Kosovo Reflections Part 1 - Getting to Know Kosova

Several day ago, I returned home from the country of Kosovo.  Most of the people I have talked to about this trip responded to me by asking questions like, “Kosovo…Where is that?” or for those who remember the news headlines many years ago, “There was a war there a while ago, right?”  My guess is that this ignorance about Kosovo is in part due by the small size of the country, but also because it was officially recognized as a country by NATO in the year 2008.  I hope that anyone who doesn’t know anything about Kosovo, will learn much about it through my posts.  In this post I will list some interesting tidbits about the country that I found to be important in understanding Kosovo and its people.

1. Geographically, the Repulic of Kosova lies north of Greece and directly south of Serbia.  The climate is similar to where I come from in Canada, hot and muggy in the summer and cold and damp in the winter.  The landscapes vary depending on where you are in the country.  I had the opportunity to travel to all parts of Kosovo and witnessed its rolling hills to the east, soaring mountains and their lush valleys to the west, and expansive farmlands in between.  All in all, the landscapes are beautiful as is the weather (most of the time). 

2. Kosovo is home to approximately 1.7 million people, 92% of which are Albanian and 4% of which are Serbs, and 4% are other peoples like the Turks, Bosniaks, and Roma.  About two-hundred thousand of those people live in the capital city, Prishtina, which is also the city I stayed in during the three week trip.  The people of Kosovo are warm to foreigners and are (for the most part) pro-American due to NATO’s involvement in their independence.  Their patiortism for the United States can even exceed those of Americans, especially on the 4th of July (remember, fireworks can kill!). 

3.  Something that the people of Kosovo have that many people in North America miss out on is strong emphasis on family unit.  Kosovo has a soft honour based culture (that is typically found in eastern cultures) due to the influences of the Ottoman Empire in their past.  This honour is what motivates people to do many of the things that they do (western cultures are typically guilt based) and to the goal is to bring honour to oneself by bring honour to the family (though this traditional mindset is becoming less the case with the introduction of secularism).  Still, even today families stay together for most of their lives in houses that are four or five stories high and large enough to fit an entire extended family in it.  In my time there I did not see a single western style single floor house made for one couple and their children.  This showed me how the importance of family in Kosovo even influences the construction of houses and neighbourhoods.

4. Kosovo is filled with young people.  There are so many young people that the nation's median age is actually 26.7 years old. One man I talked with said that over 50% of the population is under 30 years old.  That being said, there is a growing gap between the older traditional generations and the younger secular generations.  It becomes more evident that the youth are slowly taking over as you walk through Prishtina's core at nighttime and observe club after club pumping out music until the early morning.  We were fortunate to spend time with many young people at an arts camp and after our concerts, but we were also privileged to meet some older individuals who retained the knowledge of their tradition as well as the events of the Kosovo War that took place in 1999.

5.  The food in Kosovo is some of the best that I have had.  Much of it is inspired by other European countries, however there are some traditional dishes that I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to try.  The most common thing to eat is something like Doner (meat roasted on a vertical spit, usually beef, lamb or chicken) or Burek (a thin flaky pastry that is filled with cheese, minced meat, or fruit sauce).  A good drink to have with your dinner is Ayran (plain yogurt mixed with salt and water) which could be considered an aquired taste for some, but is delicious with pizza or other rich and spicy dishes.  In Kosovo there is a bakery on almost every block and each one offers freshly made pastries.  There is also no shortage of coffee shops, which act as the local hangout spots for younger and older adults.  The people of Kosovo are known for their café hopping (jumping from café to café), especially on rainy days.

6. Music in Kosovo is a big deal!  Most of the mainstream music channels are saturated with pop and hiphop genres; however, there are smaller and newer subcultures that prefer rock, metal and country music as well.  We had heard that the most popular metal band in Kosovo was called Troja (pronounced Troya), but unfortunately we were unable to grab a taste of the band while there.  Very few city dwellers seem to listen to the traditional Albanian style music.  To be exposed to that one would have to travel to a town outside of the larger cities where their style of folk music is handed down through generations.  The çifteli is one of the primary instruments used in Albanian music, which is very reminiscent of traditional Greek music with a middle-eastern flare.

There is much more that I could go on, but I wanted to save some for more focused posts.  Kosovo definitely made a mark on my heart and its people a fond impression in my memories.  There is no doubt that I will be back to play some music again in Kosovo, only a matter of time…