From Sarajevo to Pristina in 1869

"Through Vushtrri I headed towards Pristina. Vushtrri is the same town as Mitrovica, but it is part of the Kosovo County. One hour near Pristina, there are two villages of Circassians from Ardhaka, one on the right and the other on the left of the road. There are a total of 6000 souls. When Russia invaded their homeland, many of the Circassians moved to Turkey and they were lucky enough to settle here near the Tomb of Sultan Murat. They became comfortable here, after the Turkish power built them new houses...", wrote the Croatian Martin Gjurjevic (1845 - 1913) who was employed in the Ottoman Liaison Office in Pristina in the years 1869 - 1870

A slightly more complete view of Pristina, but also images from daily life in Pristina, after ten incomplete years of Johan Georg von Hahn's stay, the Croatian Martin Gjurgjevic (1845 - 1913) brought us closer, thanks to his knowledge of the German and Italian languages, but also of Sharia was employed in the Ottoman Liaison Office. Gjurgjevic also exercised this function in Pristina in the years 1869-1870.

"From Sarajevo to Pristina, I had to ride 60 hours, or 5-6 hours a day, so the journey took a full ten days. One could also travel with the mail rider, but he was paid a penny and a half an hour. The mail was carried by the Tatars, while the horses were changed at stations (menzilkhane) every 5-6 hours. I finally decided to travel by mail. In May 1869, I rented a horse to ride him and one to carry my belongings", wrote Gjurgjevic before taking the road to Pristina. He further explained that he had started with the mail carriers, which was a group of people and 25 horses.

"The leader of the road was a Tatar, four zapti - horsemen, 14 horse drivers and 15 horses carrying letters, money and other packages. The Tartar went before us like lightning, taking great strides, while the horse-drivers (surujis), most of them Romani, shouted like thirty and mercilessly beat the horses with their long whips, and the poor horses did not stop running for a moment. single moment. The next day we arrived in Nova Varosh, near the Serbian border. Nova Varoshi is a beautiful trading place and, among other things, I saw beautiful houses here. The next day I was at the kajmekam, who according to custom had to comfort my horses. Kajmekami was a young Albanian, whom earlier I had often met at the valiu in Sarajevo. Smoking a cigarette and sipping coffee, I saw something painful in the kajmekam. In my presence, the kaymekami chose a mess and I did not like the way of choosing at all. A barber had taken away a widow's young daughter who was only 8 years old! The widow had denounced the barber to the kajmekam and asked her daughter to return to her. So they all came together to kaymekami. The barber had dressed the little girl in a beautiful dress and covered her thin neck with ducats. The widow asked her daughter back, while the barber did not allow her. Finally, the kaymekami asked the little girl where she wanted to go: to her mother or the barber. The little girl said she wanted to go to the barber, so even the kaymekami judged that she would go where she expressed her desire! The widow began to cry and scream, while the kaymekam ordered the zaptis to drive the woman away. The zapts grabbed the desolate woman and dragged her up the stairs. I asked the kaymekam 'do you really say it has to be like this?' Kajmekami answered, 'But when the daughter does not want to go to her mother, I cannot force her to do so by force.' Then I asked the kaymekam again: 'Why did the zapti take the widow down the stairs like that?' He answered me: 'But when she doesn't leave willingly, then she has to be forced.' After these words, I took my horse and set off towards Sjenica, thinking all day about the unpleasant event that I myself witnessed".

Settlement of Circassians in Kosovo

Gjurgjevic had continued on his way, but without making any detailed description of the places until he reached Vushtrri. "Through Vushtrri I headed towards Pristina. Vushtrri is the same town as Mitrovica, but it is part of the Kosovo County. One hour near Pristina, there are two villages of Circassians from Ardhaka, one on the right and the other on the left of the road. There are a total of 6000 souls. When Russia invaded their homeland, many of the Circassians moved to Turkey and it was their lot to settle here near the Tomb of Sultan Murat. They were comfortable here, after the Turkish government built them new houses, then in each village they also built a mosque, but not only that, because finally the Turkish government also gave the Circassians a piece of land. Circassians preserved their customs, beautiful folk dress and language. They are Muslims, but of a different habit! Thus, until a long time ago, they were not circumcised, therefore the government itself forced them to practice circumcision. The local population hates the Circassians, because they are thieves, but also because they eat horse meat. Circassian women do not cover themselves and wear a kind of head covering similar to the cylindrical hats worn by European women. Both women and men have beautiful figures. Circassian houses are new and clean. I will come back to the Circassians later when I talk about the slave trade. After I arrived too late and could not visit the Mausoleum of Sultan Murat, I left the visit for another day. After ten days of arduous journey, two hours after sunset, under the glow of the moon, I left the shores of Pristina, always accompanied by the owner of the horses and a chaush zapti", he writes.

