I tell you, Eastern Europe is my favorite, Balkans same. I spent 3 years in Baltics and i can't wait to go back. After my retirement here in U.S, i will live this part of the world with very simple life. It takes me back to good old days.Great video as always.
It's interesting that lots of Americans fall in love with Eastern Europe quicker compared to the West. Could be that this part of Europe is more 'pure' and welcoming to Americans, especially the Albanian parts. Can't say the same for the Serbs that still hate NATO and the US as they're constantly brainwashed by their politicians. Anyway, curious to know what do you do for a living in the US, if you don't mind sharing?
@@celphtitled904 Sure, no problem. Software engineer. Western Europe very much same as U.S. i like old and small buildings not skyscrapers. Eastern Europe looks like still 1950-60's.
Its great to see that church dedicated to Mother Teresa. She was a Catholic nun also a saint, she committed herself to work for the poor, hungry and sick people in entire life. Mother Teresa was an Albanian, born in Skopje. She gained Indian citizenship and stayed most of her life in my home city of Calcutta (now Kolkata). She taught here in various schools, then became a head mistress and also she worked in a missionary for needy human beings. Later, she had a foundation on various charitable organizations to serve for the people, specially children suffering form poverty and health issues, she travelled many parts of the world to work on humanitarian crisis, then she stayed in India untill death.
Perfect lighting made this incredibly sharp video achievable! All the visual elements worked great in leading the viewers’ focus to the subject.The foreground added the perfect depth to this upload. The intense colors are tastefully used to create a compelling video. Amazing effort guys....thanks for shaing!!!!🥰🤩❤💯👍
When I went to the beautiful city of Pristina in 2001 we was posted on the Serbian church and many others churches in Kosovo to understand to people of Kosovo and it’s diversity wonderful people ❤️
I could be wrong but I think the difference between the flags of Belgium and Germany, is that the stripes on the German flag are horizontal and Belgium is vertical.
Yet it was the German flag. You arent entirely wrong, but Kosovo is strongly connected to Germany because of the war first, and the sheer amount of people Kosovo/Albanians who live in Germany.
I was there around 2011 and loved it. Pristina seems very busy still. The main things that stood out to me was the sheer quantity of Pharmacies everywhere in the city 😅. Not sure if it's still the same. And the city was very young, which still looks like the case. Full of young people. Also easily one of the friendliest countries I've visited. People in Prizren and Pristhina were really easygoing and friendly. Will you be going on to Mitrovica or Peja or any other towns? I must go back for a visit soon and definitely want to see outside Pristina more. Great videos. Accommodation still not TOO cheap by looks of it. But maybe it's down to international organizations driving prices up? KFOR now gone from streets of Pristina? They were a regular sight years ago.
Wow, interesting. That library was interesting. I've never seen anything quite like it. 1944 is before the area was communist. It was church-like and pretty on the inside. It's so interesting to learn about this part of the Balkans. Thank you for the great video.
All the monuments, monasteries, masterpieces in so called Kosovo are Serbian cultural heritage... Albanians dont have a single brick in Kosovo. Its shame what some countries can do to others only by force and power like UK and USA, influencing all anglo saxon world and their puppet satelite countries around the world. But more than 6 billion people of the planet Earth do NOT recognize their project and experiment Kosovo or more than 90 % of the global population, so Kosovo will never become a country and never get into UN or UNESCO. Long live Serbia and Serbian cultural heritage important for the whole wold, in Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, mount Atos in Greece, also in Palestine and Israel. Serbia built for centuries while albanians as ottoman tribe called Arnauts have nothing, not only in Kosovo but in all areas they populated in the Balkan
I realize that my one day trip there was not enough. It was the end of a 3 month trip in eastern Europe so I was a bit tired of travelling, which rarely affects me. 🙂Albania and Kosovo is an area I will go back to soon again. Newborn and Clinton statue was something I checked out. And the city center sights. Great video as usual Gabriel. And the market in end was nice. I remember it like yesterday.
That library could be an incredible building if they used the metal latticework to grow ivy and plants all over the building! Would be like a living structure!
