GREAT SHARIA

This neighborhood (Çarshia e Madhe, Velika Čaršija) is the historic heart of Gjakova/Đakovica. It is the largest Ottoman charchia in Kosovo (3.5 ha), both a commercial and Muslim religious district that was built around the Hadum mosque beginning in 1595. Damaged by the Montenegrins in 1912 during the First Balkan War and completely destroyed by Serbian forces (Yugoslav army and paramilitary) in 1999, the sharia was gradually rebuilt in the 2000s. It is within the framework of a vakuf (religious foundation) that Hadum Soliman Aga Bizeban launched the construction of the sharia at the end of the 16th century, almost at the same time as his mosque: the rents collected by the 595 businesses were used to finance the salaries of the imams and the charitable works. This sharia allowed the city to become a major commercial stage between Constantinople and Shkodra. It was also the main vehicle for the propagation of Islam in the region.

Visit

The sharia stretches for 1 km in length from north to south along a straight axis that changes its name three times: Ismail Qemali Street in the north, Sylejman Hadum Aga Street in the center, and Izet Hima Street that leads to Agron Rama Square, the traffic circle marking the southern entrance to the city.

Monument of the League of Prizren (Lapidari i Lidhjes së Prizrenit, Spomenika Prizrenske Lige). This stone column supported by three arches marks the northern entrance to the charchia, at the intersection of Ismail Qemali and Remzi Pula streets. It was erected in 1978 on the 100th anniversary of the first action of the League of Prizren, which took place here on 3-6 September 1878. The insurgents succeeded in preventing the Ottoman general Mehmed Ali Pasha from handing over the Albanian territories to Montenegro as agreed upon at the Berlin Congress (July 13, 1878).

Hotel Çarshia e Jupave. Located at the beginning of Ismail Qemali Street, this 19th century tchardak has been rebuilt and transformed into a hotel with a restaurant and conference center. On the first floor, a gallery houses stores selling souvenirs and traditional products. You can walk through it to reach the Krena.

Kula Hosni-Koshi (Kulla e Hysni Koshit, Kula Husni Košija). Located in front of the hotel Çarshia e Jupave, this three-story fortified house dates from 1870 and belonged to one of the great Albanian families of the city, the Batusha (it is more often called kulla e Batushë by the inhabitants). Rebuilt after the last war, it now houses a restaurant.

Shops. Ismail Qemali Street then continues southwards under the name of Sylejman Hadum Aga. It is lined with dozens of shops rebuilt "identically" with their green shutters. They are only an evocation of what could have been the sharia before the destruction caused in 1912 and 1999. However, there are still some craftsmen working with leather (Fehmi Vejsa) or silk (Remzi and Ruzhdi Hasimja). Carpenters are grouped together near the caravanserai of Haraqija (see below).

Hadum Mosque. Located further down Sylejman Hadum Aga Street, it is still the nerve center of sharia. After the mosque, it is more interesting to take the second street on the left, Bajram Daklani Street.

Tekké des bektashis (Teqja e Bektashinjëve, Bektašijska tekija). On the corner of Bajram-Daklani and Qazim-Bakalli streets. Built in 1790 and rebuilt in 2006, this Sufi place of worship belongs to the Bektashi brotherhood, which is not very present in Kosovo, but whose international headquarters are in Tirana (Albania). With its large green porch, this Ottoman-inspired complex houses the tombs of seven of the nine babas (senior dervishes, called dede in Albanian) who have led the tekké since the 18th century. Then turn left to go north on Qazim Bakalli Street.

Caravanserai of Haraqija (Hani i Haraqisë, Han Haračije). On the corner of Qazim Bakalli Street and Martiret e Lagjes Hadum Street (which leads back to the mosque), the restaurants Hani i Haraqisë and Hani të Vjetër are located today. They are located in the caravanserai of Haraqija, whose origins date back to the 16th century. The carved wooden balconies and roofs overhang the courtyard where merchants came to store their goods safely and rest their mounts for the night. The entire complex was destroyed in 1999 and rebuilt in 2005. Continue north on Qazim Bakalli Street, then turn left onto Vëllezërit Frashëri Street. The latter splits in two a few meters further: straight ahead it returns to the central street of the charchia; on the right it leads to the clock tower.

Clock Tower (Kulla e Sahatit, Sahat-kula). Particularly high (30 m), it was erected shortly after the Hadum mosque, in 1597, to indicate the time of the five daily prayers to the Muslim inhabitants. Its complex mechanism (the hours of prayer change every day) was swept away by the Montenegrins in 1912 and the tower was destroyed in 1999. The building was rebuilt in 2005 "identically" ... but in concrete. On the western facade, you can still see an engraved stone from the original tower, on which the crescent and the Star of David appear side by side. From there, you can leave the sharia to reach, for example, the Grand tekké, 100 m to the west, by the Sefedin Xerxa street which makes the angle at the foot of the clock tower.