Kosovo Archives ⋆ Page 2 of 3 ⋆ The Passenger

September 9, 2019September 29, 2019

Mirusha valley

The Mirusha valley is one of the natural highlights of Kosovo. It is located in the middle between Pejë and Prizren in a mountainous region with wonderful forests. The river Mirusha here creates 16 waterfalls connecting 13 small lakes. The largest waterfall is 22 meters high. Animals living in this nature protection zone include wild boars, badgers, wolves, turtles and otters. It is a wonderful place full of nature that is a little bit hard to reach.

September 9, 2019April 19, 2022

UÇK

If you get to Kosovo you will definitely get to know something about the Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, the Kosovan liberation army. Throughout the country you can find big memorials for their fallen soldiers. The UÇK was formed in 1994 to achieve independence of Kosovo from Serbia and to fight what was seen as Serbian occupation. What started with acts of terror ended with the UÇK being an accepted ally of NATO during Kosovo war.

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

The Past

Clock at Grand Hotel Prishtina, Prishtinë

Njeriu nuk mund ta njohen të sotmen, nese nuk do të kujtoje të kaluaren.
– Kosovan saying

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

Priview bar

If you want a bar with good views at Prishtinë, Kosovo you need to walk a little bit. Coming from the city center you’ll need to cross the railway tracks and walk up the hill towards the shiny new buildings and the KFOR camp ‘Film city‘ where once movies were produced. Inside the new Minimax shopping centre you can find the Priview bar. From their seats next to the large glass windows you can watch the lights of the capital city.

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

Bear sanctuary

Going to a place where bears are held in eastern Europe is normally no pleasure. They often live in old and shabby cages that are much too small and don’t provide a suitable environment for these beautiful animals. With the Bear sanctuary Prishtina at Novo sellë, Kosovo it is absolutely different. In Kosovo it was allowed for long time to have a bear as your personal animal. Most often they were held in small cages next to restaurants for the amusement of the visitors. When this law was fortunately changed the animal protection association Four paws offered to create a sanctuary in Kosovo.

September 8, 2019April 19, 2022

Artificial lakes

The Kosovo is in a special geographic situation – a large valley with different mountains at its borders and no access to the sea. There are some rivers like the Drin and the Ibër and only few lakes, most of them glacial lakes. That is why there are also some artificial lakes created especially for ensuring drinking water supply. If you’re at Prishtinë two lakes are not too far away: the Liqeni e Battlavës and the Liqeni e Badovcit.

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

Battles and speeches

High fences, barbed wire, numerous CCTV cameras, dogs and guards. No sign is leading to this place, there are no other visitors, you are not allowed to take anything inside and you’ll have to hand over your passport to the guards. The Gazimestan monument near Prishtinë, Kosovo is a place you don’t want to be at. But if you want to understand the conflicts between Serbs and Albanians about the Kosovo Polje it is a key element. The medieval-shaped tower built in 1953 contains different nationalistic texts and is dedicated to an important fight in 1389.

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

Ancient monastery

When you arrive at Graçanicë, Kosovo you will see a vast area surrounded by old stone walls. It is the Manastiri i Graçanicës, a serbian-orthodox monastery and one of the most important sights in Kosovo. The cloister was founded in 1321 by serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin. In its center you will find a wonderful small church in byzantine style with five cupolas. As you might expect in case of orthodox church it is richly decorated in gold and the entrance area is covered with well-preserved beautiful frescos.

September 8, 2019September 29, 2019

Flowstone cave

When local citizen Ahmet Diti was gathering rock for building his house in 1969 he found an opening in the mountains and after climbing in he saw endless stalagtites. The cave he discovered by this is the Shpella e Gadimës at Gadime e Poshtme, Kosovo. It has then been preserved, the floor covered in concrete and opened to visitors. On a 1400 meters long path you can now see how water has washed out this cave, see small lakes, stalagtites and stalagmites and dosh growing in artificial light.

September 8, 2019April 19, 2022

Prishtinë

Prishtinë is the capital city of Kosovo, the biggest city in the country and located in the heart of the Kosovo Polje. Its origins date back to the first century CE as you can see at the archaeological site Ulpiana. Prishtinë is a nice place to visit with surprisingly shaped buildings, small museums and many nice restaurants and bars. For someone used to old cities with clearly visible structures the city feels a bit unplanned and scattered.