Travel through Kosovo in the years 1836-1838
The German-Austrian geographer Ami Boué (1794–1881) came from a Huguenot family from Bergerac in the Dordogne (France) that had moved to Hamburg in 1705. He was born in Hamburg and attended school there and in Geneva. Boué studied medicine in Edinburgh between 1814 and 1817, but increasingly turned to geology and botany. After completing his medical studies, he lived mainly in Paris, where he was one of the founders (1830) and later president (1835) of the French Geological Society [Société Géologique de France]. Having received a considerable inheritance from his parents, he travelled throughout Europe, mainly in Germany, Austria and the Balkans. In 1841 he settled in Vienna where he became an Austrian citizen and a member of the Academy of Sciences (1848). Ami Boué's travels and research in European Turkey, a region little known at the time, had a profound influence on subsequent generations of scholars throughout Europe. Of particular note is his monumental four-volume work, La Turquie d'Europe ou observations sur la géographie, la géologie, l'histoire naturelle, la statistique, les moeurs, les coutumes, l'archéologie, l'agriculture, l'industrie, le commerce, les gouvernements divers, le clergé, l'histoire et l'état politique de cet empire [Turkey in Europe, or observations on the geography, geology, natural history, statistics, customs and habits, archaeology, agriculture, industry, commerce, various governments, clergy, and the history and political condition of this empire], Paris 1840; as well as works in two volumes Recueil d'itinéraire dans la Turquie d'Europe: détails geographiques, topographiques et statistiques sur cet empire [Itineraries in European Turkey: geographical, topographical and statistical details about this empire), Vienna 1854. The latter work, from which the following extracts are taken, includes the itineraries of his travels through Kosovo in the years 1836-1838.[1]
By: Ami Boué
Translated (from French) into English: Robert Elsie
Translated (from English) into Albanian: Agron Shala
Peja
Ipek (Slavic Pecha, Albanian Peja), situated 17 hours from Novipazar [Novi Pazar], has a very pleasant location and is protected on the North by a gigantic mountain curtain. Emerging from the deep gorge of Streta Gora, the river Bistritza [Bistrica] runs through the town between the mountains Peklen (also pronounced Paklen) and Koprivnik for about half a league [4.83 kilometers - T.'s note]. Its rushing waters serve to run the mills and to carry away the refuse. Several streets are flooded by the branches of this stream, and the narrow sidewalks here serve as bridges. Moreover, this ancient residence of the Serbian patriarchs seems clearly in decline, for it contains no more than 2 houses or 000 to 7 inhabitants, the majority of whom appear to be Serbs of the Greek [Orthodox] religion. These locally collected data differ from those given by Dr. Müller, who mentions 000 houses and increases the number of inhabitants to 8, asserting that the majority of them are Muslims and that there are no more than 000 families of the Greek religion and 2 families of the Roman Catholic religion. He notes, however, that the Slavs constitute the national majority, which leads to the suspicion that many of them simply pretended to be Muslims in order to be treated better. According to him, there are only 400 Turkish families, 12 Albanian families and 000 Zinzar [Vlach] families. If the Muslim population had been the majority, it would be difficult to explain the small number of mosques. We saw only three, one of which in the Northeast, one near the market and another near the exit from the city to the Southwest, on the road to Detschiani [Deçan]. In his desire and according to the Slavic custom of exaggerating their numbers, the monk Jurišić gives Ipek 130 houses, of which 20 to 62 are Serbian and of the Greek religion. The shops, according to Dr. Müller, over 100 (?), are all located on four streets that make up the market. The streets and houses are shaded from time to time by vines on poles. There are two or three inns, of which the one near the entrance to the city on the Djakova [Gjakova] side is the best, because it has several clean rooms on the upper floor.
Read also:
- The 1858 trip to Dardanian Albania - A journey through Skopje and Kosovo (1669) - Kosovo in the Great Turkish War of 1683-1699 - A journey from Prizren to Shkodra in 1839
Northwest, a quarter of an hour from the city is the Serbian monastery of St. Arsen, the ancient residence of the Serbian patriarch that has been converted into barracks. It is located on a small gorge overlooking the city and is surrounded by thick walls and moats. The building, in fact, contained three churches under one roof, one large and two small. One of them is the Church of the Great Lady and another is the Church of St. Demetrius the Martyr. It has three domes and is covered with lead. At the entrance to the church are three stone columns and two white marble columns. Konaku The Pasha's Palace, with two wings, is located at the northwesternmost edge of the city, in Pehlivan Meidan. It is a stone building with one upper floor, surrounded by walls and a large gate. In front of it is a garden with some trees and a mosque, to which is attached a school or madrasaThe Pasha also has a country house, or one for his harem, located at the entrance to Streta Gora and another near Novo Selo.
The Pashalik of Ipek, once a semi-hereditary administration, is simply part of Doukadgin [Dukagjin], and includes the kazats of Ipek, Djakovo, Has or Hass [Has] and Kéroub (?). It covers mainly the northern part of Metochiia [Metohija] and a part of the mountains in the northeast, where there are only villages and hamlets. Dr. Müller gives it a population of 65 inhabitants, of whom 000, according to him, are Christians of the Greek rite.
Pasha Abdularasa speaks Serbian and Turkish and is descended from the Brenović family of Bosnia. He received us with courtesy. His apartments looked much better than those of the Pasha of Novipazar. He ordered that we take shelter with a wealthy citizen of the city who owned two houses. Thus, we were forced to leave our Serbian inn. Cavas The Pasha knocked on several doors and the first ones to open them were forced to help carry our luggage. We had the opportunity to visit the Pasha's nephew, a sick boy suffering from hydrocephalus and who was wrapped in a kind of couch with a large, heavy canopy, embroidered with gold.