I live in Kosovo . my birthplace is Prishtina, kosovo has many beautiful places in all cities (lakes, castles, waterfalls, mountains, etc.) other countries of the world can recognize the people of kosovo for hospitality, traditional food, we are people of faith and peace we have witnessed this because we come from a past that our country has been invaded by serbia. Thank you for coming and visiting us and telling us about the natural beauty of the Albanian people and culture. 🇦🇱🇽🇰
Wow she was beautiful, your friend at the front desk. Too bad they did not let her visit. Canada does that to me. Had to do the "Walk of Shame" (where you walk back across Rainy River to "The Falls", MN. Did not turn out too bad though. Went over to Rabeir, MM..nice summer beaches & lake. Interesting folks.) in front of my young nephews
Kosovo is only statistically a Muslim majority - people are declared Muslim in official population 'registration' processes but in fact very very few Kosovars actually practice the religion. You can prove that during the month of Ramadan where the bars/coffee shops during the day and clubs during the night are still full. People here put ethnicity/nationality first and religion second.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos Exactly. Historically Kosovar-Albanians were Orthodox Christians under the Byzantine Empire. Then most forcefully converted to Sunni Islam under the Ottoman Empire. Albania (including Kosovo) were ruled for around 500 years from the Ottoman Empire, that is why most of our tradition is oriental in nature like eating/drinking certain foods with Turkish origin, wearing certain clothing etc. We were then ruled for around 100 years from Serbia, so in essence, we were almost always 'occupied' and fighting for freedom. Sad history there but it was what it was. However, Albanians in general always tried very hard, will all their might, to protect and continue the pure Albanian traditions. There were attempts from Saudi Arabia and certain Wahabi sects to influence the peaceful and tolerant Islam religion in Kosovo (which still goes on to this day), through funding, free language courses, free tech stuff like PC's etc. which made people easily allured after the massive economic destruction during the war. But we survived those attempts and although it was tough, today Islam practitioners are still peaceful here and not engaged in terrorist behavior. Some earlier plans and attempts were caught early on by our Intelligence, but it's all good otherwise.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos In fact although the Ottoman Empire was largely on the Sunni Islam side, the Bektashi Order (Shia Islam) was predominant in the Balkans area where the Ottoman Empire ruled. So Kosovar-Albanians were in fact originally Shia Muslim (Bektashi) and then slowly turned to the more Arabic and Middle Eastern side of Sunni through different influences. It's all good as long as terrorism isn't at play, but I personally find the Bektashi's to be more suitable for Islam practicing in Kosovo because they are generally more open-minded, more patriotic (nationality first) and have contributed more in the freedom-fighting during the war. Bektashi's are mainly based in the Dukagjini region (Gjakova, Peja, Decan etc.) Arab/middle eastern influence doesn't sit well here in general and that is probably why Islam is practiced very little. It's too primitive for the modern society and with the globalization and modern trends that our youth follows, it will die out in some generations.
The Bazar which you were looking for is like 3 min walk from your Hotel, it was around that Mosque you visited in the first video, that turkish styled area which is also prishtinas old-town
Hi Gabriel, Outstanding day of walking and checking out sites in and around Pristina the library was an interesting structure it had a geodome structure which I have seen in Florida and was popular back in the 60s if I'm not mistaken for its energy efficiency I'm surprised it isn't used today with all this talk of green energy. I'm very surprised that the Bill Clinton statue has no Graffiti on it he seems revered there in Kosovo. A time to pick up a jacket or sweater or even boots winter is coming to an end good prices I bet.
Great observation about the lack of graffiti there. True, the respect and admiration is immense because pure Albanians and Kosovar-Albanians in this case are very respectful and acknowledgeable towards those that have been good to us, historically.
hi Gabriel thanks for the amazing video. I am currently based in Portugal. As far as you are concerned, what are the cheapest routes to reach Pristina by plane ?
An explanation about the “ugliness” of Prishtina National Liabrary (discussed from 09:38): The reason why that building is coated on the outside with that metal grid is bcs the architects wanted symbolically to portray the repression posed by south slavs against the Albanians living in former yugoslavia, hence the National Library, a symbol of literacy and knowledge (and also symbol of freedom) is encaged (in a cage)…hence the metal grin on the building… the white domes represent the traditional scull caps - Plis.
@@Jasamaleksandar69 “serbia ” is not a place anywhere in the world, OH WAIT! Your referring to a state is in the region of Illyria that was Illyrian Albanian land before Russian immigrants came in? Ohh yeah. That’s called Illyria. “serbia” is not a place although, unless you go back to russia and form some fake country there, maybe they let you have some land 😂😂
You have got ur facts wrong about Skenderbeg ( Albanian national hero ) - he did defeat the ottomans. In fact, he didn’t allow ottomans to get into Europe so he should be considered a European hero not only Albanians. Ottomans occupied only after his death….
Oh my goodnes! I loves this astmosphere,when my can ear can hearing many people talking in their native language without influance of English (we usually call it as Bahasa Gado-Gado or Rojak)😁
Great video Gabriel. I would like to ask you about monetizing RUclips videos/ earnings if possible, because it's hard to find exact answer online. But from which point do you start making money?, and is it paid monthly or in a once only payment, and do you need to sign up as a business, or specifically ensure other sign ups ? Any advice welcome. Thank you Gabriel. Ps I already watched your video about it but don't remember if you explained about the question I pose. Much appreciated.
I went to Italy, hmm depends where you go. We never even walked Roma. Mostly hung out in South in Calabria. Saw some old castles churches and monastery. Among other things like fig farm and olive fields. It's very cool. But Yes, Eastern Europe is very cool. Pristina looks like a lively city!
But this is one of Balkan countries. Not Eastern Europe. There are Balkan countries which is in Southeast Europe, And Eastern European countries. Please refer to the map. And also you can read from this Wikipedia about Balkans. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans. Happy visiting Guys. I encouraged you to come to see Balkans. They are really gems.
