled pedestrian area on the south bank, already described. Further up from there is the Serbian Orthodox St George's Cathedral, which again is closed to the public largely because of the 2004 riots. You could at least get into the grounds but there were a number of strongly worded signs saying the building was protected by law. Opposite this was a small cafe where I decided to take a break, largely because I had noted the Sabaja Brewery sign hanging outside. This is the only craft brewery in Kosovo and so I did want to try the three beers in their range, sensing this would be an opportunity to at least sample one. So it proved as I opted for the IPA in a rather smokey living room style saloon, coming to the conclusion that the beer was steady but typical of a nascent brewery. Later in the day, once I had done all of my sightseeing, I decided to try the most famous qebaptore in the city - Te Syla 'Al Hambra. Here I went for seven cylinders of meat, which was served with salad and warm fresh bread, and it was both succulent and delicious. The moist meat worked tremendously well with a bottle of Peja Beer and with everything coming to €3.50, I was more than happy. The place had something of an informal canteen feel and indeed the business started out forty years ago as a street vending place, with this vibe still maintained. Indeed, you can see the meat being grilled in front of you over a glass counter near the entrance, although I had opted to dine upstairs out of the way.
In the restaurant I noticed that there were two geocaches in the city - one annoyingly at the castle which was now difficult to get to in the dark and one in the League of Prizren complex. I had been here earlier in the day, but with a little time to kill before my bus (as it turned out there was NO bus at 6:30pm so I had to hang around at the dismal bus station for another half hour for the 7pm service), I decided to try and find the cache. Alas, one of the wardens was keeping a close eye on me as I searched so I couldn't discover it in the end, but at least I got to see this pretty little square in the dark as the atmosphere was quite different. I had been here earlier in the day and this collection of houses sits behind the impressive blue and white painted Gazi Mehmet Pasha mosque, which was built in 1566 and is another dominant building in the city. I felt a little on edge walking around the grounds of this mosque taking photos, thinking people were staring at me, but I suspect I was just being too self-conscious. Anyway, the League of Prizren complex consists of a number of whitewashed buildings which were rebuilt in 1999 after being burnt down by Serb forces in March of that year. The smaller of the two buildings faces the road and had two elderly gentlemen sat outside, smoking and chatting. This is now a museum but it being Monday, it was unfortunately shuttered. The larger courtyard building is also part of the museum but again this was closed so I only got the opportunity to walk around the neat circular grounds. Anyway, without getting too much into the history, the League of Prizren was formed in December 1877 as a result of Serbia acquiring Albanian land and forcing 50,000 Albanian Muslims to flee into Kosovo. The Ottoman Empire was weakening and Albanians were alarmed by the strength of the Serbs and so Albanians in Prizren began to organise on a scale not seen since Skenderbeg, who I mentioned yesterday. The League tried to push the Albanian cause to the great powers of the time - namely France, Germany and the UK - and although most of their appeals were rejected, it did bring those issues to the fore. Outside the courtyard there is a statue of three figures on a plinth marked by the date 1878, which is also the year mentioned on plaques as you enter the complex. It was certainly in this year they were most active, meeting several times and writing formally to the Berlin Congress in July of that year. Many of the men involved here are national heroes and some of their houses are still preserved, albeit in varying states of repair. The guidebook highlighted some of them.
Speaking of bridges, the newest one, Ura e Arastes, is a blue metal thing where people can place locks with messages written upon them. It's a twee sentiment and one rarely encouraged yet here they were offering locks for free it seemed. Aside from this, I also got to see a number of other interesting sights including the Gazi Mehment Pasha Hammam which was similar to the brick structure we saw in Tbilisi. Built in 1573 at the same time as the nearby mosque, it ceased operation in 1926 for women and 1944 for men. It served as a storage area for a while but it kept falling into disrepair then being used again for a different purpose, which perhaps explains why it wasn't open to the public when I was there. Further up this street there was a range of bridal shops, but of most interest was the minaret of Arasta Mosque, which was saved in 1960 when the rest of the mosque was bulldozed to make way for a shopping centre. It was built in 1526 and it is interesting to spy this wonderful piece of architecture surrounded by communist concrete monstrocities.
There were a number of other buildings I saw too, including municipal ones such as the white fronted edifice that used to be the headquarters of the defunct Bankos Bank. Near here on the northern bank, there was a number of narrow winding roads with a few hiddden gems including the Levisja/St Petka Church which was again badly damaged in the 2004 riots. It is also closed to the public and looks something of a forlorn sight. This was the last area I visited before my kebab-based meal, with the sun very much setting by the time I had explored this district and made it back to the river. As the sun went down, the temperature noticably became colder although it wasn't a particularly warm day as it was. After my food and aborted attempt to find the geocache in the League of Prizren headquarters, I made the fifteen minute walk back to the bus station only to discover I needn't have rushed as there was no 6:30pm departure to the capital and I had to wait until 7pm. I was a little nervous, but pretty relaxed considering I had been told 7pm by a number of people, but there was one member of staff who in an attempt to be helpful tried to get me on the wrong bus, which was only going to a town halfway back. I therefore spent forty-five minutes just pacing back and forth waiting for the right bus to arrive, a situation not helped by the fact the buses were all parked in the incorrect stands.
The journey back to Prishtina was in the dark, and thus I took the opportunity to have a snooze. Even though the bus was nowhere near full, some charlie still ended up sitting next to me for most of the journey which was a little annoying. I got a little concerned when the entire bus decamped at two stops towards the outskirts of Prishtina, only to find that the latter was just the main entrance road to the bus station and the driver was more than happy to drive me down the slip road and into the place proper. It was really odd being the only passenger on a large bus though. However, this was nothing compared to the nightmare taxi journey I had to endure from the bus station back to the hotel. With no choice but to take one of the cabs parked outside the entrance to the bus station, I should have realised things weren't going to go well when he insisted I didn't need to wear a seatbelt. It descended from there, with him first asking me "do you want to go fuck fuck?" before inquiring "do you want to fuck fuck my girlfriend?". This was one of those questions which should go unanswered and I tried to be evasive, with him perhaps sensing my discomfort and subsequently turning his horrendous Albanian R&B music to full volume. He kept asking me whether I liked it and I kept lying saying that I did, but ultimately, the hotel could not come quick enough. He kept talking about going to a club, which at 9pm on a Monday evening definitely didn't appeal, and the only saving grace was that I knew the landmarks back to my hotel and thus I was confident he was taking me the right way. Suffice to say, I have rarely felt so relieved than to be deposited back at my place of stay and I swiftly headed back inside, spoke to the guy on the front desk a short while and retired to my room to get a shower and chill for the rest of the evening.
