Peja - Patriarchate - Rugova Valley - Isniq - Decani - Gjakova - Prizren

As yet there are still very few tourists in Kosovo. Many of the sights are concentrated around two historic cities, Peja in the West and Prizren in the South, and it’s easy to imagine that one day both of these will be crowded with foreign visitors. For now a journey between the two is easy enough to do and offers a good overview of the cultural heritage and natural beauty Kosovo has to offer as a tourist destination.

The history of the Peja is inextricably tied to its proximity to the historic seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church, or Patriarchate, which lies just a few kilometres from the centre. Most visitors to the city are drawn here by this or the chance to explore the mountain scenery and the stunning Rugova Valley.

As you travel West from Prishtina the city suburbs quickly give way to gently rolling green hills studded with red brick villages. The signs of the war are there if you look for them – shells of abandoned houses marked with bullet holes, the occasional Orthodox church destroyed in the 2004 riots. Numerous KLA memorials line the roadsides, black marble headstones with white engraved faces of local men killed in the conflict. The double headed eagle of the Albanian flag is everywhere. Another common sight are the scrap yards – scrap metal being one of Kosovo’s key exports. Even in the most rural areas we pass fields of cannibalized Volkswagens lying behind wire mesh fences. But otherwise there is little to mark out the scenery from many other European countries. Drivers here have a fairly relaxed attitude towards road safety and we overtake antique tractors and KFOR armoured vehicles in equal number.

Ruined Orthodox Church on the Prishtina - Peja road	The 'Peja Beer' Brewery on the approach to the city

The road is remarkably straight and flat – at least until you reach Peja. Here the Bjeshkë e Nemuna - ‘The Accursed Mountains’ - dominate the horizon, separating Kosovo from Montenegro to the west. The city of Peja itself sits at the foothills of the mountains the plain of Dukagjin. The initial approach to the centre of Peja is not promising. A sprawling industrial complex lines the road – this turns out to be the ‘Peja’ brewery responsible for the bottled beer sold in every bar in the country. This is one of the few remnants of the communist drive to industrialise the region which also saw car plants and other factories built here. Today the brewery, like virtually all of the Kosovan economy, has been opened to foreign investment and is now largely owned by a Slovenian company.

View of Peja from the foothills	The western end of the centre seen from the river

Past the decaying high rises and clogged roundabouts lies the old city. Today the architecture still shows signs of the tumultuous history of the region - the narrow streets and Mosques are a legacy of the Ottomans, the colonnades of the immense Hotel Royal Arda date from the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the garish yellow tower blocks remain from the decades of Socialist rule. Despite this clash of styles the overall feel is that of an alpine town. A river fed by mountain streams runs through a deep, paved channel, with stone bridges linking parks on either side where locals sit in the shade. Terraces from cafes and bars line the street. In the evening the road is closed to traffic and fills with children on skateboards and couples holding hands. The only thing detracting from this picture postcard scenery is the litter - plastic bottles line the river and we see one hotel owner sweeping rubbish from his terrace straight into the water.

The Bajrakli 'Market' Mosque	The Royal Arda Hotel

The city was badly damaged in the war. I spoke to one English worker who was part of the initial UN emergency relief effort and told me that in the days after the conflict three or four people would die from exposure every week. It’s difficult to believe now and the most notable reminder of the war are streets named after Tony Blair and Madeline Albright. But much of the historic centre was lost, particularly the winding streets of the traditional bazaar around the Bajrakli (or market) mosque. Under the Ottomans Peja was an important trading post with links to Dubrovnik and Mitrovica and was a centre for artisans as well as an important market town. Today the market remains, but many of the stalls only sell foreign imports or Kosovan flags, and the tools of the craftsmen are drowned out by the CD sellers playing Albanian rap on their stereos.

Headstones outside the Mosque	Statue of Haxhi Zeka

The mosque itself is notable for a modest graveyard where the headstones are topped by stone turbans or fezzes, depicting the status of the deceased. A few other buildings dotted around the area relate to the city’s most famous son, Haxhi Zeka, a 19th century cleric and nationalist who formed the League of Peja before his assassination in 1902.

From Peja it’s a 15 minute walk along quiet road to the Pec Patriacharte at the foot of the Rugova Gorge.