This morning I was heading to the town of Prizren about a 90 min ride from Pristina. Prizren was once the capital of the Turkish province of Kosovo and is rooted in history.

After leaving the hotel I made my way the 2km to the bus station. I wanted to test the route as tomorrow I will be leaving with luggage. At the terminal I was told to just goto the bus and pay them for Prizren

A bus was departing just as I got there. A guy comes thru the bus to collect fares which was 4eu ($5). It took about two hours to get there as there was construction going on in Pristina modernizing roads

In Prizren although I had checked the map the night before on the internet when I got there it was quite confusing. I wanted to make my way to the river but the roads kept turning thru the alleyways spinning me in all directions so I was completely lost.

I could see the mountain homes the other side of the river so was trying to make my way to the base. Eventually I made it to the old part of town. As in Novi Pazar I was just seeing Mosque after Mosque so was going from minaret to minaret to lead me further into the old town

One side of the river is flat with the old Turkish baths. The other side has a mountain fortress and Serb Orthodox church I didn’t want to climb up to yet until I got some lunch.

A street near the hammam (baths) had a Tekla which was some sort of residence. I was allowed in but couldn’t take pics. The room had large area rugs and floor seating pillows with Islamic writing on the walls. The room behind you could see thru the windows had several coffins draped in green cloth with Quranic writing.

Just next door was the Turkish baths which are undergoing restoration so you cant enter. The road from the hammams leads to a bridge back across the river to the main Ali Pasha mosque. The bridge is a stone arched Turkish bridge similar to the ones in Bosnia

The mosque is also situated in a large cobbled Shardavan Square. It was filled with outdoor restaurant seating and was bustling with people. I had really stepped into something amazing. This town is the real heart of Kosovo not the capital Pristina

I went into the mosque which had beautiful ceiling art unusual for Mosques. There were miniature paintings of Istanbul and different coloured art designs.

Then I followed the cobbled road leading up which went to a Serb Orthodox church. There was a guard box outside, no photos were allowed, the inside was locked, and warning signs posted about vandalism. I’m not sure how many Serbs still live here after the independence of Kosovo.

There was a smaller side building with open windows where I was able to look and take pictures thru the windows. Just outside was another small Serb church but it was locked too.

I didn’t want to go up to the fortress without eating first so looked for a burger place. They were cheap starting at 1.50eu ($1.80) so I got a cheeseburger for 1.80eu ($2.15) which was much wider then a McDonalds burger.

Now I was energized I started my climb up to the fortress. Halfway up you pass the Serb church which again is locked from public access. As you climb further up its actually just an outer shell as the roof is gone and the insides bare

Reaching the top of the fortress there were good scenic views looking back over the told town, red roofs, minarets, and mosque domes. You could also see the river running down the middle of town and even more mosques further off into the distance. There were a couple of church towers too I was hoping to check out

Back down I tried to navigate my way to one of the churches. It was another one undergoing restoration. I went inside and it was completely bare except for stone walls and some original ceiling art. Workers outside were slowly repairing and reconstructing the church.

There was another 15th century mosque I wanted to find near the hammam. It was locked as were most of the mosques in the town. Behind the hammam was another mosque with some outer arch art. I heard some Turkish tourists speaking here. You can actually take a bus from Prizren to Istanbul

It was now starting to sprinkle rain so I wanted to make my way back to the bus station. As I got there one was leaving a pulling out onto the street but still picking up passengers on the sidewalk so I rushed and jumped on.

I was really amazed at Prizren. I didn’t know anything about this town until I started reading about the Balkans and hearing it was the Turkish seat of power for the province of Kosovo at one time. In Istanbul I've seen buses coming here at the bus terminal

They are doing lots of restoration and have really put the emphasis of making this a showcase town for tourism. Prizren is a tourism boom waiting to happen. There were lots of guesthouses and I did think of an overnight but couldn’t with my luggage.

It was very reminiscent of Mostar Bosnia with its stone arched bridge, cobbled streets, and old Turkish Mosques. When it was prayer time you also heard the chorus of mosque speakers calling out the prayer one by one. When I do return to Kosovo I’ll make sure to travel light and spend an overnight here.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Prayer Call in Prizren, Kosovo

http://youtu.be/OyPBIoQpxFw

Driving Thru Prizren, Kosovo

http://youtu.be/Z9IvzbJ15AQ