We climbed to the top of Mount Peklen, which is the nearest peak to the city. The road leading there was that of Rugova, a village of 1 Muslim Albanians of the Klementi [Kelmendi] tribe, who had, a short time before, been Catholics. It is six or seven hours from Ipek, beyond a cliff of Mount Haila or Hailasi [Hajla] (the Albanian word is haliki, meaning rocky), at the foot of Schtedim [Shtedim]. From there one can continue to the Lim River and the Plava Basin [Plavë] through a deep valley situated between the market town of Plava and the Velika Valley. There is also a village called Trebigne [Trebinje]. This route is much used in the summer by peasants and their pack horses who come and go between southern Bosnia and the high basin of Upper Albania. Although their clothing was limited to what was strictly necessary and some of them went barefoot and their red cloaks were very old, the frank faces of these beings - which to a stranger seem wild - resembled those of Swiss mountaineers. [...]
Decan
We paid a visit to the famous Serbian monastery of Decani, situated two and a half leagues south-west of Ipek. The leader of the Christians of Ipek gave us one of his men as a guide, and we left our Tartar at home. On leaving the town, we passed a mosque where a cleric was praying. He made a sign as if he wanted to send us away, or that our presence offended him. On our return, some bad boys threw apples at us, a sign that religious fanaticism has not been entirely overcome in these remote regions of Turkey.
The road from Ipek to Detschiani or Detschani follows the foot of the mountains, for about a quarter of a league, and passes through three Albanian villages called Striatz [Strellc] (Kiepert calls it Striotza), Lioubouscha [Lëbusha] with the ruins of the Church of St. Ilia, and Lioubonitch [Lybeniq]. We were told that the second village, about halfway along the road, was the place where 23 of the Pasha's soldiers were killed by the inhabitants last year (1835). As can be seen, the Albanians hate the Turkish administration. However, the Albanian women, to whom we dared to say good morning as we passed, responded with courtesy, contrary to oriental custom. The surroundings of the monastery and even the entrance to the Detschani valley are hidden by a large chestnut forest, Gora Koschtanova (Kestenova). The Albanian village of Detschani is located half an hour east of the monastery on the Bistritza. The quickest way to the monastery is to cross a small forest ridge, from which one is surprised by the panorama of a small, beautiful and green valley where the church and monastery of Detschani are hidden on the south side of an oak-covered hill, at the foot of a rocky mountain called Pliesch. Further south are the pine-covered mountains with low ridges that bear the name Detschani. The monastery's cattle graze there in the summer, a quarter of an hour away. To reach the gate of the monastery enclosure, one must cross the Detschianska Bistritza River, which flows from the northwest to the southeast and has a bed of many stones. The monastery consists simply of a building with an upper floor that has a very delicate appearance. However, the beautiful marble church is a monument that could easily be found in any of our cities. There are also two smaller churches, one dedicated to Saint Nicholas and another to Saint Demetrius the Martyr.
There were only five or six monks in the monastery. abbot was paralyzed and had been bedridden for a long time. He complained about the debts of the monastery caused by the constant Turkish demands. This thought troubled him terribly, as he said, because the faithful could stop paying the interest and repay the borrowed amount. This poor monk died that year and in 1837 there was a new abbot whom we met there. Inside the monastery there is a small vegetable garden and outside the property there are mainly fields, pastures and large forests.
To the west of the monastery lies a wasteland of forests and mountains nearly ten leagues in length, through which one can reach the high valleys of the Prokletija [Albanian Alps - T.'s note] and even of Shalia [Shala] and Gouzinie [Gucia]. [...]
From Peja to Pristina
The road from Ipek to Prischtina [Pristina] runs through the plain which extends from West-Northwest to East-Southeast. It is cultivated from time to time, but mostly covered with pastures and stands of trees. On the right and opposite us were the hills called Kraljania (King's). A league from Ipek we passed Plavian [Pavlan], Zachatschi [Zahaç] and Labian or Lebian [Llabjan]. This may be the settlement referred to by Dr. Müller as Lebous. He also mentions a Moslem village south of Ipek with the strange name of Voksch [Voksh] (20 hours), and three leagues further on is Tzrkva [Svërka] (church). A poor old Serbian woman complained as she offered us some water: “Finally you have come! The Christians here are waiting for Prince Miloš as their Messiah, to free us from our suffering”! Seeing us surrounded by Serbs, she thought we were one of them. Instead of reacting with anger, cavas Ipek simply replied: “The old woman is crazy”! This place must have been a rather unpleasant place for the pasha’s servants, for our guide took with him two pairs of pistols and a rifle. South of Doubaschar, some small hills and oak forests lead the traveler to Novoselo and then to the Drim [Drin] river, which is crossed by a wooden bridge. Drsnik [Dërsnik], six hours from Ipek, is situated on the opposite bank, at the foot of some small terraces.
