KOSOVO – PRISTINA – An Old Lady with a Backpack

APRIL 20 – 21, 2025

Pristina is the capital city, economic, political and trade centre of Kosovo and more modern than we expected. We got into town and went exploring straight away.

At SKANDERBEG SQUARE there was the usual statue of Skanderbeg. There was also placards with information on the occupation of Kosovo and about ADEM JASHARI. He was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). They were a Kosovo Albanian separatist militia that fought for secession from Yugoslavia during the 1990s. He and his men launched attacks against the Serbian Police and the Yugoslav establishment in general. Naturally, the government did not take kindly to that so they attempted to kill or capture him. He was convicted of terrorism in absentia by the Yugoslav court, which the Human Rights Watch described as :failing to conform to international standards.” The government finally launched at attack on Jashari’s village, where he had a compound. The ensuing gun battle culminated in killing 57 members of Jashari’s family, including 18 women and 10 children, himself. Jashari, his wife, son and brother were also among the dead. This act resulted in international backlash and instigated the Kosovo Albanian militants to rally against the Yugoslav forces in revenge for the deaths. The family was buried in a mass grave which has since become a place of pilgrimage for Kosovo Albanians. Jashari is being called a “Legendary Leader” and held in the same regard as the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg. He was posthumously awarded the title “Hero of Kosovo”.

The square also had a weird monument with 3 goat heads made out of leftover metal. .The goat was a significant symbol in Illyrian culture. They were a people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times along with the Thracians and Greeks. They mysteriously disappeared in the 7^th century. However, their language is supposedly the origin of the Albanian language. Skanderbeg used a goat’s head with horns on his helmet, intentionally aligning himself with the divine right and ancestral power that the goat’s head represented to the Illyrian’s.

There was also a fountain that shot up unexpectedly from ground level. Kids were having a great time running in and out trying to get wet or avoiding the water.

We met three beautiful ladies at a street market. Two spoke English very well and gave us a bit of history of Kosovo and war time. One lady was actually a soldier. They were so gracious and appreciative of our visit to their country and wanting to learn about them. They directed us to various “must-see” spots.

The one they insisted we see was the NEWBORN MONUMENT. It is a monument commemorating Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. This single word invokes the country’s pride in its birth as an independent state. It was originally painted yellow, but was re-painted with the flags of the countries that have recognized Kosovo. Every year on the anniversary of independence the sign gets painted differently. It weighs 9 tons, is 3 metres (10 ft) high, 24 metres (79 ft) long, and 0.9 metres (3ft) thick. It was built in 10 days of round-the-clock work.

The monument is directly in front of the ADEM JASHARI YOUTH AND SPORTS CENTRE.

Across the street was the HEROINES MONUMENT. It shows the face of a typical Kosovo woman. It is made using 20,0145 pins. The pins are placed at different heights to create the portrait.

Up close, you see just how many pins there are – each representing a woman raped during the Kosovo War from 1998-1999. The monument is 5.5 metres (18 ft) high, 4.5 metres (14.5 ft) wide. Each pin is 3.5 cm 1.3 in) wide. I had tears in my eyes when I walked away.

I later saw what looked like an electrical hub with UNITE to End Violence Against Women spray painted on it. All over the panel were orange hand prints, reminding me of the Sati practice in India where the women would make a hand print on the wall before joining their dead husband on the funeral pyre.

Another sculpture that played on my emotions was a simple one of faceless figures. To me, it symbolized all the unrecognized, unheralded people who fought for their country and way of life.

We went into the CATHEDRAL OF ST. MOTHER TERESA. The interior was mostly white but the austerity added to the beauty. There was life sized tomb of Jesus near the alter.

The stained glass windows depicted Mother Teresa’s life.

The ceiling did not have the typical religious scenes. Instead, it had a beautiful rainbow coloured starburst.

The Holy Water Font had a very strange design. It looked like a huge vagina. Maybe it was the baptismal font, representing a second birth??

We lit a candle and noticed that the previous lady left her wallet beside the candles. I hurried over to return it to her. She was so grateful. The curator of the church saw what I did. He told us that the old lady’s husband just passed away, so she was probably too distraught to notice that she left her wallet. Then he asked us if we would like to go up to the bell tower. He said the view was really nice from up there. Well, sure! See good deeds do get paid back!!

The view was indeed lovely. We could see for miles and had a birds eye view of a lovely park across the way.

We also spotted a very unique shaped building. When we got down from the bell tower we asked the curator what it was. It was the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF KOSOVO. We had to check it out closer.

The library’s mission is to collect, preserve, and promote the intellectual and cultural heritage of Kosovo, especially after the war. It has a collection of old books, newspapers and magazines, maps, and photos. It can accommodate about two million volumes. Due to the fragility and cultural significance, anything from the old collections must be read on-site in one of the reading rooms. And you need to be over 18 years old.

The building has 99 domes of different sizes which are covered with a metal netting. The metal netting covers the entire building, making it look like it is covered with scaffolding and still under construction. According to the architect, the building is meant to represent a blending of Byzantine and Islamic regional and rural architectural styles. Whatever the style, it was ranked in the top ten ugliest buildings in the world by VirtualTourist. LOL

We went up to the front doors and they were locked. We went around the side of the building and a caretaker asked us what we wanted. We said we just wanted a quick look around inside. Okay. (more good karma) We peeked into the reading rooms. The assembly hall had odd shaped bubbles or domes on the walls, that I imagine were for soundproofing.

We went up the grand staircase

and took a picture of the mosaic floor. We got a good look at the metal netting over the domes and other windows. We thanked the caretaker with a Canadian pin. I think he would have let us into the private vaults after that. We thanked him for his kindness and carried on.

A short distance away, on the campus of the University of Pristina, was CHRIST THE SAVIOUR SERBIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL. Construction in 1992 but due to the war was not finished.

We drove past the BILL CLINTON STATUE but did not stop. The Albanians in Kosovo wanted to thank him for his help in their struggle with Yugoslavia. There is even a Bill Clinton street.

We took a short drive out of the city to see the GAZIMESTAN MONUMENT (Field of Blackbirds). The monument is located on the Kosovo Polje, a plain that translates from Serbian to “field of blackbirds”. It is a memorial site and monument commemorating the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. It is a few kilometres from the actual battle site, but does sit on a 50 metre high hill above the plane and can be seen for miles. It was at this location that Slobodan Milosevic gave a speech that called for the disintegration of Yugoslavia. This 25 metre (82 ft) medieval looking tower was built in 1953.

Large numbers of Serbs gather at the monument to commemorate Vidovdan, a national and religious holiday to celebrate the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire. The holiday is an important part of Serb ethnic and national identity. But it does not sit well with the Kosovo Albanian community and as a result violent protests have broken out during these celebrations.

The site is now surrounded by a high fence and guarded by an armed police officer. We left our passports and ALL handbags with the guard.

We headed up to the tower and proceeded to take the many many steps to the top. Although we did not see any blackbirds, there was ample evidence of birds. The higher we went up the more bird poop was on the stairs.

We could see for miles and miles in all directions from the top.

We made a quick stop at the GRACANICA MONASTERY. It was built in 1321.

There was baptism going on inside, and although I tried to be discrete, I was approached by a nun and told not to take pictures. I was clearly not taking pictures of total strangers, who were clicking away like crazy.