Yes, Kosovo uses the Euro! That makes it really easy to travel to Kosovo. Chris recommended that we take a walk after we get settled into Hotel Afa. Walking after a long flight really does help reduce the effects of jet lag. I highly recommend it!
So we headed downtown (literally down hill from Hotel Afa!) to see the sights. The first building we saw was the Yugoslavia era National Library of Kosovo. It was designed by Croatian architect Andrija Mutnjakovic and dedicated in November, 1982. During 1990's, the building was used to house refugees from Croatia and Bosnia. Unfortunately, there are many grand buildings in Prishtina that are languishing due to lack of funding.
Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr. You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!
Walking down Mother Teresa Street you run into Mother Teresa Square with lots of interesting buildings. Here is a shot of the National Theatre.
Kids are kids everywhere on this Earth! They all love to play in water and fountains. In Mother Teresa Square we walked by this fountain. Behind it on the right is the Skanderbeg Monument. Skanderbeg's real name is George Kastrioti.
Kids Playing in the Mother Teresa Square Fountain
Why would a predominantly Muslim nation name a square and a major boulevard after Mother Teresa? It turns out that Mother Teresa spent her childhood years in Kosovo.
Running through a fountain is clearly fun!
While there are a lot of old buildings, including some that date to the Ottoman Empire, there are also many new buildings.
Kosovo Government Building
Ibrahim Rugova was the first President of Kosovo. He served two terms from 1992 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2006. Rugova advocated peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule. He was taken prisoner by Yugoslav forces when NATO's air war began and was exiled to Rome. He returned to Kosovo after the Kosovo War.
As of 2005, Kosovo is home to 1.9 to 2.2 million people, 92% of whom are ethnic Albanians. Four percent are Serbs and the remaining 4% are Bosniacs, Gorans, Turks and Roma. The predominant religion is Islam.
Charshije Mosque
This is one of the last photos of the Monument of Brotherhood and Unity. Why? It was built 1961 during Joseph Tito's rule of Socialist Yugoslavia to emphasize the brotherhood between Albanians, Serbs and Montenegrins. It is scheduled to be demolished to make way for the new ‘Adem Jashari Square.’
Monument of Brotherhood and Unity
Serbian Orthodox is the predominant religion of the ethnic Serb population. The construction of the Serb Orthodox Christ the Savior Cathedral started in 1995. The cathedral would have been finished in 1999. However, construction was halted during the Kosovo War. After the war, construction was not resumed because it is viewed as a symbol of Slobodan Milošević's rule. The future of the building remains a topic of debate.
We ended the day enjoying an excellent meal at the Restaurant Liburnia.
You can view the entire set in high resolution by clicking here!
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