By Adriana Scribani
Sunday 19 June 2020*
The day started with our usual meeting at Newborn square, as it’s been for the past five days, creating a routine that is already giving me a sense of comfort in a city that is slowly becoming more and more familiar to us. We hopped on the big bus at 9:30, and I gave my presentation during the drive towards Prizren, the historical capital of Kosovo. My presentation was about the city itself, so I tried to share with my fellow classmates all the facts and history that I managed to absorb the night before, which however came with some tiny difficulties, as I had to scream in the middle of the bus seats, turning left and right so that everyone could hear me. We soon arrived in Prizren, and as I stepped out of the bus, I looked to my right and was immediately struck by the green mountains that surrounded the city: at the foothills the dwellings sparsely started, and the elegant Mosque stood out among hundreds of squared houses with red-tiled roofs.
We soon met our guide, a lovely middle-aged man who accompanied us for the whole day through the gems of this extremely old and rich city. Our first stop was the building of the League of Prizren, a very important Albanian resistance group that fought against the Ottoman Empire in 1878 and even funded its own government in 1881. The building was mostly destroyed during the 1998-1999 war but soon became fully reconstructed. We strolled around the museum for a bit, curiously looking at old portraits of Albanian political heroes and typical costumes and ornaments. Afterwards we reached the old Mosque, in the middle of the historical center of the city. The inside of the building was simply stunning, with elaborated flowery illustrations and verses of the Koran creating gorgeous decors in every single corner. I deeply enjoyed being inside of the building, the feeling of the soft carpet on my bare feet, the amazed looks of my friends around me, and the peace of the senses that spiritual places always bring me.
The next stop of our tour of Prizren was visiting the Roman fortress that guards the city from the top of the closest mountain. Reaching the fortress cost us liters of sweat and water, since we had to hike on a steep slope for almost half an hour before reaching it. We arrived at the arch at the entrance of the fortress with very little strength left but were soon rewarded as soon as we looked at the view. We could see the whole city unfurl in the valley, its gorgeous ancient buildings and the dozens of Mosques with their sharp minarets contrasting with the low, white and red houses. We had the chance to wander around the fortress for half an hour, and we had fun climbing around the stones and exploring the inner tunnels of this two-thousand-year-old construction, which got used and passed on from occupation to colonization to occupation again and is now one of the most famous historical sites of Kosovo.
My favorite moment of the day arrived after we left Prizren, and the big bus brought us to Albania! Anne surprised us in the morning with the news that crossing the border was possible, and that we were the second Peace Lab group to ever get the chance to go. We left the bus in front of the restaurant “Lugina e Drinit”, which has a wonderful terrace, overlooking the Black Drin: a wide blue lake, surrounded by green, gentle mountains. Before dinner, we went to the beautiful garden underneath the terrace, that descended with a moderate downhill until it reached the water. We stretched out on the lawn, staring at the beautiful landscape in front of us, talking about our thoughts about Prizren and its multicultural, colorful streets, and hyping up our excitement for our visit to Mitrovica the next day. After dinner some of us swam in the lake, while the rest decided to go back to the lawn, engaging in never-ending conversations and enjoying the sunset that was coming about on our right. Prizren and this little glimpse of Albania were two great gifts after the very busy days of the past week, and I felt extremely grateful for having the chance to discover the beauty of this region.
*Please note that the blogposts are not appearing in chronological order of the days of the trip.
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