Prizren Things to Do

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The Serbian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of Ljevis (Crkva Bogorodice Ljeviske) was built in the 12th century on the site of an even earlier church from the 9th century.

During the Ottoman era from the middle of the 18th century until the beginning of the 20th century, the church was used as a mosque; hence many Turkish people still refer to the building as Friday Mosque (Cuma Camii).

The church is seen as one of the best examples for late Byzantine architecture in Europe. Unfortunately, the church was heavily damaged during the unrest in March 2004. In 2006 it was placed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

When we visited the church it was still not possible to see the inside as the whole church complex was surrounded by barbed wires and guarded by a security person.

Prizren's Clock Tower (Sahat Kula) was errected in 1870 by Eshref Pasha. During Ottoman times it showed the Islamic people the prayer times and shopkeepers when to open and close their shops.

In 1912 the clock and bell were removed from the tower. Nowadays the Clock Tower and the galleries of the adjacent Turkish bath house the Archeological Museum.

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The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour consists of two parts. The history of the older one dates back to the time of King Stefan Dusan in the 14th century. The much larger part with the belfry was built in 1836, but remained unfinished.

The Church was heavily damaged during the unrest in March 2004 and must have been guarded and totally fenced off until just recently.

When we visited Prizren in May 2011 it was not a problem to enter the church grounds, although the interior was not accessible.

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The history of Prizren Fortress (Kalaja) dates back to prehistoric times. It was expanded and strengthened many times through the centuries. The structure was exclusively used as a fortress until 1912.

Due to its location on top of the 500 metres high Cvilen hill it offers panoramic views of Prizren and the surrounding region including the Lumbardhi valley and the Marash district.

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The Open Mosque Namazgah (Kerek Xhamia) was actually the first Ottoman building in Prizren. It was constructed in 1455, just after the Turks had conquered the town.

The Namazgah is an outdoor mosque for prayers of large groups of people in the open. The place underwent massive repairs and renovations in recent years.

When we visited the place, the local guard was more than happy to see some tourists around. Even though he didn't speak a word of English he tried to explain us the history of the open mosque and the city of Prizren.

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One modern building that really stands out is the Town Hall (at least I think it was the town hall). Look out for a tallish building with flags a-plenty outside. Close up, it becomes apparent that the flags belong to the growing list of countries that have formally recognised Kosovo as an independent republic. On the wall above, "Thank You" has been written to each of the countries in their national language. Only the top quarter of the wall is covered so far, room for many more...

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Continue upstream from the League of Prizren, and cross back over the river at the next bridge. Here, you'll find another old mosque, the Maskut Pasha mosque, next to which is an enormous tree and a monument to...erm...someone... and a couple of cafes next to the river. The riverside park continues upstream for quite some distance, leading to a big sports "tent" (these are all over Kosovo...heated football pitches apparently, but they look like aircraft hangars). Anyway, the area around the mosque is a popular place to walk or sit, and the district has many attractive houses.

On the nearby bridge, I spotted a slogan which is painted all over Kosovo. "Jo Negociata, Vetevendosje". Can anyone translate? My guess is "No Negotiations, Independence" or something like that, am I close?

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A little man lurks just inside the door, and shouts "Tickets! Tickets!" in a rather menacing voice to anyone who happens to wander in. We were sent to the smaller of the two buildings, and bundled through a door into what seemed to be an office where a meeting was taking place. We looked a bit embarassed at the rude interruption, as did the startled women inside, but eventually one of them twigged and got her ticket book out. After showing us a map of Greater Albania, we were bundled out again and sent over to the main building to look at the exhibits.

The exhibits...well, truth be told, there isn't much inside, and nothing is explained. Downstairs has the usual mannequins in period costumes doing things like peeling potatoes and making coffee for guests, while upstairs has lots of portraits and statues of the original members of the League. The last room looked to be interesting, with old photos on the walls (I love looking at old photos...) but we never managed to see them, as a troop of KFOR soldiers had taken over the room, and were being given a lecture on Albanian history in there. We waited a while, but the lecture went on and on and on, so we gave up in the end.

It was only on the bus back to Prizren that I read the more interesting exhibits are in the smaller building, upstairs above the office...oh well. Still, the buildings are beautiful, well reconstructed, and the courtyard is always busy with local tourists taking photos.