KLA enters Prizren

TV report from BBC News, 17 June 1999
http://mycentury.tv/gallery/category/13-prizren.html
In the 1990s Prizren was still the only trilingual city in the Balkans. Until the end of Yugoslavia, Albanian, Serbian and Turkish were fully recognised, with newspapers and periodical published in all three languages and trilingual street name plaques.

Today's Prizren: http://www.prizren-love.co.nr/


In Ottoman times (1455-1912) Prizren was one of the largest cities in the Balkans, a centre of a sandjak and an Islamic centre of considerable importance, possessing dozens of mosques and baths, a number of medreses and dervish convents of no less than seven different orders, a library with many old Islamic manuscripts. Prizren preserved its Ottoman physiognomy of the 19th century better than other city of the Balkans, entire districts being placed under protection of the law on monuments of culture.

In 1573 the Sandjak Bey of Iskenderiye/ Shkoder/, Mehmed Pasha had a large dome erected in Prizren, which later became known as the Bayrakli Djami. For the construction of this mosque, the stones of the by now deserted huge marble Holy Archangels' Monastery were used, and these are clearly visible at the structure.

In 1613 the Sultan's vizier Sofu Sinan Pasha, a native Albanian from the Prizren area, erected the largest mosque in town. Its huge dome became one of the architectural dominant features of Prizren.

(Dr Machiel Kiel, "Encyclopaedia of Islam", London, Leiden, Paris, 1993)


In the Middle Ages, before the Ottoman conquest, the city of Prizren became known as the "Serbian Constantinople" because of its trading and industrial importance. Most notable monuments from the medieval Serbian royal capital are:

The Church of the Holy Virgin of Ljevis, on its present site since 1307, is one of the most important monuments of Orthodox Christian art of the Balkans. After the war in Kosovo 1998-1999, the Bogorodica Ljeviška Cathedral remains locked under the protection of German troops.

Just outside the town is the Holy Archangels' Monastery, with the Imperial sepulcre of King Stefan Dušan (1331-55). The monastery on the banks of river Bistrica is now under restoration and under the protection of international forces. http://www.kosovo.net/arhangels.html

Category:

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[xxwzaebd]

KLA won the war and Kosovo is a country. 

[Indul1]

@nikola1O1O True, the Milosevic trial and the other trials of Serbian military leaders and political ones...yet let's be honest...the Serbs were forced to withdraw from their own lands before KLA did anything.....the West were asking the KLA AFTER the Serbs withdraw to disarm...welll who would not do that?...The agreements benefited the Albanians it was not mutual steps.....

[Kopeelee]

I don't think defending you land and your people is a crime!!! For what crime you're talking about my friend?!

From when defending your country has become a crime?

LONG LIVE SHQIPE!

[shvabo2000]

you haven't got a clue what was happening those years in kosovo..please dont pretend like you do..about terorists you are right,there is huge number of them in kosovo i mean serbia

[CanadianAlbo]

Hahaha yest it's true that KLA gave up their Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers but do you know what they (KLA) took in return... gotta say it to ya. KLA was transferred into TMK and they have the most powerful weapons USA could ever build. So at the end it was worth it to lay down those kalashnikovs.

[lipovan87]

They were not really disarmed and NATO and the West did not care about the crimes of the UCK. Macedonia was almost completely ignored.

[nikola1O1O]

Oh,how heroic.After Serbian Army retreated as in Kumanovo Agreement,UCK fighters who fled to albania and in mountains to hide from Serbian army,now play "heroes" by marching into undefended city with no armed Serbs miled away.If they heard that there was even 1 Serbs soldier,they would wait a month or two for him to leave.

[Biagoti]

i dont see any problem with it!nato toke the rusian old kalashnikovs from the KLA and they gonna give better american weapons now,that means i'll fuck the serbs agein when ever they ask for it.gipsys!!

[nikola1389]

haha,smart guyz,in fear that albanians will turn on them the second they see that they are being used,heh,can't wait to see the look on albanian faces

[bsnobody]

No problem. We are even better allies now :)