Historical monuments in Gjakova

Hadum Mosque

The historical monuments in Gjakova, western Kosovo, are divided into three main categories based on their cultural, religious, and social context. Gjakova was initially named "Jakova" - which was derived from the name of a rich merchant, Jak Vula. In 1574, the Hadum Mosque was built on his property, laying the foundation of the city. The core part of the town was created between the Krena River to the east and Cabrati hill to the west. Around the cornerstone of the town, the Old Bazaar, the center of trade and craftsmansip, was created. By 1900, the bazaar housed around 1,000 businesses. Numerous bridges were built to enable trade caravans to cross the neighboring rivers. With the fast development of trade in the city, several inns were built to host visitors. Because of its ancient origins, and rapid economic development, Gjakova is of historical importance.[1]

Monuments

Sheikh Emin's Tekke

Sheikh Emin's Tekke

Sheikh Emin's Tekke (Khanqah) was built in 1730 by Sheikh Emin, a famous architect who created many important architectural complexes in Gjakove. It belongs to the Sufi Muslim order (Sufism), specifically, Sad Tariqa. It is one of many religious monuments that represent the folk architecture in Gjakova. The whole complex with its “tyrbes” (small mausoleums), the ritual prayer halls called “samahanes”, houses, and fountains make this Tekke a monumental religious building. It is characterized by a detailed sacral architecture, with its wood carved elements that show the centuries of cultural values hidden behind this Tekke. As such it has been protected by law since 1956. This monument is often referred to as a model when analyzing other architectural monuments with this form.[2]

Grand Tekke

The Grand Tekke

The Grand Tekke, is located close to the Big Bazaar, next to the Clock Tower (Albanian: Sahat Kulla). It was built in the seventeenth century and remains the oldest tekke of the Saad Tarikat (a local tribe of the Muslim sect) in the entire Rumelia (the old Ballkan). It was established by Sheikh Sulejman Axhiza Baba in 1582,[3] with the origin from the Bushati family in Shkodër, Albania (Bushatlinjet). Sheikh Sulejman lived in Gjakova together with his three sons for a few years. One of his sons, Danjoll Efendiu, followed in his footsteps by becoming the first imam in the Hadumi Mosque in Gjakova. After a while, Sheikh Sulejman, along with his third son, moved to Prizren, the closest city to Gjakova and built the Saad Tekke in Marash, the center of the town. A focal point of the whole of the Grand Tekke is the shrine "tyrbe" where the saints are buried. There are also the so-called "samahanes" where people perform their religious practices, and the residential section where the family and its members, who take care of the Tekke, live.[4]

Church of St. Anton of Padova

The Church of St. Anton of Padova ("Ndou"), was built in 1931, located in the catholic neighborhood, next to the Saint Pal Church and Saint Pjeter Church in Gjakova. It was previously called the Patter Mila church (Emilio a Cless), built in 1882, but later this church was totally destroyed. In 1931, Pater Lorenc Mazreku built the new church in the same location as the old church. It was renovated several times with the addition of dormitories, offices, and toilets, but it carefully preserved the concept, and architectural importance, of catholic churches. The Saint Ndou Church, being one of the oldest sacred buildings in Gjakov, is an important architectural sit in Gjakova.[2]

Bektashi Tekke

The Bektashi Tekke

The Bektashi Tekke was built in 1790 at the heart of the Big Bazaar complex in Gjakove. Being the first of its kind, this Tekke represented the Tarikat Bektashi. According to legend, the Tarikat Bekatshi was created by Haxhi Bektash Veliu in Anadolu during the thirteenth century. As the Ottoman Empire started to expand, a mission of this Muslim sect arrived from Anadolu in Balkans, Crete, and Greece. In Gjakova, the Bektashi Tekke was destroyed by the Serbian military forces during the Kosovo War in 1999. Thousands of books, including fifty-eight manuscripts, were burned, as the whole structure was destroyed. The Bektashi Tekke was reconstructed between 2004 and 2006 so that believers would be able to perform their spiritual rituals.[4] It is characterized by the ringing bell, by the courtyard door, which announces another crowd of visitors who share the same Muslim belief has arrived. The graves of seven out of nine Bektashi fathers who served here from the seventeenth century are located in the right temple of the Tekke, while two others were buried in Turkey. These seven graves are considered to be sacred, meaning that they give direction to people to find the path towards God and they help people challenge their difficulties in life. The Bektashi carry their own specific Islamic ideas, indicating the diversity of beliefs in Kosovo and the prevalence of the religious tolerance.[5]

