Coffee keeps the peace in Prizren, Kosovo
25 – 26 Sep, 2005
We were ready for the KFOR presence. Peacekeepers, keeping peace. However, I think they are now a significant minority group! Not just the occasional vehicle, but maybe 1 in 20! Peacekeepers sipping coffee on the waterfront. Peacekeepers taking photos of each other in front of sights. Peacekeepers wandering the streets armed to the hilt. Peacekeepers chatting on street corners. Generally, nothing to do, but just be ready.
We caught a television sketch while on a bus. Santa Claus was travelling through Kosovo, and was now in trouble. A beret sporting soldier told the interpreter, “You tell him: only the United Nations can grant wishes in Kosovo, and once he admits he is not the authorised wish-bringer, we will let him go.”
A beautiful, though scarred, town. The mosques and the bridges, the shops and water-side cafes, the restaurants and the fountains; all contrasting sharply with the shells of burnt out houses and churches, the consequences of rioting in 2004.
After visiting the 16th century mosque in Prizren’s centre, we were invited to climb the minaret. The steep winding stairs could be expected. The darkness could be expected (yes, despite the windows, which are every second rotation, it is pitch black in between, treachorously so). The pigeons were the unexpected hazard. Each step was ankle deep in pigeon shit and nest remains, not to mention occasional eggs. Disturbing the pigeons in the dark led to terrified birds trying to get to windows through the tight stairwell, flapping against the walls, squeezing through legs, hitting me in the face without warning, and tangling in my hair. Oh, and no free hands to hold ones nose! Nice view from the top, though…
Tags: Architecture, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, Travel
Richard and Jo