It was an easy enough trip to the hostel from the bus station. I arrived at dusk and was fairly tired so I decided to procure a snack and then some groceries for dinner. The guy at the front desk informed me that there was an Albanian national football match that night and that he and some friends would be watching in the lobby. I told him I would definitely plan to be there. I walked around and spotted a Burek store. Score! I then grabbed some ingredients for salad in the main square and headed back to the hostel.
Kosovo was part of the Kingdom of Serbia during the middle ages but was ultimately conquered by the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. During the 500 year Ottoman rule, the ethnicity of Kosovo became split. The north was ethnically Serbian dense while the south was occupied predominately by Albanians. After WWII, it was annexed into Yugoslavia where it remained until the fall of communism when sovereignty was transferred to the Republic of Serbia.
In 1999 the Kosovo War broke out, with the result governance of Kosovo was transferred to the United Nations. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence, although Serbia and several other countries do not recognize it. There is still a UN presence in Kosovo although it is now mostly independently governed with the exception of a few small Serbian enclaves in the north. Since I was in Prizren in the far south, I didn't see any of that with the exception of a few US Army soldiers on a sightseeing tour.
So there's a quick blurb about the history. You do see some signs of the violence around Kosovo but not nearly on the scale of what I saw in Bosnia left over from the Bosnian War of Independence. That night, after acquiring my food, I ended up watching the football game with the guys from the hostel and some other guests. Here was my initial reaction to the hostel and city:
Prizren is a beautiful city. The hostel is extremely nice- modern, a/c, lots of common space, decent kitchen, and an incredible roof terrace. The guy running it is one of the nicest I've met. He went out of his way to help me out and then offered those of us watching the football match unlimited free beer and chips. Then afterward he started cooking everyone steaks and sausages.
The only downside I've found is that everyone smokes so much! I had to leave the upstairs after the game because of the smoke. Went to the downstairs kitchen to eat my salad and write and they came down to cook the steaks and smoke like chimneys. These guys are so nice but they are killing me with the chain smoking!
The net morning I had breakfast in the hostel. "Breakfast in the hostel was wonderful. Back to what I am used to in Europe- bread, bit of cheese, bit of meat, butter, jam and coffee. Plus I sliced up a fresh tomato that I had bought. Still not a huge fan of breakfast in general but this one was worth it (especially since it was free)."
I set out from the hostel on my first objective of the day- hike up to the castle. Along the way up to the castle I come to discover several abandoned/destroyed houses. At the time I couldn't understand why anyone would let houses with such great views fall into disrepair. Even the nice church nearby was nearly completely destroyed.
What I later came to find out is that the entire Serbian population was settled on that hill. When Kosovo was fighting for its independence those people were forced out and their houses were burned or destroyed. Additionally, nearly every Orthodox church in the city was burned including one dating back to the 14th century. To this day, most of these churches are still in disrepair, and the houses on the hill are abandoned and derelict.
There isn't a ton left of the fort but it has been inhabited in some form or another since 11th century. As you might imagine, it provides the appropriate altitude for good look out on Prizren. I particularly love the minarets popping up here and there throughout the city.
Of the fort itself, the most well preserved element is the main fortification wall facing the city. I think they are in the process of slowly revitalizing the entire fortress but as you've likely gathered, the folks in Kosovo have more pressing matters to attend to at present. But someday, it all might look like these walls. Or at least have some signs indicated what different elements are.
The night before, one of the other hostel patrons had tipped me to some hiking trails back behind the castle. Not wanting to head back into town just yet, I struck out on one of them which led me up and down and around various hills. When i came to a small clearing I saw this:
I couldn't tell if it was another fortress on an adjacent hill or just a cool rock structure. Either way, the trail I was on headed the other direction and there was no discernible way to get there. So after hiking for about an hour I decided to turn around and head back. I got back into town and stopped into a small store to get a water where I found something that shocked me to the core.
