Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 6: the sign at the entrance to the Cathedral Church of Saint George reads, "this building/site is protected by law. Any act of vandalism and looting will be considered as [a] criminal offence of the utmost gravity. The police forces of Kosovo and KFOR will take necessary actions, including the use of force, to stop such crimes. All acts of destruction, vandalism and looting will be punished in accordance with the Kosovo Criminal Law".

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 5: this is the entrance to the church, with two coils of barbed wire stretched across it to prevent access.

Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas; this was built in the Fourteenth Century.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

This was built and decorated between 1331 and 1332; it was funded by Serbian member of the elite, Dragoslav Tutic.

Kate M asked:

How is the interior condition of this structure? Fascinating from the outside...

By the way, good luck in Istanbul. Will you be attending Bogazici University? I'll be in "the city" in a few weeks. I can't wait to drink a real kahve...

The photograph doesn't show it well, but unfortunately, the church is surrounded by barbed wire and the interior inaccessible, so I can't say. (As for real kahve, I've found it really rare, though I have found a few good places.)

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 4: although its roof has collapsed into its gutted and torched interior, the Cathedral Church of Saint George still needs barbed wire all around it to deter attackers.

Prizren buildings 50: this is the street that runs behind the Cathedral Church of Saint George.

Prizren building 49:

This says 'pravoslavna [right faith]', from 'Pravoslavna Arhiepiskopija' and indicates that it was the door of the Orthodox Archbishopric.

[Corrected on the 14th of January 2007]

I had noted that, 'if this does say "pravoslabo..." ("slabo" meaning "poorly"), I think it might be the Cathedral Church of Saint George's infirmary.'

Anonymous commented that, 'that is not "pravoslabo..." but "pravoslavna" meaning "right faith" (orthodox),not "poor" like you were read...'; Vasilevs agreed that, 'I think,too,that the full name on these door is "pravoslavna arhiepiskopija" (orthodox archbishopy)'. This is really helpful, as I hadn't been able to tell during my visit and the only photographs I'd been able to compare this too left it unclear.

Prizren building 48: this is the entrance to what I think is a courtyard behind the Cathedral Church of Saint George.

Prizren building 47: this is a building behind the Cathedral Church of Saint George.

Prizren building 46: I wrongly thought this was the Cathedral Church of St. George's seminary. I don't know what it was, but I understand it was destroyed in the same spree of violence as the cathedral; riots fuelled by rumours ended in dozens of deaths and over a thousand injuries, as well as the destruction of cultural heritage throughout Kosova/Kosovo.

[Updated on the 10th of December 2005]

Prizren building 45: this is - or rather, was - a window in what I think is - or was - the Cathedral Church of Saint George's seminary. More than one friend suggested that this resembled Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", drawn in 1490; I was too stunned to make the connection as I walked around, but I can see it now.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

This isn't the seminary; I don't know what it is. On reflection, I may have seen the resemblance, but it was certainly pushed from my mind by what I saw.

Prizren building 44: this is (what I think is) the Cathedral Church of Saint George's seminary.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

This isn't the seminary; I don't know what it is.

Prizren building 43: this is (what I think is) the Cathedral Church of Saint George's seminary.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

This isn't the seminary; I don't know what it is.

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 3: this [the building in the background] is the Cathedral Church of Saint George, with (what I think is) its seminary in front of it; on the left, there is a branch of the Kosova insurance company, which is so common a sight as to make a person suspicious.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

The cathedral is also known as the Episcopal Church of St. George. The building between the church and the Kosova insurance company is not the seminary; it's not the bishop's residence either.

Prizren buildings 42: these are buildings further behind the Cathedral Church of Saint George; they include what appears to be the razed foundations of one structure.

Prizren buildings 41: these are buildings behind the Cathedral Church of Saint George, some of which have been damaged or destroyed; I do not know if, but I suspect that, they were attacked for being Serb, whether they were or not.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

These were attacked because their owners and/or occupants were Serbs.

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 2: on the right is the Cathedral Church of Saint George and on the left, I think, is its seminary, other burned-out buildings visible between them.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

The cathedral's also known as the Episcopal Church of St. George. I don't know what the building on the left is, but it's not the seminary; it's not the bishop's residence either.