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar Today

The Grand Bazaar ("Çarshia e madhe") is one of the largest urban monuments in Kosovo or abroad with 525 important buildings.[6] It has an area of about 34,000 m2, with its north to south scope reaching 1,000 m. It was established in 1594–1595 when the first craftsman and artisans appeared and Gjakova was given the status of a small town. It was established because Selman Hadim Aga decided to donate some of his self-built facilities to the religious institutions. These facilities include: the Hadum Mosque, a muvaktihane (a building which measures time and defines the calendar based on astrolabic quadrates), a religious elementary school (meytep), a library, an inn, several shops, and a public bath (hamam). In the shops of the Grand Bazaar many kinds of trades were operating to fulfill the needs of Gjakova's citizens. The most famous craftsman and artisans were gunsmiths, silversmiths, tinsmiths, copper dishes producers, tailors (terezis), tanners (tabaks), embroiderers, bookbinders, musical instruments makers, pipe-makers, and carpenters.[7] The different types of craftsmanship were a huge influential contributor to the cultural, social and economic development of the region of Gjakova. The Grand Bazaar was completely burned during the Kosovo War in 1999 and 431 buildings were destroyed.[6] It has been under construction since then. It has been under protection of the law since 1995.[1]

Bridges

Terezive Bridge

Terzijski Bridge is a famous stone bridge built across the Erenik river 1730. It served as a means for Gjakova’s esnafs/terezis (artisans) to go between Gjakova and Prizren. It consists of eleven arches in half-arch shapes and ten discharging windows between them. It is 192.8 meters long and 5.1m wide. The bridge is under protection since 1962, for its historical, sociological, artistic, urban, and cultural value.[1]

Tabaket Bridge spans the river Erenik. Built by the Esnaf of Gjakova in 1771, it served as a link between Gjakova and Shkodra, two famous trading cities at the time. It is a 127m long construction consisting of 14 lintel windows with discharges and carved reliefs. A scissors-like figure (the working tool of the craftsman who built the bridge), a hand palm with fingers, and a rosette with a small sphere and radius within is carved in one of the archways of the bridge. It has also been under protection since 1962.[1]

Taliqi Bridge is built on the River Krena and connects the older part of the city on the west, with the newest, on the east. The bridge is over 21.50m long, 4.05m wide and has a height of 5.0m. Earlier there were three backed vaults in its structure with two discharging windows, and later it had two large arches and two columns. It consisted of 7m length of wooden construction. The decision in 1962 on its protection reports that it too has historical, sociological, artistic, urban, and cultural value.[1]

The 'Fshejt' Bridge

The Fshajt Bridge is a stone bridge with one arch over the Canyon of the river Drini I Bardhe on the way from Gjakova to Prizren. The bridge is 18.50m high, 7m wide, and 37m long. During the First World War it was destroyed completely, but in 1942 was rebuilt. In the war of 1999 it was damaged again, and was restored by the Italian Kosovo Force (KFOR). A competition where participants jump from the bridge is held every year; and the most amazing jumpers win awards.[8] Both the bridge and the canyon have been legally protected since 1986.[2]