Prishtina of ten thousand inhabitants and tyrbetari from Bukhara

"In Pristina, the next day I presented myself to Themistoklis Armaras, a good Greek of Istanbul, and other gentlemen, clerks. Kajmekami, a happy mustajbeg, asked me what impression Prishtina had left on me at first sight. In front of everyone, I answered that I arrived here under the light of the moon and I could not see much, but the first impression the city of Pristina gave me was as if it were some kind of big necropolis, with a big mosque right in the middle. All the houses were surrounded by walls, not a single window can be seen anywhere, and everything is arranged according to custom so that the harems cannot be seen. I settled in the house of the Aramasi family. By the way, Armasi was a kind of doctor and had the rooms of the house full of medicines. He ate and drank well, everything inside was arranged with eastern furniture. In addition to the two sons, there was also the never-married father-in-law at home, who had already turned 96 years old. This old man used to read newspapers in Greek (efermeides) without glasses. He played his favorite game 'Piqet' with me and sometimes we went hunting together. We hunted sparrows, crows and laraskas. The old man could not stand up and when we stopped to rest he always sat down. One day we were surprised, when the wage earner, Kata a young Roma, complained that the old master had kissed her with a cuckoo! While we would say that there is nothing in this world without novels! Prishtina has 10 inhabitants. The streets of Pristina are wide, but they are full of mud. The cobblestones or sidewalks are only 45 centimeters wide, so only one person could walk on them, and if two people met, one would have to lean against the wall or step on the mud. Prishtina has about 6000 Muslims, 1000 Eastern Orthodox, 1500 Muslim Roma and 1500 Christian Roma. The majority of Muslim Roma are musicians and dancers. There are no Catholic residents except ten merchants who have come here. In Pristina, various goods are collected in large quantities from almost all parts of the Balkan Peninsula. When I got comfortable, I started going out hunting regularly. I took the first walk towards the Tomb of Sultan Murat in Fushë ko Kosova. In the company I had two clerks, two Turks. Osman Efendia, a powerful eighty-year-old Mongol originally from Bukhara, looked after the tomb. He had a waist-length mustache. This dervish was humane and this was proved by the hearty reception he gave us in his harem where he prepared a good lunch for us. We were also all in Turkish uniforms, that's why the judge asked us who among us was Muslim and who was Christian. I told him I was a Christian. Then he opened two cabinets, in one there was wine and brandy, while in the other sweets, coffee, sugar and sherbet, so he pointed to me from the cabinet that had brandy and wine, while he pointed to the Turks from the other one. I couldn't resist asking him 'how was it allowed to have alcoholic beverages in a holy place?' He told me that about 10.000 Muslims, but also Christians, who have died here, are kept in the Field of Kosovo, then this place is visited by both religions, that is, each has its own dead, so regardless of beliefs, he must feast all visitors. This hospitality cost each of us a white majid (4 crowns).  The tyrbetari had his apartment outside the walls surrounding the courtyard of the tyrbe. The tomb is located in the middle of the courtyard, while in the courtyard a large round stone with inscriptions is 'planted', so in fact it was the tombstone. One of the Pashalars who was killed in Kosovo together with Sultan Murat is buried here. The tower is raised like a glass, without domes and minarets, it is covered with lead and it is very wide. Inside it is covered with expensive carpets, while in the middle is the tomb of Sultan Murat. On top of the grave is placed the large turban of the sultan, while the grave itself is covered with green cloth and red silk bajrak, which is decorated with golden letters. All around the walls there are signs written with these inscriptions of the holy prophets: 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, La ilaha ilallah\ which means Allah is one, there is no God but Allah. After them come the names of the holy prophets; Muhammad, Ali, Omar, Ibrahim, Abu Bakr, Abu Talib etc. When we were full and well drunk, the dervish Osman Efendia, in our prayer got up on the porch (divanhane) and according to the stories he had heard, he began to explain: 'Look at this field, how long and wide it is. A battle has been fought in this area. See those two lonely oaks in the middle of the field, by the river of Sitnica. Those oaks are more than 500 years old. Sultan Murat's tent and kitchen were placed under those oaks. The Turks and the Serbs fought all day and the Turks were the first to flee the battlefield, because they were badly defeated. Sultan Murat himself was killed in some treachery, so the Serbs flocked to the tent and kitchen in order to loot the dishes and other expensive equipment. There was plenty of furniture, everything was made of copper, silver and gold, but in the Sultan's tent there were also plenty of precious stones. But, looting the sultan's treasury, the Serbs were badly beaten and started killing each other, while the Turks had not gone that far and when they saw what the Serbs were doing among themselves they returned, killed them all and took it again the treasure. "At the same time, the rest of the Turkish army returned to the battle and cut the Serbian army to pieces," Đurđević reported, but nevertheless, he remained convinced that the tombstone's story was just a fabrication!

To be continued in the next issue of the Culture Supplement

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