To go from there to Prischtina, it passes through forested and rocky terrain to the west of Drsnik, the first of which is called Drsnikbari and the second Brtschevabari. Pieces of Eocene limestone are used here for covering the roofs of the houses in the vicinity. Two leagues from Drsnik we reached Iglareva [Gllarevë], where there were pastures accompanied by forests and some fairly wet meadows. After passing through the villages of Kieva [Kjeva] and Mletjan [Mleçan], we continued through a very wide valley, consisting mainly of meadows. In the distance to the north were several low ridges, the highest of which was Komoran. We did not pass the village of Loschitza [Llazica]. Finally, without even realizing that we were climbing, we reached a branch of the valley to the distant hut of Lapouschnik [Llapushnik] which is situated at an altitude of 1 feet [457 meters - T.'s note] or about 0.3 feet above the White Dream. [...]
The Lapouschnik Inn consists of a large barn covered with stone slabs, in front of which is a square courtyard with cobblestones. It is enclosed in front by a wall and gate. On each side is a square building with an upper floor, on one of which the floor is used for storing the innkeeper's supplies and for the oven. The upper room on each side has five small windows with wooden bars. The room where we slept was filled with objects such as sacks and mats.
Immediately after Lapouschnik, we crossed the Drnitza [Drenica] river over a wooden bridge, at an altitude of 1 feet. It flows slowly through black clay soil. The mention of a village called Janievo as a geographical point on this river is doubtful. If the village exists, it would be closer to the bend of the Drnitza where it enters the Sitnitza [Sitnica] terrain. To descend to the water from the inn, we had to climb a little and cross some low oak-forested ridges that separated us from Sitnitza. These ridges run from North to South, increasing in height from West to East, and have small streams in them, which, however, do not constitute an obstacle to ox-carts. There are many rose bushes in the hedges, just as in Serbia. [...]
Pastures and crops cover the course of the Sitnitza. From time to time, we could see villages without a single tree. The descent from the top was gradual and did not take more than a quarter of an hour. We reached the village of Vragoulia [Vragolija] (perhaps from Vragolije, the devil's work?), and then we passed the village of Slatina [Sllatinë] and finally the Sitnitza River, which flows slowly here in a south-north direction and waters the entire region. A little further on, we passed the Schaglavitza [Çagllavica], a small tributary of the Sitnitza. We could see villages to the north and southwest, but our attention was most attracted by the majestic mountains of Kopaonik, in the shape of a magnificent amphitheater and with its slopes. To the South-Southwest rose the low mountains of Katschanik [Kaçanik], up to 6 feet, with the elegant cone of Lioubeten [Luboten] at the eastern end of the Schar [Sharr] range.
The oval plain of Sitnitza is nine to ten leagues long, extending from north to south, and three leagues wide, at an altitude of over 1 feet. It is bounded by low mountain ridges on the east and west. Prischtina is situated in a winding valley, separated from the plain itself by a small ridge open only to the southwest. In the upper part of this small valley and above Prischtina is a pleasant spring in the midst of the alluvial clay which covers the older ground. The spring forms a small pool for the washerwomen, and flows through the town from northeast to southwest. Before reaching the town, there is a stream called the Breitche or Brzé [Bresje].
Prishtina
Prischtina, which cartographers call Pristina, takes its name from the word prischt, “tumor, swelling,” because the hill to the west of the city has a kind of irregular gorge on the eastern side of the Sitnitza valley. This city is at present the largest in this part of Old Serbia (Stara Srbia), in which the Serbs include the districts of Novipazar, Metochie [Metohija], and the western part of Upper Mestia as far as the Macedonian border. At 17 hours from Ipek, this open city begins in the small valley and extends eastward in the form of an amphitheatre to the last slopes of a low, steep ridge, which looks rather unpleasant. The hills to the west and north are covered with vineyards, while to the east the heights consist entirely of dry pastures, the lower part of which serves as a cemetery for the city. Between it and the first houses are the remains of a small trench and a low parapet dating from the riots of 1806, when gangs of robbers terrorized the villages. There is another cemetery to the northwest. Most of the streets are unpaved and irregular. They are washed clean by rain and the small stream mentioned above. Butchers' shops on the main street offer large pieces of meat dripping with blood and entrails scattered for 20 paces, and brown dogs fight over the remains in this miserable and colorful scene.
The only visible buildings in Pristina are a clock tower and twelve mosques, two of which are tall and round, painted with arabesques or long sayings from the Koran. A small mosque was built by Jashar Pasha who held that post in 1837 and 1838. The bazaar is covered with planks, and there is a café where the three main streets meet. Konaku The Pasha's Palace is a large building, partly built of wood. It has two wings and an upper floor with a large square courtyard, open corridors and wooden stairs, as is customary. One wing of the The guest house It is painted with arabesques. It is connected by a street to the harem, which is also a fairly large house, mostly made of wood, with covered windows. The Pasha's divan has no glass windows. They are closed simply by folding the wooden windows. There were also swallows' nests on the ceiling.
Pristina seemed to me to have a population of about 7 to 000 inhabitants, among whom there were a considerable number of Orthodox Serbs, together with Albanians and half-Muslim Serbs. Mr. Jurišić estimated 9 houses, a third of which were Serbs. This is the capital of the small pashalik which includes not only the Sitnitza basin as far as Vushtrri [Vushtrri], but also part of the surrounding mountains, the Drnitza valley and the upper springs of the Lépenatz [Lepenc] valley. The only important settlements to be found here are Vushtrri and Kratovo, where there are ayanAll other settlements, except for the city of Prishtina, are villages and hamlets that rarely even have a Age Meulan. The population consists of Serbs and a few Bulgarians and Albanians, including a number of Serbs who have become half-Albanians and Muslims for political reasons or through marriage. The Albanians live mainly in the south and southwest of the pashalik and the Serbs on the opposite sides. The total population does not exceed 40 to 000 inhabitants, and is not less than 50.
