Prizren -- September 11

Our final stop in Kosovo was the town of Prizren. Prizren lies near the Albanian and Macedonian borders and is considered the "jewel"in the crown of Kosovo. So we headed to the bus station in Gjakova and were on a bus to Prizren within a few minutes.

45 minues later we arrived in Prizren, and after taking a taxi (2 euro) to our pension, we were ready to start seeing the sights. Our accommodations were quite basic, but the folks running the place were very friendly even though it was difficult to communicate. The few people here who don't speak English typically know some German, so a knowledge of German is pretty useful here. Of course between the two of us we only speak English and Spanish.

We started exploring the town and were immediately impressed by the preserved Ottoman buildings with their upper stories jutting out into the narrow cobbled streets. In fact Prizren reminded us very much of Turkey -- Turkish signs, food, and tea are everywhere. The other thing that was very noticeable in Prizren is the destruction of homes and buildings up on the hillside. Apparently those were where the Serbs had lived, but their homes were destroyed during the 2004 unrest.

We started our visit in the very pleasant Shadervan Square where USAID had a booth set up showing all the of agricultural progress that has been made in Kosovo with the help of US aid. We crossed the famous stone bridge and saw the interesting Gazi Mehmet Pasha Hamman which were Turkish baths that have now fallen into a state of disrepair. We then entered the Emin Pasha Mosque and were impressed by the beautiful simplicity inside.

We then made our way over to the League of Prizren Museum which is a complex of buildings that were reconstructed after being burnt down in 1999 by Serbian forces. The League of Prizren was defensive league put together by Albanian clan members in Prizren. In 1878, it was agreed that Albanian interests would be best served by obtaining a degree of autonomy from the Ottomans. Within a few years, the league was crushed by the Ottomans who perceived it as a threat.

By now it was time for lunch. We stopped at Besimi-Beska restaurant where Craig enjoyed pizza and Efren the mixed grill. The friendly folks at the restaurant provided delicious macchiatos on the house after the (large) meal. The waiter was curious as to where Efren is from. When he told him Mexico, the waiter said he had never seen anyone from Mexico before -- only on TV! Of course he said Craig resembled a "typical American"-- whatever that means!

After lunch we needed to walk off some calories so we headed to the castle overlooking the city. Passing the abandoned and destroyed Serb houses was sobering, and walking past the St Savior church which is currently behind barbed wire and under KFOR control was downright scary with the "authorization to use firearms" signs that we saw.

Up at the top was a beautiful view of Prizren and we relaxed in the cool breeze for awhile. We then walked down the steep hill back to town and rested up in the room a bit before heading out to a cafe for some Peja Beer. Strangely enough, we were able to access wireless internet at a cafe on Shadervan Square. Who would think free wireless internet would be so easy to access in Kosovo?

We wrapped up the night with a snack at the same restaurant where we enjoyed baklava and the best pomme frites we've ever had. We think they fry the potatoes in anise....delicious! True to form at this restaurant, the meal was wrapped up with "on the house" Turkish tea which was a fine ending to the day.

Back to the hotel to pack up so we could be ready for our 5:30am bus to Skopje tomrorow. In the midst of packing, the lights went out and we soon learned this is a typical nightly occurence. All part of the fascinating mix of what today's Kosovo provides the traveler.