Photos of landscapes and villages around Kosovo

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Around Kosovo

The road from the town of Peja (Peć) to Montenegro in the Albanian Alps or Prokletije mountains leads through the Rugova Canyon (Gryka e Rugovës or, in Serbian, Rugovska Klisura), a canyon 23 kilometres long and up to 1,000 metres deep, carved by the Lumbardhi i Pejës (Pećka Bistrica), a short but mighty river. It is a favourite place with visitors.
Shar Mountains
 
Lumbardhi river
 
Along the Lumbardhi
 
Recording music
 
Looking after sheep
 
Rugova Canyon
 
Welcome to Rugova Canyon
 
Fast flowing river
 
Rugova Canyon road
 
Bridge, Canyon road
 
Rugova Canyon road
 
Lumbardhi river
 
Canyon tunnel
 
Rugova Canyon
 
U�K Memorial
 
KLA fighter Memorial
 
Martyrs monument
 
KLA Memorial
 
Martyrs memorial plaque
 
Salih �ekaj statue
 
Skender Latifi memorial
 
Tailors Bridge
 
Mosque and main street
 
Rečane mosque
 
Upper village
 
View from Rečane
 
Main street
 
Village of Rečane
 
Bosniak Democratic Party building
 
Statue of female soldier
 
Big Mosque of Mulla Veseli
 
Cathedral and mosque,
 
St. Uroš Orthodox Cathedral
 
In St. Uroš Cathedral
 
St. Uroš Cathedral iconostasis
 
Highway construction
 

To the south-west of the town of Prizren are the Shar mountains (Malet e Sharrit) with its ski resort of Brezovica, 900 metres to 2,500 metres above sea level and the valley of the Lumbardhi river near the Albanian border. Between the villages of Zhur (Žur) and Vërmica herdboys could be seen, playing on their home-made flutes in a beautiful rural setting.

40 kilometres south of Prishtina is Ferizaj (Ferizaji), a town of about 170,000 inhabitants. Its name derives from a pre-1873 hotel owned by a local Kosovo Albanian named Feriz Shashivari. Its Serbian name Урошевац (Uroševac) comes from the medieval Stefan Uroš V of Serbia, Saint Uroš, who is commemorated by a cathedral in the town. The mosque and the church located in the centre of Ferizaj/Uroševac were considered a symbol of religious tolerance between Albanian Muslims and Orthodox Serbs. But the church was built in the mosque grounds, 1929 - 1933: Yugoslavia was then a Serb-dominated Kingdom. The mosque was destroyed during World War II but later rebuilt. Both buildings remained undamaged during the Kosovo War of 1999, although some of its Albanian-populated neighbourhoods were shelled and burned by the Yugoslav army.

The aftermath of this war is still evident, especially in the region around Gjakova and Deçani. Memorials are dedicated to the fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, killed in their struggle against the Serbian army and militias that terrorised the Albanian villagers. These men are now “Dëshmorët e Kombit” (Martyrs of the Nation) and, apart from monuments and statues, songs have been composed about their heroism and published on YouTube!

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