Prizren is bigger than Pristina in 1916

Many houses are distinguished by large gardens, with wide verandas (porches) wrapped in grape vines and facing south. From the yards of these houses, you can usually hear the loud noise of children playing in them. There are many mosques in Prizren, but in 23 of them the call to prayer is not called! The long poplars give the city of Prizren a special picturesque view... The city of Prizren is bigger than Prishtina... It is surprising that the city of Prizren itself has more female residents than men!", he wrote Bulgarian professor Anastas Ishirkov in the report, which also includes directions to Tetova, Gostivar and Dibra

During the visit to Prizren, in addition to the descriptions of the city, Professor Anastas Ishirkov also provided information about the situation in the Albanian lands that at that time (in 1916) reigned between the allies, that is, Austria and Bulgaria, which actually administered them.

"The buildings in Prizren have been damaged a lot, because the soldiers, especially the Austrians, used the wooden building material for heating last winter! When Prizren is seen from the Castle, then there is a particularly beautiful view of the river that runs through the city and along it several bridges are erected that connect the separate parts of the city. Several wide roads connected to the roads leading to the city are both the main arteries of the city, but there are also many narrow, crooked and often dead-end streets that both complete the road network and characterize the oriental-type city, such as Prizren. The houses of this town are covered with tiles, which have turned a dark brown color over time. Many houses are distinguished by large gardens, with wide verandas (porches) wrapped in grape vines and facing south. From the yards of these houses, you can usually hear the loud noise of children playing in them. There are many mosques in Prizren, but in 23 of them the call to prayer is not called! The long poplars give the city of Prizren a special picturesque view... The city of Prizren is bigger than Prishtina... It is surprising that the city of Prizren itself has more female residents than men!" 

The temporary Austro-Bulgarian border divides Vranishta in half  

As in the above writings of other authors, as well as in the research of Professor Anastas Ishirkov, there is a tendency to seek justification for the Bulgarian occupation of Kosovo during the First World War. In the case of the city of Prizren and especially its surroundings, the Bulgarian authors seek "salvation" especially from the Gorani minority, but also, as this author calls them, the Pomaks. Ishrikov further added that "given the current situation of the Prizren District, we can say that it is very difficult for the city of Prizren to maintain the important commercial position it has always had. Now the temporary Austro-Bulgarian border from the District of Prizren separates the district of Vranishte, while for us this district is very important, not only because Prizren is a natural commercial center, but in the district of Vranshte and Gora the population is Pomak (the Pomaks are Islamized population living in the Rhodope mountains in the south of Bulgaria and in the areas of northern Greece – SL). The Pomaks of Gora speak Bulgarian at home, and since the men go to the Kurbes mainly in Bulgaria working as plasterers, they also speak another dialect of Bulgarian - the eastern dialect", concluded Ishirkov, leaving for the next station, to Tetovo. .

Albanian Orthodox women from Reka in the market of Gostivar

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"In Tetovo, or Kalkandelen, the Bulgarians live in the high mountains, while the Muslims live in the plains. In the Muslim villages there are large mansions of the pashalars, in particular the mansion of Haki Pasha is impressive. While above Tetovo, in Ball Tepe, rises a castle, similar to that of Prizren in terms of position, form and purpose, built a hundred years ago by the feudal lord Abdurrahman Pasha", he wrote, adding that "the city of Tetovo has about 3 Muslim houses, 000 Bulgarian exakists and 1250 Serbian patriarchists". 

Ishirkov's attitude in the market of Gostivar is impressive, but unfortunately he did not write more about the Albanians of the Orthodox faith that he met in the market of this city.  

"Gostivar occupies the central position between Tetova, Kirčova and Dibra and there is a large bazaar, especially for food, grains, colonial goods and labor products. The city is entirely Muslim Albanian-Turkish. Earlier, there were only 30 Bulgarian houses in Gostivar, but the insecure life in some Albanian areas has encouraged the migration of the population, and now there are 70 Bulgarian families in Gostivar, who have gathered almost in a single neighborhood. In Gostivar, we were on the day when the anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising was being celebrated in Macedonia. In the small Bulgarian church "St. Dhimitri" located outside the city built in 1847, we had the chance to see the most different women's costumes. Even here we met Orthodox Albanian women from Reka! On August 3, we went down the road by the river of Mavrova, a branch of Radika. On the right we saw the ruins of the Albanian village of Tarnicë, destroyed by the Serbs. Otherwise, the valley of Radika is narrow and normal living conditions cannot develop there, which is why this valley is deserted. In the Radika Valley here and there there were small villages that were located on the surrounding slopes. The houses facing the valley are solidly built, often three-story and one-story, leaning against the slopes of the valley. Most of the villages lie higher up on a wider terrace formed by the landslide. The population of these villages is Albanian, Pomak and Bulgarian. While the inhabitants of these villages secure their livelihood by working in the fields". 

Dibra mosque turned into a church

Prof. Anastas Ishirkov completed his research in the city of Dibra and, among other things, he wrote: "The city of Dibra is located on the banks of Mount Kirçin and this city lies in the form of an amphitheater, while a part of Dibra lies in the plain. In 1915, under the pretext that the Turks had once done the same thing, the Serbs in Dibër turned one of the local mosques into a church, naming it the 'Church of Saint Friday!'"  

"In Dibër there are many rich owners of manors. The population of Dibra is mainly Albanian-Muslim, followed by Turks and Gypsies. According to the statistics I received from the district mayor, Dibra now has 8001 inhabitants, of which 2 are Albanians, 688 Turks, 2 Bulgarians, and 820 Gypsies. Even in Dibër, as everywhere in Western and Northern Macedonia, many Albanians call themselves Turks, although they do not know a single Turkish word! While the border of Albania, now of the territories occupied by Austria, goes very close to Dibra, namely 1 kilometers northwest of the city. This border is particularly unnatural in the Black Drin valley north of Dibra". 

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His report related to the visits to the Albanian countries completed with a part of the above notes, prof. Anastas Ishirkov delivered it to Sofia on November 14, 1916.

To be continued in the next issue of the Culture Supplement. For the famine in the Albanian lands in the years 1915-1918 and for the Albanians and their nationalism