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Prizreni, Europe's most oriental city

Prizreni (or Prizren when in a sentence with a preposition as in "to", "in" or "from Prizreni") is the third largest city of Kosovo, with a population of around around 114,000, mostly Albanians. The Serbian name is Призрен (Prizren). It is located on the slopes of the Shar Mountains in the southern part of Kosovo with the Bistrica river flowing through it. It is named "the most Oriental city in Europe" because of its many reminders of the time it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

The area of the Prizren valley has been settled by Illyrians, the ancestors of Albanians, since ancient times. It was known as Theranda in Roman times. Its modern name may derive from "pri", meaning "fortress, town", and "Zeranda", a modification of the name Theranda, which makes Prizeranda. Around 830 the city and the whole region were included in the Bulgarian Empire. It fell to the Byzantines in 1018, briefly reverted to Bulgarian control but restored to Eastern Roman rule in 1073. After brief Serbian, Byzantine and Bulgarian control it was finally seized in 1208 by Grand Prince Stefan II Nemanjić of Serbia. The town became the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Prizren Episcopate and, during the reign of Emperor Stefan Dušan throughout the 14th century, Prizren was the political centre of the Serbian Empire. The city of Prizren became known as the Serbian Constantinople because of its trading and industrial importance. It was the centre of production of silk, fine trades and a colony of merchants from Kotor and Dubrovnik. In the 14th century Prizren was the seat of the Ragusan Consule for the entire Serb monarchy.

In 1545 it was taken by the Ottoman Empire and became a part of the Ottoman province of Rumelia. It was a prosperous trade city, benefiting from its position on the north-south and east-west trade routes across the Empire. Prizren became one of the larger cities of the Ottomans' Vilayet of Kosovo (Province) and its cultural and intellectual centre. It was dominated by its Muslim population, over 70% of its total in 1857. The city became the biggest Albanian cultural centre and the political and cultural Capital of the Kosovar Albanians. However In 1871, a long Serbian seminary was opened in Prizren, discussing the possible joining of the old Serbia's territories with the Principality of Serbia. During the late 19th century the city also became a focal point for Albanian nationalism and saw the creation in 1878 of the League of Prizren, a movement formed to seek the national unification and liberation of Albanians within the Ottoman Empire.

	View of Prizreni	Turkish bridge	Sinan Pasha mosque	Bistrica bridge
	A back street	Bistrica river	Traditional architecture	Shopping street
	Side street	Street with mosque	Narrow street in Prizreni	Hamam Gazi Mehmet Pasha

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