From Pristina to Kaçanik
The road from Pristina to Ouskoub [Skopje] follows the last deforested slope of the hills to the west of the Sitnitza valley. Half a league further on, it crosses a small valley and a small hill on which is situated the hamlet of Schaglavitza [Çagllavica] surrounded by plum trees, and beyond it the Slavic village of Lapouselo [Llapllasella] (Turkish Kadi-Keui [Kadiköy]), where a Age Meulan in a square tower-shaped house with wooden extensions protruding at the top.
In 1838, we simply chose the best Serbian house to stay in, despite the protests of the women who said they had nothing to offer us. After we had put our luggage in the house and put the horses in the stable, we began to search through these people's chests and discovered some barley. Since they could not hide the chickens, we had everything we needed. At this moment the owner of the house arrived and we scolded him so much that he agreed to give us the barley, although he pretended to have just bought it. There were many delays before yes to agree to give us some hay in exchange for payment. The next day, he stayed at home all day, saying that he might catch a fever. There were some unpleasant scenes with these Slavs who are so accustomed to being robbed by the Turks that it was enough to see our money to be convinced that they would be paid for the supplies. Our Tartar could no longer contain his anger at their insults and began to curse them. In an instant, the Serb seized his axe and was ready to respond with force if the Tartar continued his insults. The Tartar was silent for a while and later said calmly that he would send a report to Prischtina and that he would bring some soldiers from the garrison. The threat put an end to our host's bad dissonance. He calmed down and we reached an agreement. When we left in the afternoon, we had become friends.
To the East we could see the monastery of St. Stephen or Graschan [Graçan] near the place where the Gratschanitza [Graçanica] descends into the plain. This monastery was founded by King Milutin in the year 6730 from the foundation, according to an inscription. It is built of stone and has five domes, only one of which is large. At the entrance to the church there is a stone with a Roman inscription which Mr. Jurišić had noticed. In 1838, the monastery had only three monks. One league to the West of Lapouselo is the hamlet of Dodol, and one league to the North-Northwest of this village is another.
Beyond the large village of Lapouselo a plain of black soil is crossed. It passes Labian and then Babousch or Babosch [Babush] to the west. Further on is the Albanian village of Podrosch and then the Sitnitza river is crossed over a bridge. Then a distant inn is reached, beyond which the ground begins to rise a little. This place is an hour's distance from Sazlia. Here is a wooded hill running from East to West and separating the Sitnitza plain from the Lepenatz or Lepenitza [Lepenc] basin. After passing a small slope at a height of 80 to 100 feet above the plain, you ascend to a wooded plateau at an altitude of 1 feet. The soil here is black, as if it had once been a swamp. Beyond this forest lie large swamps and a stream called Sazlia which flows from North to South in Lepenatz, while the source of the Sitnitza is further North and North-Northeast. This stream is crossed over a stone bridge by a paved road and then reached the remote inn of Sazlia, located five and a quarter hours from Pristina near the swamp. It is a truly gloomy place. In 580, this inn consisted of a large barn with a very small room with a window and three wooden huts for hay and agricultural tools. A birch fence surrounded the entire place and the entrance to the inn was very muddy. Not far away a group of Bulgarian farmers had set up camp who were taking three carts of cherries from Macedonia to Pristina. The Sazlia bridge is mentioned in Serbian folk songs because the swamp, located right on the military road, had a special importance, depending on the circumstances.
Continuing our journey, we soon passed the Varoschka Rieka, which flows from North to South and seems to take its water from the Sazlia swamp and power a water mill. A league to the right are the villages of Varosch [Varosh] and Sirnik. Further on, four hours before Katschanik, we came upon the Nerodimlia [Nerodime] stream, formerly called the Porodimlia before the violent death of Tsar Uros. In this area we noticed a large number of beautiful poplars of a peculiar kind. Finally, two and a half hours from Sazlia, we reached Novi Han, which forms the southern boundary of the pashalik of Prishtina. The Han occupies the lower part of a two-story building, while on the upper floor there is a gendarmerie guard. This house is situated on one side of a square yard, where there are also two simple one-story huts.
Five minutes later, we passed another group of guards belonging to the Pasha of Skopje, stationed on a small slope. The landscape was varied, wild and covered with bushes. The soil was gravelly and composed of alluvial deposits. This region was once covered with forests and its bare state dates from 1806, when many robbers settled there and also occupied Katschanik. Not even Pristina was spared by these mobs who had the support of some ayan. At that time, the decision was made to burn the forests, here and towards Vranje and in the Schar mountains between Prizren and Kalkanel [Tetovo]. Thus, in 1807, an end was put to the banditry for which the Katschanik road had always been notorious, as mentioned in Serbian folk songs.
At last we reached the bed of the Lépenatz, which, full of stones and gravel gorges, seemed to have dug itself a channel through the alluvial terraces. Its water had probably once been a lake extending as far as Katschanik. We saw very little cultivation, only here and there, and met some Turkish travellers, as well as Serbian and Bulgarian peasants from Upper Mezia who were going to Macedonia to sell their produce. They looked like Turks because they wore small turbans of white handkerchiefs, and some of them had pistols. There were also a few women among them.