Clock Tower

The Clock Tower

Clock Tower (Sahat Kulla) was built in the year 1597, or 1002 based on Hijri calendar, to fulfill the need to determine the city’s working hours, because of the fast development of trade and craftsmanship. The Clock Tower is located in the Clock Valley which is near the Grand Bazaar.[4] In 1912, the tower was burned by Montenegrin military forces. After its destruction, the place where the Clock Tower once stood became known as the clock valley. After the war in Kosovo, the clock was restored, though in a style different that the original tower. However, some of the original stones are still in the structure in the western face of the tower.[2]

Haraqija Inn

Haraqija Inn

Since Gjakova was a developing city, there was a need for inns and caravanserais. Inns had the same function as today's hotels while the caravanserais were used to settle the animals or caravans that carried the goods. During the 1870s and 1880s, 16 inns were built in Gjakova. In 1835, Ami Beau wrote about the beauty of the Inns of Haraqia and of Islam Aga. Miller, in 1838, mentioned the big caravanserai which hosted around 100 guests and their transport animals. The Caravanserai had big halls of Armenian seraphs. One of the most famous inns that still exist nowadays is the Haraqija Inn, located near the Hadumi mosque. The inn still serves as a restaurant and can host around a hundred people.[2] The Haraqija Inn is made up of two parts: "the old inn" in the west, and "the new inn" in the east. The old inn is believed to have been built just after the construction of the Hadumi mosque, whereas the new inn was built in 1901. The old inn consists of two floors, the ground floor, which is constructed with stones, and the first floor that is constructed with bricks and attic. All the ceilings are decorated with carved wood. Likewise, the new inn consists of the ground floor and first floor constructed with bricks. Even today, The new inn still maintains its traditional style.[4]

Houses

Sylejman Vokshi House is located at the entrance of Grand Bazaar in an area called "Mejtepie Ruzhdije". The tower was built in the first half of the eighteenth century. It has great historical value because Sylejman Vokshi, a popular hero, was born there. Sylejman Vokshi was mostly distinguished for his involvement in the Albanian National Movement.[4] He was an initiator of the Prizren National League (September 1878), a political and military leader, member of the central committee, head of the financial commission of that league, and head of the Albanian League in Gjakova. This tower was protected by law in 1980 and has architectural value since it is built with bricks, natural stones, and mortar limestone. The building has undergone some slight changes, especially in the inner part.[2]

Ethnographic Museum

Abdullah Pashë Dreni House, built in 1790, is a three floor building in the shape of a tower, which served as a private house and a fortress. It was built out of stone and bricks and it has small windows.[4] Nowadays, the first floor cannot be seen from the outside due to the increase in level of the main road which connects two parts of the city through the Islam Beg Bridge. Apart from its architectural value, this building also has historical significance. When Marshall Mehmet Ali Pasha visited Gjakova in order to oversee the cession of that region to the Principality of Montenegro, he was killed along with many Ottoman soldiers in this house.[2]

Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum was built in 1830. Initially it was the house of Rexhep Haxhi Islami, whose high status as a citizen was represented by his living in a corner dwelling. The house has two floors with interesting corners and a unique heating system. The ceiling of the house is decorated with carved wood. It has been under legal protection since 1955.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Integrated Conservation". Cultural Heritage without Borders.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rrahmani, Kujtim (2009). Tourist Guide"Gjakova City & Valbona Valley". Gjakove: Arteza. pp. 1–62. ISBN 978-9951-8784-0-1.
  3. ↑ "Under the Sheiks: A grand tour of the Sufi Tekkes of Gjakova". Interfaith Kosovo. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Institute for Protection of Monuments of Kosova". Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Beqiraj, Ajete. "Teqja bektashiane hap sërish dyert për besimtarët nga mbarë bota". Deutsche Welle.
  6. 1 2 "The strategy for the regeneration of the Gjakova Bazaar". Cultural Heritage without Borders. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Rizvanolli, Masar (2009). Grand Bazaar of Gjakova. Gjakove: Association of Intellectuals "Jakova". ISBN 978-9951-8653-9-5.
  8. ↑ "Leap of faith! Daredevils risk their lives for €500 and perform spectacular high-dives into river from 72 foot bridge". Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 9 January 2016.

Bibliography

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