KOSOVO : Prizren – Film Festival 2015
According to Serbia, Kosovo doesn’t even exist, but thankfully this is not the consensus according to the United Nations so I am able to include it on my list of countries visited. In fact, one of the few advantages of the otherwise fractured Yugoslavia is that you can visit so many countries so cheaply in a short period of time. It’s a very complex patchwork of unresolved resentments and injuries.
My first experience in Kosovo was to be denied cash from an ATM that subsequently removed said funds from my account. Thankfully the sweet lady in the bank assured me it would be sorted out. The hotel I booked into looked to be run by a criminal with a $30,000 gold Rolex. Their wi-fi didn’t work, and they had a nightclub downstairs that was a complete boom boom room. The hotel seemed to be an afterthought. I picked up, and moved to the nicest place in town for $75 a night. I figured I’d earned it after a full month in hostels. It’s so nice to have my own bathroom and to make whatever noises I please without fear of embarrassment or retribution.
Once again I arrived unplanned at another special event. Prizren’s International Film Festival is in full swing. Last night was so busy, and I was fried from the seven-hour bus ride. I got a cold from the meat locker grade air conditioning. Tonight I will catch a movie about the music scene that emerged in Cambodia as the Vietnam war threatened its border.
A quiet street at 11 am will transform into complete bedlam by 8 pm.
The main square with the 15th century Sinan Pasha Mosque in the background.
THE OLD STONE BRIDGE – 15th. Century bridge – destroyed and rebuilt in the eighties.
A statue honoring the soldiers who fought the Serbs no doubt.
It’s a European town. There’s a hill. Gotta be a castle or fortress on top of it.
One of the many screening areas for the Film Festival. This one next to the castle affords a panoramic view of Prizren as well as first-rate documentaries.
Sparse remains inside the fortress walls.
Tourists check out the major motivating point of the climb.
The view in this case.
17th century Sinan Pasha Mosque
9th century Orthodox Church
CHURCH INTERIOR
BELLTOWER
SMALL CHAPEL
ORIGINAL FRESCOES
CHAPEL INTERIOR
2 Comments
Jason B.
August 16, 2015Very cool. How is the food in that neck of woods?
The Travel Zealot
August 16, 2015The food is pretty similar throughout the region and very inexpensive in Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia. Lots of meat which tends to go over well with me, but even I’m getting a bit overloaded on it. Most of the places have good Italian if you get tired of the local stuff though.