I nearly shat myself. I kept turning it over and re-reading to make sure it was real. Yep, Columbus, GA. Incredible! What in the heck is this thing doing here? I half expected to see a moon pie behind me. It was nuts. Obviously I abandoned my plans to get a water and instead acquired an RC. It tasted just like in the south. As I walked around drinking it I thought to myself that if you gave me 1 million guesses as to where I would someday be and what I would be doing, I would have never come up with drinking an RC cola in Kosovo. I also had the following observation which preoccupied me for the remainder of the day:
"As I roam the streets the feature that continually jumps out at me is the little restaurants with the grill outside of the building. They are grilling up sausages, cevapi, and hamburger in this little box off from the counter that fully enclosed from the outside. Then there is a ventilation pipe from the top of the box that runs up the wall of the building and to the roof." They were everywhere!
I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering around essentially mosque hunting. There are a ton of them scattered all over the city. I also came across a really old hammam, Gazi Mehmet Pasha's, which is apparently still used from time to time.
One of the most impressive mosques in the city is the Sinan Pasha Mosque which was built in 1615 and lies right in the heart of old town.
I decided to wind up my day with a little work on uploading pictures and Wanderlust from the rooftop terrace of the hostel. With one of the nicest views of any hostel terrace I've come across, it was a perfect and quiet way to close out the afternoon.
The next morning I awoke early and made my way to catch my bus to Skopje. On the bus I had the following thoughts:
"We ride through endless countryside with mountains providing a seamless backdrop. Nearly every house is done with those large red bricks, concrete in the corners, and red tile roofs. Some are covered with stucco and painted. I wonder if the intention is for all of them to be like that but they exist in whatever condition they must based on the owner's financial condition. We pass a new mosque under construction. That's something you don't see everyday- in fact I think it's the first one I've ever seen.
Later we come across a huge processional. From the looks of it, it appears to be a memorial for something- perhaps Albanians killed in the Kosovo independence. But hundreds of people are lining up to walk up and through what looks like a wall with some plaques. There are soldiers in black at the top, scrutinizing the situation. This slows down our bus considerably but eventually we are on our way again. At one of the stops we have a five minute break and I grab some chili chips (chipsy's) and an Albanian candy bar that is reminiscent of a Twix. It wasn't very good.
Eventually the farmlands give way to mountains as we head toward Macedonia. Border control is the same as before: one gate for leaving Kosovo, one for entering Macedonia. Got stamped coming into Kosovo but none going out."
Kosovo was part of the Kingdom of Serbia during the middle ages but was ultimately conquered by the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. During the 500 year Ottoman rule, the ethnicity of Kosovo became split. The north was ethnically Serbian dense while the south was occupied predominately by Albanians. After WWII, it was annexed into Yugoslavia where it remained until the fall of communism when sovereignty was transferred to the Republic of Serbia.
In 1999 the Kosovo War broke out, with the result governance of Kosovo was transferred to the United Nations. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence, although Serbia and several other countries do not recognize it. There is still a UN presence in Kosovo although it is now mostly independently governed with the exception of a few small Serbian enclaves in the north. Since I was in Prizren in the far south, I didn't see any of that with the exception of a few US Army soldiers on a sightseeing tour.
So there's a quick blurb about the history. You do see some signs of the violence around Kosovo but not nearly on the scale of what I saw in Bosnia left over from the Bosnian War of Independence. That night, after acquiring my food, I ended up watching the football game with the guys from the hostel and some other guests. Here was my initial reaction to the hostel and city:
Prizren is a beautiful city. The hostel is extremely nice- modern, a/c, lots of common space, decent kitchen, and an incredible roof terrace. The guy running it is one of the nicest I've met. He went out of his way to help me out and then offered those of us watching the football match unlimited free beer and chips. Then afterward he started cooking everyone steaks and sausages.
The only downside I've found is that everyone smokes so much! I had to leave the upstairs after the game because of the smoke. Went to the downstairs kitchen to eat my salad and write and they came down to cook the steaks and smoke like chimneys. These guys are so nice but they are killing me with the chain smoking!
The net morning I had breakfast in the hostel. "Breakfast in the hostel was wonderful. Back to what I am used to in Europe- bread, bit of cheese, bit of meat, butter, jam and coffee. Plus I sliced up a fresh tomato that I had bought. Still not a huge fan of breakfast in general but this one was worth it (especially since it was free)."
