The bus had dumped me at the town market. There was supposed to be a bus station on my map and the guy from the bus was telling me in Serbian to take a taxi to go there. I wanted to goto the bus station first to get my ticket to Pristina tomorrow and so that I know where to go to get the bus, since there was so much conflicting information if there even was a bus to get out

Luckily the market was right by my hotel so I was able to dump my luggage first. At first I get the typical 'we don't know who you are and we don't have a reservation for you' look so I gave him a printout. There was a big wedding and karaoke going on so I hoped they weren't full like my hotel in Romania

The reservation was ok and he didnt ask me for money so I reminded him I have to pay 25 euros. Then I tried asking where the bus station is and he started telling me to take a taxi. I tried explaining tomorrow I am going to Pristina so he said he would call to find out the times

This was not looking hopeful as to whether I could get out once in. At first I thought he was saying to just stand by the market to get a bus or that there was no bus to Pristina.

When he called he said there was a 5.45am, 6am, and 1pm bus so he made a reservation for me on the 1pm as I'd wanted the 9am which was on my printout. He said there was no 9am. I still didnt know where I am supposed to take the bus but he was saying dont worry you have a reservation. So I'm asking where do I go at 1pm??

I decided to goto the bus terminal to see where it was and talk to the bus compnay myself. They didnt speak english but said to come at 1pm and pay the drivver so I didnt need to pay for them for the ticket now.

I tried asking why there wasnt a 9am when it says on the schedule in the terminal. Eventually I figured out she was saying its only weekdays not on Sunday which was the day tomrorow

Now that was sorted I could go exploring Novi Pazar. I was excited because this town had a different feel and felt more like Bosnia for the first time. It was set in a mountain valley with houses climbing up the sides, and a river running down the middle just like in Sarajevo

There were also lots of Mosque minarets and I already heard the Azaan prayer call when I was in my hotel. I passed by another mosque and typically they tend to be locked except for prayer time in Yugoslavia, although in other countries they are open all day

I made it to the main square where there was another mosque. This was the start of the old town. There were narrow lanes with crooked houess. Behind the main mosque were the turkish baths which were in ruins and not in use.

Continuing on I saw another Mosque which was open this time. There was a small cemetary with Turkish style graves and arabic writing.

I could see another minaret further down so followed it out to the the newer suburb trying to find this twin minaret mosque. It was in a newly constructed area and didnt even have a proper road but it was locked after all the walking.

I could see another mosque in the distance but this would keep going on every time I came to a mosque so decided to head back as the sun was starting to go down and I needed to eat.

This time I passed by the fortress ruins which I had missed on the way down. There was a small lookout tower and the rest of the walls were in ruins.

I was now looking for food and ended up in a grilled meat restaurant. All the locals were looking at me as this isnt a touristic town. It was fresh cooked break with five small kebabs for 170D ($2)

Now I was trying to find my way back to the hotel. I saw another mosque so went to take pics. It was locked again but I was able to follow the road up the side of the mountain for some landscape city shots just like in Sarajevo

When I came down the lights were on as it was prayer time. A guy who spoke english asked me where I was from and what I was doing here. I ended up praying as I was very conspicuous and it would look bad if I didnt. It was mostly people over 30 but some young peole too

When the prayer was over they then spread out all over the mosque and sat down again which was unusual. Then then started tossing prayer beads to each other which I've sen done once in Turkey. Then the all rushed fro the door and started turning the lights out almost locking me in.

After that I stopped by a supermarket next to the hotel. A lady in a hijab asked if I was arabic but she couldnt speak any english other than that. The cashier found me very strange and sent another lady over.

This one spoke english so said her friend wanted to know why I was in Novi Pazar. I said I was from Canada travelling and she wanted to know if I liked it. Then I went back to the hotel and finally had wifi to catch up on all my internet stuff.

Novi Pazar can easlliy be done in an hour or two and is worth visiting if you havent been to Bosnia or arent going south into Kosovo. It has a very distinct Turkish culture seperate from the rest of Serbia.

Some women wear headscarves and people are chopping firewood for the winter. The Mosques all do the prayer call and it becomes a chorus hearing all the mosques at prayer time

There are actually buses to most of the major cities nearby with buses running to Belgrade, Sarajevo, and even Istanbul.