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George 1: this building, also known as the Episcopal Church of St. George, was built in the Nineteenth Century; it was destroyed in riots on the 17th of March 2004.

Prizren buildings 40: behind the "Hollywood" sign for the new venue, a damaged building remains.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 7: this is the side entrance to the building.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 6: this is the main entrance to the building.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 5: the walls of the building have "PDK" - Partia Demokratike e Kosoves (Democratic Party of Kosovo), "LKCK" - Levizja Kombetare per Clirimin e Kosoves (National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo) and "LDK" - Lidhja Democratike e Kosoves (Democratic League of Kosovo) tags on them.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 4: the windows of the building have "PDK" - Partia Demokratike e Kosoves (Democratic Party of Kosovo) - tags around them.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 3: this is a close-up of the sign for the Museum of Islamic Manuscripts or Museum of Oriental Manuscripts, which reads "Muzeumi i Doreshkrimeve... Muzej Orientalni... Oriental el Yazila... Muse des Manuscrits [Manuscripts Museum... Oriental Museum]".

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 2: the building contains what is variously referred to as the Museum of Islamic Manuscripts or the Museum of Oriental Manuscripts; the sign reads "Merat Mubarek Ramazan", then, "Muzeumi i Doreshkrimeve... Muzej Orientalni... Oriental el Yazila... Muse des Manuscrits [Manuscripts Museum... Oriental Museum]".

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Sinan Pasha Mosque 1; with its central position in Prizren and its position by the path along the river as well as by the path across it through the town, I kept returning to the seventeenth-century building.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque was built in 1615.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Prizren buildings 39: these buildings were built in the 1920s and 1930s, when there was extensive renovation.

Prizren building 38: this is a monument to "Heroi i Kombit [War Hero] Xhevat I. Berisha, 1961-1998".

[Updated on the 14th of January 2007]

Apart from changing what I had written from '"... 1961-1995"(?)', which, as shown, I now think was '... 1961-1998', this update is to note that Vasilevs alleged that 'Berisha was a simple criminal and drug dealer whos been shoot by police of Yugoslavia'. As with so many of his other comments, I don't have the evidence to confirm or deny this.

I don't want to try to have a discussion when I don't have any information or confirmation, but if nothing else, discussing state police treatment of four men, including one named Xhevat Berisha, in 1998, Amnesty International (AI) did state that it was:

concerned about serious allegations that the men were tortured with electric shock batons during their interrogation and that at least one of them was beaten. Torture and ill-treatment by police of such suspects to obtain "confessions" is unfortunately routine in the province in the organization's experience.

If AI are referring to the same Xhevat Berisha, it wouldn't necessarily contradict Vasilevs' presentation, but, even if it weren't the same Xhevat Berisha, it would certainly bring into question the trustworthiness of the police, whose interpretations and actions Vasilevs' presentation depends upon.

At the same time, the Tribunal Watch List recorded that on the 8th of August 2001, 'German soldiers used barbed wire to stop the construction of the monument to Xhevat Berisha, killed on September 1, 1998 in the village of Lez', before, on the 20th,

More than 3000 people protested against the decision to ban the erection of the statue to Xhevat Berisha and Ismet Jashari - Kumanova. At 12.15, the protestors scuffled with KFOR soldiers and the police. Police used tear-gas, truncheons and trained dogs against the protestors. A number of protestors were injured and had to ask for medical help at the hospital in Prizren. Liman Sejranaj suffered serious body injuries.

These seem to be (even) more likely to be referring to the Xhevat Berisha that this statue is of and that Vasilevs presents one opinion of and, if the German KFOR and Kosovan Police actions are anything to go by, Vasilevs' presentation may have some merit to it; still, all of this is still circumstantial. If it were the same Berisha, what happened between August 2001 and July 2005 that a statue was erected? Are the Berishas being presented here different Berishas?

Given the presence of another statue, that one to 'Ismet Jashari Komandant Kumanova', I think the Tribunal Watch List information is relevant, so the question is: what happened between August 2001 and July 2005 that led to these statues?

Prizren buildings 37; the river and the promenades alongside it are at the heart of the community.

