By Ilda Mara*
The city of Prizren is like an open-air museum, still telling the story of centuries despite the great changes it has seen over the years. Located in the shadow of the Sharr Mountains, the city of Prizren has been a strategic site since ancient antiquity. In Prizren, anyone who contemplates the traces of time can get lost in the intertwining of history and mythology, where, before he knows it, he can pass from ancient Illyrian, Byzantine worlds, through the Ottoman times, to the recent communist legacy.
Prizren is a city at the crossroads of civilizations. In ancient times, the road known as the “Via de Zenta” used to link Lezha to Nis. Thus the city was transformed into an important communication point between East and West. Under the Roman empire, the city was known as Theranda. Later, it became the capital of Byzantium known as Prizdrijana, and in the XIX century under the Ottoman Empire it turned into one of the most important economic and trade centers in the region.
As you climb up to the Castle of Prizren, situated on a hill that dominates the city, you are dazzled with a wonderful panorama of the city and the crown of mountains that surrounds it. The old town lies down along the Lumà«bardh river, under the picturesque slopes of the Sharr Mountains, forming an impressive landscape. In Prizren, from every window, from every balcony, wherever you go you will be inspired by its rich beauty and heritage.
There are countless traces of antiquity that Prizren carries in its basin. Names and histories roll off the tongue like jewels: the Korisha fortress, the multifaceted residence of Vlashnjes, the Roman settlement of Poslisht, the Castle of Prizren, the Church of St. Nights, the Sinan Pasha Mosque, the Bad Church, the Church of St. Koll, the Mosque of Namazjjah, Marashi, the Church of St. Savior, Prizren League Square, the Stone Bridge, and many more.
Likewise, Prizren’s cultural and natural heritage is a treasure trove that mirrors our historical memory.
The world is turning more and more towards technologies and globalization, but I think that people will always be proud of their cultural heritage. Protecting cultural heritage and transmitting it from generation to generation is a testimony of our life, of all the epic of a people with its values, its monuments and its patrimony.
In this issue of the magazine Art & Heritage, we have tried to draft a historical, cultural and artistic portrait of the city Prizren. We have tried to bring to the reader the outline of the historical capital, including its origins, its antiquity, how it was built, the role it has had since ancient times as the crossroads between east and west, the evolution of the city as it passed under the umbrella of various empires, as it became a cultural, economic and diplomatic center.
Prizren can be considered as a second Constantinople, where the various religious communities, the minorities, have lived throughout the centuries, despite the bloody wars it has endured. This publication is an invitation to understand the play of light and shadow, throughout the centuries, over this open sky museum, where the past belongs to the future.
*Ilda Mara is the director of the publication Art & Trashà«gimi (Art & Heritage) whose 8th edition is available in bookshops across Albania and Kosovo
