Up early to meet our driver guide Vladimir from Skopje tours. He was taking us for a day trip to the Republic of Kosovo, the second youngest country in the world. (Sort of). Kosovo became independent in 2008. They are only recognised by 113 of the 193 UN states ... they need 129 and no vetos to become a member of the UN. They would also like to join the EU, and mainly use the Euro as their currency. Their flag is one of only 2 to have its map on it! Kosovo was one of the 6 republics within Yugoslavia, under the Communist regime of Tito.
Serbia maintains Kosovo is Serbian, and revoked its status as an automomous entity in 1989, beginning huge discrimination against the Albanians. This built up resentment, and Kosovan Albanians wanted independence, leading to the very bloody Kosovan war in 1998-9. Serbia is mainly populated by Orthodx Christian Serbs, while Kosovo is 93% Albanian Moslems! Not an easy mix! Kosovo were aided by Nato, who bombed Serbia heavily, and a peace accord was signed in 1999. UN peacekeepers are still there, known as KFor, and Kosovo is now home to a large Nato base. The USA were one of the first countries to recognise Kosovo, and bizarrely, there are American symbols everywhere. Flags, statues of US politicians, George Bush Boulevard and even the statue of Liberty.
Again, there are many signs of old communist architecture, and regeneration. Partly as a result of the war, Kosovo is a very young country with more than 70% under the age of 35. The road into Kosovo is along a quite new raised road - a steel bridge 6kms long through the mountains! Quite a feat of engineering. This is an Internet picture of its construction!
Our first stop was a Serbian enclave at Gracanica. This is centred around a beautiful Serbian Orthodox Monastery, built by Serbian King Milutin in 1321, and, you guessed it, with beautiful frescoes. No photos allowed, so the interior ones are from the Internet!
Then we headed into the capital, Pristina. Vladimir was keen to point out the huge new or renovated buildings, many of them ministries! This was an installation reflecting the spirit of optimism on acheiving independence.
Much of the traditional, and moslem architecture was destroyed, but several old mosques remain.
A real surprise was the little museum of a traditional 18th century house.
Many traditional families would sit on the floor, but they had tiny low chairs..which were for adults.Also, the shape of the dishes was very like the tagines from N Africa.
Amazingly, this house had 250 year old central heating. A central fire and then ceramic pipes into each room. Insulation was further helped by doors insulated with goatskins! The guest room, upstairs was beautiful, with wood panelling. The higher seating was for the guests, the family sat lower. The shutters were very adjustable too.
We had a very good local lunch in an old restaurant called Liburnia. They cooked on an open fire.
Then a walk to see one of the most unusual architectural 'gems' in Pristina, the National Library, built in 1982 with a Croatian architect! It certainly stands out!
It's history mirrors the conflict, and I have attached an official description at the end of the blog for any keen readers!
There was interesting street art, including a mural depicting Dua Lipa. Apparently both she and Rita Ora are of Albanian Kosovo descent. The man in the wheelchair was on the side of a building whose only access appeared to be by stairs. There was an international street art event here in June, Meeting of Styles, where over 100 artists worked in some of the cities 'concrete jungle' areas to brighten them up.
Perhaps surprisingly, there is also a very new Catholic Cathedral in the centre of Kosovo, dedicated to Mother Theresa.
She spent time here in her teenage years and as a nun, and is fondly remembered, with statues and a centralised square named in her honour.
Next a drive through lovely scenery to the SW of Kosovo, to Prizren.
The old town centre is so pretty.
Again there was a museum illustrating traditional life.
Another building was once the headquarters of the Albanian League, founded in 1878, and was destroyed by the Serbians.
Piizren is near the Albanian border, and the majority of inhabitants are moslem. There were several traditional mosques, and this minaret dating from 1538.
Surprisingly again, there is also a Catholic church rebuilt twice on 14th century foundations, and a Jewish centre. The Serbian Orthodox church however is not open to the public and is guarded.
There is a walk along the river, across the Lovers bridge and the old stone bridge that has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.
The town is ringed by mountains, and our guide offered to take us back over the Sharr Mountain pass. The scenery was stunning.
They call it Switzerland in Kosovo!
There are ski resorts both here and in North Macedonia, but climate change is making the snow less predictable. We really enjoyed our day in Kosovo, but left feeling sad that it is obvious that the turmoil is far from being permanently resolved.
*Extra reading about the Library and history from an official guide to Kosovo.
" In 1989, Kosovo's status as an autonomous region of Serbia was revoked, tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanians working in the public sector lost their jobs, and Albanian students were prohibited from taking courses in the Albanian language. For public and private libraries in Kosovo, this was a time when many library collections were burned and destroyed.
The library was subsequently used to house a large number of refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia who had fled their countries due to the Yugoslav Wars. After NATO's occupation of Kosovo in June 1999, it was revealed that the Yugoslav Army had used the library as a command-and-control centre. The materials inside had been stolen, reading room furniture smashed, and the card catalogue had been dumped in the basement. The library workers were kept out for a week while Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping troops checked the building for any hidden explosives.
According to national and international organizations, about 100,000 Albanian-language books have been sent to the paper mill in Lipjan for pulping. Among those books were collections of national heritage, which explained the nation's origins and history."
There are many spectacular medieval monasteries. Glad you saw this gem. Sadly Serbian superiority complex and obsession with forcing their language onto other nations was the end of Yugoslavia after Tito died. As kids we all had to learn “Serbo-Croatian” in schools in Slovenian republic for two years.