The entrance to Katschanik (nine and a quarter hours from Pristina) is quite beautiful. A mosque and a meadow appear first, for the little village itself is situated behind them at an altitude of 1 feet. Climbing a little, you pass the base of an old Serbian fortress and enter a fairly long road that makes up most of the settlement along the west bank of the Lépenatz. There are also a few houses hidden on the other side of the river. On both sides of the river were beech-covered hills, and to the west, above the forests, the cone-shaped peak of Lioubéten (from the Albanian words for lyope "cow” and you which means "butter dish”). Mr. Kiepert places it much further north, or Katschanik much further south. To the north rise the low hills which offer a more pleasing view to the eye, while to the south is the Mlad Planina, a hill which, compared with the summit of Lioubéten, seemed quite impassable. However, we continued along the Lépenatz and entered the canyon. On the eastern bank was a slope with a path skillfully cut into it, but further on the rocks made the canyon narrower and narrower. The stream seemed to turn to the right. One must get there to see how the path and the water make their way between the wooded rocks in the mountains.
Katschanik's inn may once have been clean and comfortable, but in 1836 all the rooms and corridors were dilapidated and filthy. At least each of us could have his own room, a luxury we had not enjoyed since we left Hungary. The innkeeper was a simple Turkish coffee seller and would have nothing to do with our evening meals. As our Asiatic Tartar was lazy, we had to send servants to fetch food and cook for ourselves. I mention this to show the importance of having a European Turk for a Tartar when travelling in Turkey, and of knowing the customs of the country, for our Asiatic Tartar, whom we treated as a servant and not as an Effendi, and who was never invited to eat at table or drink coffee with us, did only what we told him to do and nothing more to please us.
Since we wanted to climb to the top of Mount Lioubéten, we went to meet Ajani native to ask him for a guide. He lived in a small place within the walls surrounding the old castle of Katschanik. A staircase served as an entrance, and a small room with a little carpet was his couch. His wife seemed to reside in the city. Until then was far away and Kiaja His [servant] told us that he could not allow us to make such an excursion without the permission of the Pasha of Skopje. If we had had a more courteous Tartar with us, this misfortune would probably not have happened, for he would have presented us as servants of the Sultan, instead of reinforcing his suspicions. Ajani that we were spies. After this disappointing encounter, we saw the rest of the castle and climbed a rise in the courtyard that was probably once the site of a tower. From this point we had a good view of the mountains around Katschanik and could see that, from there, with large-caliber cannons, the road to Macedonia could be closed to which Katschanik is the gateway on this side. The people of Ajani They looked at us with obvious displeasure as we made these observations.
A quarter of an hour from Katschanik, the road was completely blocked by a dolomite rock through which a tunnel twenty paces long, ten paces wide, and ten paces high had been dug. At the southern entrance of the tunnel was a plaque attributing this work to a vizier of Rumelia who lived in 1708, but, despite the pompous style of the Turkish inscription, it seemed rather doubtful that he was behind the construction of the good road from Katschanik to Ouskoub, although this was not excluded. A little further on, the Lépenatz receives the waters of the Kriva Rieka (the wavy river) flowing from the North-Northeast, and a little lower down another large branch which descends from the foot of the Lioubéten. The gorge, which the Slavs call Klisoura, runs first from the North-West to the South-East and then, a league and a half from Katschanik, runs from the East to the West, but finally resumes its original direction. For two and a half hours, we traveled on a good paved path on a gentle slope along the eastern bank that passed through forests and deep winding gorges, with the waters of the Lépenatz below us. We walked above the riverbed in good spirits along this wonderful path through aromatic forests, adorned mainly with white dictamnus, orchids and a large variety of flowers such as daisies (digitalis and purple), bluebell, forget-me-not, butterfly, silence and labia etc. We were also surprised by the number of turtles and their eggs. The natives did not eat them or collect them, and some of them at Katschanik still remembered with astonishment the time when, in 1806, Mr. Hugues Pouqueville passed by and cooked them for dinner. On the Albanian coast they were caught and sold for export. A league and a half from Katschanik we tasted a mineral water of an acidic taste which issued from the ground near the banks of Lépenatz, so much so that it flooded the area in times of rain.
From Gjilan to Prizren
To the south of the Morava is the village of Smorik, and, ascending towards the northwest at an angle with the mountains to the north, we reach the Serbian and Albanian village of Ropotov. In this settlement the Serbs wear Albanian dress, as they do throughout ancient Raska. A bed of dried leaves served as our bedroom in a small inn where we lacked none of the comforts of a journey in Turkey. The road to Ghilan [Gjilan] rises immediately past an old Serbian church, now in ruins, and after walking for about an hour, we reach a plateau at 1 feet in elevation which commands a full view of the oval basin of Ghilan which is 799 feet lower and is about a league in length and half a league in width. It is well cultivated, especially with corn, by the Serbian and Albanian population, and, in the extreme southeast, there is a farm surrounded by beautiful orchards and vegetable gardens. It goes without saying that this is the property of Ajani of Ghilan. Raja would not dare to own such a property which, according to the Turkish mentality, is considered luxurious.
The cart road passes through Ghilan or Ghilani, which is a settlement of about 1 to 500 inhabitants, mostly Arnauts [Muslims(?), Albanians]. Their disobedience to the orders of Sultan Mehmet was punished by the temporary banishment of many of them to Thrace and Asia. From this point, the road follows a series of low, wooded hills to the basin of Prischtina [Prishtina] where it travels across a plain. We chose the shortest route, but it was only suitable for horsemen. This appears to be the one on the map.
