Photos from Our World

The city of Peja, western Kosovo

Peja has always been a mixed city, with the vast majority of the inhabitants Kosovo Albanians, but there is also a large minority community. Most Kosovo Serbs have now left the town and lives in a village nearby, but there is a large Bosniak community in town while significant Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities reside in urban and rural areas.

Relations between Serbs and the majority Albanians have often been tense during the 20th century; this came to a head in the Kosovo War of 1999, during which the city suffered heavy damage and mass killings. There was further damage in violent inter-ethnic unrest in 2004.

In 1967 and 1969, when these photos were taken, life seemed peaceful. Traditional attire was common and an easy way to distinguish between the different population groups. The market place, as shown here, was especially interesting to see a variety of people.

	Market in Peja	Roma women	Shqipëtar women	Shqipëtar people
	Selling a chicken	Gypsy and Albanian women	Selling clothes	Selling carpets
	Selling bottles	Market women	Selling chickens and eggs	Woman on the market

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