Prizren building 36: this is the old stone bridge, built in the Sixteenth Century.

Prizren buildings 35; the Sinan Pasha Mosque, built in 1600 or 1608 C.E., overshadows its neighbours.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Prizren building 34: this is a monument to "Ismet Jashari Komandant Kumanova [Kumanova Commander Ismet Jashari]".

As I've explained in relation to Vasilevs' allegations against Xhevat Berisha, 'I don't want to try to have a discussion when I don't have any information or confirmation', but, given Amnesty International's concerns that alleged criminals were,

tortured with electric shock batons during their interrogation and that at least one of them was beaten. Torture and ill-treatment by police of such suspects to obtain "confessions" is unfortunately routine in the province in the organization's experience,

which would certainly bring into question the trustworthiness of the police, whose interpretations and actions Vasilevs' presentation depends upon, these matters of definition are obviously not as simple as Vasilevs' comments would suggest.

As I observed in the other post,

Tribunal Watch List recorded that on the 8th of August 2001, 'German soldiers used barbed wire to stop the construction of the monument to Xhevat Berisha, killed on September 1, 1998 in the village of Lez', before, on the 20th,

More than 3000 people protested against the decision to ban the erection of the statue to Xhevat Berisha and Ismet Jashari - Kumanova. At 12.15, the protestors scuffled with KFOR soldiers and the police. Police used tear-gas, truncheons and trained dogs against the protestors. A number of protestors were injured and had to ask for medical help at the hospital in Prizren. Liman Sejranaj suffered serious body injuries.

So, if KFOR/Police intervention was in any way justified, 'what happened between August 2001 and July 2005 that a statue was erected?'

Prizren building 33: this is a Communist monument to the "heronjte e popullit [heroes of the people]".

Prizren buildings 32; the seventeenth-century Sinan Pasha Mosque pierces the skyline.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

Prizren buildings 31: the river and the promenades either side of it are central to the social life of the community.

Prizren palimpsest 3

Bridge of Marashi; its reconstruction was funded by Kosovan people's taxes and completed on the 7th of July 2003.

Prizren building 30: the Republic of Turkey donated this park to the people of Kosovo; it was opened for use by the Commander of the Turkish Battalion in Kosovo on 19th of May 2003.

Prizren buildings 29

Prizren building 28: from the pile of stones by the door, I would guess this is a stone quarry or mine, but they appear to be finished, so it may be a stone works.

Prizren buildings 27

Prizren buildings 26

Gazi Mehmet Pasha Mosque; this was built in the Sixteenth Century.

[Updated on the 25th of November 2005]

Gazi Mehmet Pasha Mosque was built in 1561.

Prizren buildings 25; the building that is the focal point of this is the Gazi Mehmet Pasha Mosque, built in the Sixteenth Century.

Prizren building 24

Prizren buildings 23

Prizren buildings 22; in the background, but still dominating this scene, is the Sinan Pasha Mosque, built in 1600 or 1608 C.E.

[Updated on the 13th of December 2005]

Sinan Pasha Mosque (Xhamia Sinan Pasha or Xhamia e Sinan Pashes) was built in 1600 C.E.

[Updated on the 14th of January 2007]

Kate M wanted to know whether it had 'any connection to Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman architect'; as far as I know, the architect was unknown - certainly I haven't been able to find anything associating him with it, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything associating the two.

Prizren buildings 21

Prizren buildings 20

Prizren buildings 19: as the Council of Europe noted in its (2001) book, "Architectural and Urban Heritage of Prizren, Kosovo", "the city did not suffer damage during the recent conflict. But more than ever, historic and architectural identity are at stake in a political game. [Ever] since the end of the fighting, there have been direct and indirect threats to the heritage: houses have been burned and Orthodox buildings are under the surveillance of the international force". Given the Council of Europe implied that the Orthodox buildings were then intact, their damage or outright destruction (and the further damage and destruction of other buildings categorised as Serb) must have occurred in the rioting since then.

Prizren buildings 18

If I have identified this site correctly and if it is a similar age to the other local structures with an architectural resemblance, this minaret is the last remaining evidence of the Arasta Mosque, built in the Sixteenth Century, but destroyed in 1963.