I set out from the hostel on my first objective of the day- hike up to the castle. Along the way up to the castle I come to discover several abandoned/destroyed houses. At the time I couldn't understand why anyone would let houses with such great views fall into disrepair. Even the nice church nearby was nearly completely destroyed.
What I later came to find out is that the entire Serbian population was settled on that hill. When Kosovo was fighting for its independence those people were forced out and their houses were burned or destroyed. Additionally, nearly every Orthodox church in the city was burned including one dating back to the 14th century. To this day, most of these churches are still in disrepair, and the houses on the hill are abandoned and derelict.
There isn't a ton left of the fort but it has been inhabited in some form or another since 11th century. As you might imagine, it provides the appropriate altitude for good look out on Prizren. I particularly love the minarets popping up here and there throughout the city.
Of the fort itself, the most well preserved element is the main fortification wall facing the city. I think they are in the process of slowly revitalizing the entire fortress but as you've likely gathered, the folks in Kosovo have more pressing matters to attend to at present. But someday, it all might look like these walls. Or at least have some signs indicated what different elements are.
The night before, one of the other hostel patrons had tipped me to some hiking trails back behind the castle. Not wanting to head back into town just yet, I struck out on one of them which led me up and down and around various hills. When i came to a small clearing I saw this:
I couldn't tell if it was another fortress on an adjacent hill or just a cool rock structure. Either way, the trail I was on headed the other direction and there was no discernible way to get there. So after hiking for about an hour I decided to turn around and head back. I got back into town and stopped into a small store to get a water where I found something that shocked me to the core.
I nearly shat myself. I kept turning it over and re-reading to make sure it was real. Yep, Columbus, GA. Incredible! What in the heck is this thing doing here? I half expected to see a moon pie behind me. It was nuts. Obviously I abandoned my plans to get a water and instead acquired an RC. It tasted just like in the south. As I walked around drinking it I thought to myself that if you gave me 1 million guesses as to where I would someday be and what I would be doing, I would have never come up with drinking an RC cola in Kosovo. I also had the following observation which preoccupied me for the remainder of the day:
"As I roam the streets the feature that continually jumps out at me is the little restaurants with the grill outside of the building. They are grilling up sausages, cevapi, and hamburger in this little box off from the counter that fully enclosed from the outside. Then there is a ventilation pipe from the top of the box that runs up the wall of the building and to the roof." They were everywhere!
I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering around essentially mosque hunting. There are a ton of them scattered all over the city. I also came across a really old hammam, Gazi Mehmet Pasha's, which is apparently still used from time to time.
One of the most impressive mosques in the city is the Sinan Pasha Mosque which was built in 1615 and lies right in the heart of old town.
I decided to wind up my day with a little work on uploading pictures and Wanderlust from the rooftop terrace of the hostel. With one of the nicest views of any hostel terrace I've come across, it was a perfect and quiet way to close out the afternoon.
The next morning I awoke early and made my way to catch my bus to Skopje. On the bus I had the following thoughts:
"We ride through endless countryside with mountains providing a seamless backdrop. Nearly every house is done with those large red bricks, concrete in the corners, and red tile roofs. Some are covered with stucco and painted. I wonder if the intention is for all of them to be like that but they exist in whatever condition they must based on the owner's financial condition. We pass a new mosque under construction. That's something you don't see everyday- in fact I think it's the first one I've ever seen.
Later we come across a huge processional. From the looks of it, it appears to be a memorial for something- perhaps Albanians killed in the Kosovo independence. But hundreds of people are lining up to walk up and through what looks like a wall with some plaques. There are soldiers in black at the top, scrutinizing the situation. This slows down our bus considerably but eventually we are on our way again. At one of the stops we have a five minute break and I grab some chili chips (chipsy's) and an Albanian candy bar that is reminiscent of a Twix. It wasn't very good.
Eventually the farmlands give way to mountains as we head toward Macedonia. Border control is the same as before: one gate for leaving Kosovo, one for entering Macedonia. Got stamped coming into Kosovo but none going out."
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