When you leave the plain of Ghilan and continue eastward along the hills to Pousti (desert), which is half a league from Ghilan and about 25 feet from the pond. From there, it follows a stream that flows into the Morava from the northeast. Then, to the north of this river, it crosses the eastern slope of some uninhabited mountains that are quite high. At its highest point it is 2 feet high. There we came across a Serbian cart carrying a corpse to its final resting place, perhaps in some distant cemetery.
The road continues in a north-westerly or northerly direction. The hills gradually disappear and a high valley is reached where there are a few Albanian houses and shepherds. To the north-northeast, there are peaks rising to 150 feet. These are probably what Mr. Kiepert calls Vaschounja on his map. The pastures of his barren valley then change into a gravelly mountainous landscape, covered with low oak trees. In the midst of this wasteland, our Tartar companion was momentarily frightened when we encountered three Albanians. From the heights, Ghilan can be seen about three leagues away and the small Albanian village of Novo Brdo (Novo Brda, the new mountain) two leagues to the north-east. It is situated in the hollow of a ridge about 150 feet above a lookout point and at least a thousand feet above the plain of Prischtina. There are about a hundred houses, three or four mosques and a castle dating from the time of the Serbs who were replaced by Albanians. Below the manor is a rocky cliff to the west. The area, which is little visited and surrounded by rugged mountains, is dominated by a agent. The surrounding mountains are sparsely populated and are covered with pastures or low oaks. Between Novo Brdo and the road to Prischtina there is a fairly deep valley running from northwest to southeast, which means that it takes more than three hours to get there. We did not come across the village of Labjan [Llabjan] mentioned by Mr. Kiepert to the south of Novo Brdo. If he were right, there would be two settlements called Labjan, close to each other, the second located in the Sitnitza basin between Lapousélo [Llapllasella] and Babosch [Babush]. But this does not mean that he is wrong. They are probably villages founded by people who lived on the Lab [Llap], a river north of Pristina.
Advancing along the hills, we crossed a valley that ran from North to South, then another that ran from East to West. Then, finally, we descended into a larger valley that ran to the North and Northwest, and then to the West. This valley bears the name Graschanitza [Graçanica] on the Vienna map. The remains of slag from foundries indicated the presence of iron ore and abandoned factories nearby. In its western extension, this uninhabited valley narrows to form a wooded gorge that led us to a settlement with a Christian cemetery and a few peasant huts. This was the village of Janjevo, which was probably once much larger and is named after the word janj, poplar. Here, two leagues from Prischtina, you can leave the valley with the stream that continues its flow to the West, to reach the Prischtina basin.
From here one can go directly to Pristina, but one can also take a short route by climbing to the northwest to reach a hill covered with oak trees. This is probably the Janjina Planina mentioned in Serbian folk songs. It then descends into another small valley that leads to the Kosovo Plain and has a spring of water. From there, one continues in the same direction and passes several hills that run from East to West and are covered with oak trees. The highest of these hills is 1 feet above the plain. Finally, one reaches the peak, below which lies Pristina.
From the top there is a stunning view, with the Schar [Sharr] mountains and their eastern peak Ljoubéten [Luboten] rising on one side, and the Kopaonik range in Serbia rising on the other. Against this range, the heights of that part of the Upper Mestia pale, as do those which separate the basins of Prischtina and Ipek. Only in the direction of this last town and of Novibazar [Novi Pazar] is the horizon full of mountain peaks that seem as high as Kapaonik.
A league southwest of Pristina, there is a farm, and beyond it is the small Graschanitza river, which flows easily through the black soil, the bed of a former lake that once occupied this hollow. Still further on, the Sitnitza or Schitnitza is crossed, which is no more than a quiet stream. Looking at it, it is difficult to understand why Sultan Murad would have needed the whole day to cross such a small stream before the Battle of Kosovo. It is assumed that the Sitnitza was flooded or that historians have confused this river with the marshes of Sazlia [Sazlia] further south.
Two leagues from Pristina is a Bulgarian village called Skoula or Skoulan [Skullan]. We stayed there with a kind family who owned a compound of six or seven huts, including a barn. These houses were made of wood or of plaited branches, and 12 people lived in them. From Skoulan it is about half a league to the Moslem Albanian village of Ribar [Ribar] at the foot of some wooded mountains, the highest of which, Goliesch [Golesh], we left to our north-west. We passed over the ridges which extended 2 feet from West to East on a narrow gravel road through dense oak forests which were extremely suitable for thieves. In the middle of the forest we saw some woodcutters. Then, finally, we descended to the southwest along a terrible path that wound around a small chasm in the open valley where at an altitude of 219 feet there was a mill and a few houses. We had decided to have dinner there when some kiradjis [chariot drivers] who terrified our Tartar.
This valley of the Tzernolieva Rieka [Carraleva River], which Mr. Hahn mistakenly called Tserolera, extends from Northwest to Southeast and, occasionally, from North to South. Its water flows into Lepenatz [Lepenc] and not into Sitnitza and turns completely towards the Southeast. Near the mill, the valley is overlain by a cliff and, rising a little to the Northwest, is the Albanian village of Kirmaleva or Tzernolieva [Carraleva] with a few cornfields. The other part of the upper part towards the West is narrow, very wild and surrounded by oak forests. Despite this, the kiradjis pass here from time to time, which indicated that the road was in use.
We continued to climb a little until we reached the pass of the mountain, at an altitude of 2 feet, where the Tzernlieva Rieka springs and where the waters divide, where this stream divides from that of the Soua Rieka [Suhareka], pronounced Soha Rieka, which means dry river. Two leagues before the pass, the Tzernolieva Rieka has a branch coming from the South, and a league from the pass has another branch coming from the North. A little to the South of the pass is an Albanian village called Doulé [Duhël] consisting of about twenty scattered houses, roofed with boards and without chimneys.
