As the months go by, sometimes Frank and I almost feel like locals in Prizren; but, then again, each day brings a memorable or unexpected sight or adventure. In this post, I want to share a few interesting or special things we've encountered in the past few weeks.
This is my favorite seller on the streets of Prizren. Sitting in outdoor cafes in the warm weather, you are constantly being approached by people begging for money. Many of these are Roma, and it is a struggle to say no; however, there are many reasons to do so. After living here a while, we have observed the Roma children who run around in small groups without any adult supervision. Some are as young as 4 or 5 years old. They are well trained in begging for money. You can observe them begging one minute and then playing and running around the next. We have come to learn that many of these kids are brought to the city from other places by adult men to beg, and then they are picked up at the end of the day sometimes very late at night. Some people say that some are part of organized crime elements. The children have a lot of money to spend on snacks and drinks during the day. I guess they are expected to earn a certain amount of money per day, but it seems they also spend money freely. Some of the women carry babies, and an American friend said she saw a documentary about how the babies are drugged to stay quiet. Recently, I have seen two or three mothers with babies, and the babies seem almost catatonic. Their eyes are open, but they don't smile or cry or even move. I like to give money to people who are trying to earn a living, so the guy pictured above is one of these. He shuffles around town all day trying to sell kleenex or pens which probably cost 20 cent or less. I try to buy things regularly from him and not wait for change when I give him more than the price of the item.
Last week Frank was injured by what he called a Ninja Roma woman. She was older and very small and eyed him as he was carrying my backpack with my computer and some sacks of copied materials for my classes to the university. ( I was already at the university.) He saw her cross the street with her hand out for money and making a beeline for him. She just kept on coming without stopping. As we have written about before, we often have to walk in the street because there either isn't a sidewalk, or cars or parked on the sidewalk. This woman aggressively continued to come at Frank, and he was forced to sidestep not knowing that there was a curb, and ended up taking a tumble, with my copy work scattering all over. He sprained his knee and got a very skinned elbow. He's been lying low the past couple of days trying to recover. He says he wished he had a video of the whole affair just to see everyone's reaction to this tiny woman taking him down, and also to see what the woman did when it happened. No one helped him up or anything.
This is just one of the many fountains and springs found throughout Prizren. The water is very clean and fresh. It is safe to drink and is a real treat.
We've toyed with the idea of weighing ourselves at one of these roadside places, but somehow getting on a scale in full view of passersby to get weighed seems like a bad idea. I've actually never seen anyone weigh themselves even though numerous guys have scales like this in areas frequented by pedestrians.
This is about 2 blocks from our apartment, and when school is not in session, Frank said it is the neighborhood hotspot for kids with pickup games of basketball going on (notice the basketball hoop). Frank walks right by here on the way to the neighborhood bakery and butcher.
Last week, we walked up to the fortress two times. This photo was taken of a couple of guys with their horse and cart near the Maresh district about a quarter of a mile from our apartment.
I guess this is a taxi although it's really just a small motorized vehicle with a motor like a lawnmower pulling a cart.
This was taken on our block where there are many fancy dress stores. The woman in the middle is probably from a nearby village. They all wear these pantaloons with big prints - usually in black and white. They also have a trench coat or jacket and a head scarf even if it is very hot outside. The women accompanying this woman are probably daughters who don't choose to dress in the traditional way.
A haystack being pulled by a tractor on our street - Adem Jashari, the busiest street in town.
These kids are trying to get some sheep to cross a Prizren main road that leads to Pristina a couple of weeks ago. The sheep are obviously not thrilled about their environs.
The kids eventually got the sheep all the way across the road after pausing a minute in the median.
A bucolic scene of a shepherd relaxing as his sheep graze inside of the Prizren fortress. We took this last week on one of our walks up to the fortress. Notice the beautiful red poppies in the foreground. More photos of Spring in Prizren and the fortress in Spring will follow in a few days.
We haven't posted any food photos for a while, so I am including the last few now. We discovered a wonderful Turkish restaurant a couple of weeks ago in Prizren (Akdeniz; phone: 044 426 495). It is on the main road the leads to the bus station, and we have seen Turkish tour buses stop here. The food is cheap and delicious. This is a combination steak and chicken grilled platter. The bread on the side is filled with a thin coating of hot peppery seasoning.
A closeup. The meat is grass-fed beef, and the chicken is free range (that's all they have in Kosovo - no big meat plants!). The vegetables are always fresh.
Of course, we needed some beer to go with the grilled meats. In the background is hummus served with shredded beef on top. Efes beer is from Turkey, and Peja beer is brewed in a nearby Kosovo town.
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