Kosovo

Kosovo, self‐declared independent country in the Balkans region of Europe. Although the United States and most members of the European Union (EU) recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia, Russia, and a significant number of other countries‐including several EU members‐did not.
Given this lack of international consensus, Kosovo was not immediately admitted to the United Nations (UN).
In the early 20th century Kosovo was incorporated into Serbia (later part of Yugoslavia). By the second half of the century, the largely Muslim ethnic Albanians outnumbered the predominantly Eastern Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo, and interethnic tensions frequently roiled the province.… More

Prizren

Historically, Prizren has been a meeting place of cultures and one of religious tolerance, which has sadly been tested in recent times by the Kosovo War. Nestled in a valley between the Sharr Mountains on one side and the ruins of a hilltop citadel on the other,Prizren is beautifully situated. Flowing through the heart of the city is the Lumbardhi (Bistrica) River, its fast-flowing waters skimming over a riverbed of boulders and under the many bridges that criss-cross the city.

From the citadel, the old town spills off the hillside to the cobbled Schadervan Square below, flanked by the iconic Sinan Pasha Mosque and the humpbacked Stone Bridge. With a heady mix of Ottoman and Byzantine architecture, the city deserves its alternative name: ‘The Museum under the Open Sky’…. More