From the pass, it is another hour and a half downhill to the small plain of Soua Rieka, which consists of gravel and forms a long slope with low oaks. The tallest trees are quercus cerris among the smaller ones of the common oaks (quercus robur). It is a cart road. It takes another half hour to cross the plain that leads to the village. The Soua Rieka stream passes through the village of the same name at an altitude of 1 feet and turns southeast to rise at the foot of the mighty peaks of Lioubeten-i which are joined to the heights of Doulé. This settlement is inhabited almost entirely by Albanians, whose houses are mainly along the north side of the stream. At some distance from there, there were some covered carts inhabited by the Zingars [Gypsies]. Their buffaloes grazed around them and their dogs waited for an opportunity to pounce on passers-by.
The inn of Soua Rieka is miserable. It is really only a large hut, most of which is occupied by the large barrels used for wine production. This belongs to the village and is kept by the innkeeper where the grape harvest is done collectively and the produce is then divided according to the size of the vineyards and the number of barrels of grapes brought by each resident. The rest of the inn is occupied by a hearth and there is little room for people to sleep. There are no stables, so the horse has to stay outside in the covered part of the yard. The area of the inn around the hearth was occupied by a group of Muslim Albanians who did not notice the presence of the travelers or, if they did, simply looked at us with contempt. Our Tartar was restless and tried to maintain authority by engaging an Albanian in conversation. This person was some kind of traveling official. Meanwhile, having placed our things on the floor among the wine barrels, we thought of making the acquaintance of the Albanian villagers, and we wished to invite at least the oldest of them to a cup of coffee. Our Tartar told us that we were crazy to want to do anything with such a group. This compliment, probably understood by the Arnauts, put an end to all further conversation between us and them. This is a good example of how the presence of a Turk can hinder a European traveler in Albania, for, had he not been with us, we might have tamed these villagers. But we could not do this without the consent of our Turk, and, had we acted against his will, he would not have looked upon us with favor. His respect for us would have diminished in proportion to our proximity to the Albanians. The Bulgarian innkeeper quickly withdrew because he had a fever and left us in the care of his servant, who did his best to cook us a chicken. Aksham-i [evening] came and at last we were saved from the devilish Albanians, but we were left with our official. We had barely finished eating when a full dinner was brought for this person, to which he invited our men to partake. He invited the Tartar to eat with him and then began to drink alcoholic beverages. After he had drunk his fill, he began to twirl his moustache and say the most insulting things. He mocked our man, the decree his and his sultan. "If I like to drink a lot," he said as he danced, "it's because I know what I'm doing and how much alcohol I can handle, but this guy here is a miserable beast." Turning to the Tartar, he said: "You talk about your watches and want a lot of money for them. I can easily get it from you. I have only to go out and call two or three Albanians, and you would be obliged to pay me to send them away. You five-year-old [worthless], edictYours is just a piece of paper, and your sultan is a giaour [infidel] wretch”. Fortunately, the Tartar was equally drunk and was unable to understand what the man was saying. Had he been only half drunk, blood would have been shed. The whole comedy that was being played out before us began to irritate us when the innkeeper’s servant whispered in our ears that we should not talk too much with the man, because he was capable of anything. However, in defense of our honor, I must emphasize that he said nothing insulting to us. He then went outside to lie down, and simply added that he had found a better bed than ours. As soon as he went outside, the innkeeper’s servant closed the door and locked it with a wooden bar, as is the custom, and the rest of the night was quiet.
The road from Soua Rieka to Prizren takes three and a half hours. First it crosses a low plain where there are some marshes. Then it passes along a stream that flows towards Soua Rieka from the southeast to the northwest. Then you climb to a slightly higher and wider plateau of the same type. From here, about three hours from Prizren, you can see an Albanian village and some corn fields on the right. The position was an excellent observation point for understanding the structure of the Prizren basin on the northwest side of the Schar mountains. The Drim [Drin] River flows south of Djakovo [Gjakova] through a wide cleft in the hills at an altitude of 600 to 800 feet above the valley. Joined by the Soua Rieka River and the Maritza [Lumbardh] River of Prizren, it flows down the valley or gorge located between the mountains to the south of Gjakova and the high mountain of Hass [Has] or Schalé-Schoss [Shalë-Shosh?] which is cut off to the west by a large rift running from the northeast to the southwest. This is the gap that allows the White Drim to join the Black Drim.
A league from Prizren are the Schar cliffs, and a quarter of a league from the road is the Albanian village of Oritsché, where a small stream comes from the South and joins the Souha Rieka. It is possible that this is the Srebnitza (from silver meaning “silver”) to which Dr. Müller referred when he mentioned some Serbian villages in the plain, which he said were to the northeast of Prizren. One passes quickly through the village and, half an hour further, passes the village of Gloubitza or Loubitza on the right and a stream of the same name which, flowing from South to North, empties into the Drim River. A partially cultivated part of the plain leads the traveler to Prizren. [...]
Prizren
Prizren, called Prizrendi by the Albanians and Pérsérin by the Turks, is built at an altitude of 1 feet along both banks of the Marica River (Albanian Maratsch) and at the foot of the Schar Mountains, in such a way that a part of the city forms a veritable amphitheatre on which is crowned an ancient fortress on a high promontory, the residence of several Serbian kings. Surrounded by ramparts and well-maintained walls, it occupies a large rectangular space to the west of the Maritza where it opens onto the Prizren plain. Towards the mouth of this stream, the limestone rock forms a cliff under the fortress rising to a height of nearly 149 feet. As the rest of the countryside is flat, partly cultivated and dotted with villages, the city of Prizren has a truly majestic position. To appreciate it, you do not have to see it from the hills surrounding the Schar because the city disappears when seen together with the vast and rich plain of Metohija. You have to arrive from Gjakova or Ipek. From there, you immediately realize that it is one of the most beautiful and richest cities in Turkey and you are amazed by the contrast between the barren wilderness of the Schar Mountains and the rich vegetation and powerful population of the plain. You also understand the importance of this city, which has always served to keep in mind the mixture of ethnic groups in the surrounding plains and mountains. Its diverse industries and trade on the transit route between Turkey and coastal Albania have contributed to the increase in the number of its inhabitants.
Prizren is situated 13 hours from Ouskoub [Skopje], three and a half hours from Djakovo, nine hours from Ipek, 11 to 11 and a half hours from Prischtina, and 28 or perhaps more accurately 30 hours from Scutari [Shkodra]. Its population exceeds 26 inhabitants, for in 000 Mr. Müller counted 1838 inhabitants in 25 houses, including: 550 Slavs, mainly Serbs of the Greek [Orthodox] religion, and about 6 Zinzars [Vlachs], 000 Catholic Albanians, 18 Muslim Albanians, as well as a very few true Turks and 000 Zingars [Gypsies]. The Turkish garrison is not included in these statistics and varies between 2 and 000 men depending on whether the country is peaceful or not. They have a good band of musicians. If Mr. Müller had not clearly stated that his figures were derived from the tribute tax register, we would have thought that the number of Slavs he gave was exaggerated, although this would not have been typical of him.
The city is divided into three neighborhoods: the first is south of Maritza and occupies part of the slope of the hill that rises to the fortress, so that some of the streets here are on a slope. Here is located Guest house of the Pasha, surrounded by high walls and consisting mainly of four wooden buildings overlooking an inner courtyard and a garden. To the west are the Turkish cemetery and just below the fortress are the houses of the gypsies, who are mainly blacksmiths. To the northwest of this neighborhood called Sulejmit is a neighborhood called Eminit where almost all the industry and trade is located. The covered bazaar extends along several long open alleys, each of which is dedicated to a certain profession. We were especially amazed by the alleys of the gunsmiths and saddlers. The neighborhood of Ahmit, mainly to the north of Maritza, is inhabited to a good extent by Christians. Here are not only the ruins of a church, but also the great mosque of Ahmet, which is none other than the ancient royal cathedral of Sveta Petka from the time of the Serbian Empire. The large, beautiful windows can still be seen, and on the north side, you can find the words written in brick: Serbian Sabbath (Serbia Sabbath). The old Serbian Church of the Great Virgin Mary has also been converted into a Friday mosque. Not far from it is the post office, dormitory, a large building with an upper floor with many rooms for travelers and a stable with room for more than 80 horses. It is now a poorly maintained hostel.
Prizren's other buildings consist of a dozen large mosques. Mr. Müller estimated their number at 42. There is also a clock tower, a small Roman Catholic church hidden from view, and a Greek church. Prizren is the residence of the Greek bishop for Northern Albania and of a Catholic priest.
The city is not as polluted as many others in Turkey, because some of the streets are on a slope and are crisscrossed by canals with clean flowing water. These flow mainly from the Maritza (little Mary) and bear Slavic names such as Large, Mala Beads and Medium A river, that is, the big river, the little river, and the middle river. The drinking water is wonderful. The limestone rocks around are full of it, and you can see it flowing from springs on all sides.
Like other major cities in Turkey, it has its own leisure areas, consisting mainly of cafes along the banks of the Maritza River. Some of them are in the Ahmed neighborhood on the northern bank of the Maritza River, not far from a wooden bridge and the Serbian cathedral. Tall poplars, willows and plane trees shade and protect the city from the sun, so that you can walk along the sandy banks. Other cafes are located at the entrance to the Schar gorge, where the Maritza River flows. Several oriental plane trees provide protection from the sun and are as pleasant as the fast-flowing water and refreshes the air with its vapors. It is a pleasure here to observe the rocks below the fortress.
Climbing the winding gorge of Maritza, you reach the ruins of a small monastery, an hour away from Prizren. Serbs or Slavs used to come here for pilgrimages. Could this be the monastery of Archangel Michael, where Tsar Dushan was buried? According to the monk Jurišić, somewhere in the mountains, half an hour away from Prizren, there are three Greek churches: that of the Great Lady, of Saint George the Martyr, and of the Archangel (Archangel). On the top of a high cliff are the ruins of a fortress. If you continue further, you gradually climb along the limestone hills which serve as a path to reach the high slopes of Ljoubeten, from where you can descend to Katchanik. These command views of the Kosovo Plain and a good part of the Upper Mezia which is bounded by mountain ranges to the north and south. We took this road, or rather path, in 1837. At that time it was very much described with a crowd of cheerful Albanians returning to their villages. These were men whom the Pasha had armed and dressed in European dress. They were a kind of national guard, or Redif, who came down to Prizren from time to time for exercise. They were mostly young and were very pleased to allow me to inspect their weapons. The heights are inhabited by a strong mixture of Albanians and Serbs, with villages generally hidden in the gorges. /Telegraph/
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