Hi i born in Prishtina ,left Prishtina "97 moved to London since then . Thanks for sharing this video, Kosova need more tourists, so the spend some money haha just like you ;)
The problem with Kosovo in general is the education system, poverty, and negativity of Albanians. But of course, that is mainly because we were occupied for 600 years more or less and the old generation's mindset is really affecting the young, but anyway, Kosovo itself is a really nice country with some great places and people. Also, I want to tell all the people who are from different races, maybe you will get some look's from people but that is because we have so few foreigners here and I can assure you that we are not racist at all. I would recommend visiting Kosovo to everyone especially during the summer when the Albanian diaspora comes for vacation, I honestly don't know why but everything is better during the summer here.
Kosovo is an independent state and will always be. Thanks for this wonderful video of my most beautiful state. Together with our friends we are moving forward towards success. God bless this wonderful place. ❤️ thank you
The fact that everyone from Kosovo has to keep repeating it is independent, makes me feel like it’s not fully independent. Even more than 20 years after the war still not an UN member. Sad ….
Gabriel there was no Albania in the 15th century. It was known as Illyria and the people were known as Illyrians. The term Albania was officially used as the country’s name and people in the late late 18th century. Albania before then referred to a group/tribe of people characterised as Christians and enemies of the Turks. The term Albania and Albanians was officially incorporated by the Ottomans because it primarily reminded them of their homeland back in Caucasian Albania. While the Albanian population is made of some Illyrians, the majority of the population are remnants of the Ottoman Empire; for the Ottomans this was their western front and as such they purposely altered the local population by replacing them with Ottoman soldiers strengthening this front in case of invasion by the neighbouring Christian states.
Nice bullshit story... and this coming from a greek with probably 70% middle eastern dna, mate why this hate? Because your heroes were albanian? (Arvanites, Souliotes... should I countinue?)... so drop the hate mr anatolian immigrant. We have been here since anicent times, "some illyrian" nah mate we are the direct descendants of the illyrians. And you know this but you are full of hate for some reason obviously.
@@maskinisten019 Those whom you refer to are Illyrians. They were Christians that were hunted by the Turks forcing them to flee their country. You claim what I write is a lie; no it is not. When was the term Albania used to describe a nation and people? Late 1790s. All those squares honouring George Kastrioti Skanderbeg was because he fought Christians or Ottomans? Ottomans. What you also forget to mention is that during classical antiquity, ‘Albania’ was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast. So the question ultimately is, were those Greek heroes Greek or Illyrian? There is no propaganda here my dear friend. The proof is in the population demographics: Muslims. The proof is in the population genetics: while many Mediterranean populations have up to 30% the Thalassemia gene, like the Turks who are originally from Central Asia have at most 5% of this gene in their gene pool. Albanians, like the Turks have the exact same genetic profile when it comes to this gene. But if that were not enough, in Albania and Kosovo, Turkish flags are a regular scene and when Turkish Prime Minister visits and refers to you guys as Turks, I do not see anyone upset; on the contrary everyone claps. What hate? You clearly are very hateful towards Greeks despite Greece opening up its borders and helping to feed your people and rebuild your nation after 1912, Nazism (ally of Nazi Germany) and later communism.
@@kostasg7109 Mate you are writing a mish mash of stuff, its really hard to reply to all that rubbish but I wish you goodluck and hopefully you will wake up someday and drop all that hate and realise facts.
A lot of strays, or kind of semi-stray loose dogs that are maybe consistently fed by certain people but are not fully fledged pets of theirs, and wander the streets. It's the same in several places in south eastern Europe.
you who do not know about the republic of kosovo then you can know that this country is recognized by 117 states including the strongest richest countries in the world for example america, germany, england, france, israel and more,and more
Hey Gabriel,we love to watch you exploring different part of the world as each and every place is unique and beautiful,however would love to see ur Indian 🇮🇳 vlogs as it’s one of your favourite place too ,and is Finally open for tourists,meanwhile stay safe and keep enjoying ur journey 🙏
@@tombuddy100 The tribe of Albanoi was one example as thats where the name Albania comes from. We still descend from the other tribes ofcourse. For this vlogg its more relevant to maybe use the illyrian tribe of Dardania, because it lies prettt much on modern day "Kosovo" aka Dardania. What amazes me is how some people try to claim a place where they were people living there waaaay back. I mean the Dardanian Kingdom 400 bc.. the slavs invaded in the late 7th century.
@@maskinisten019 Maybe so, but Albanoi was just one of the tribes in the land that is Albania today. Why do you appropriate other Illyrians? Are Dalmatae, Liburni, Daorsi, and other Illyrians Albanians too?
@@tombuddy100Well im not, some tribes acutally got mixed or forced to assimilate to other people, those who refused went further south, its really a long topic but in many cases they were pushed down south or assimilated to the invading people.
@@ashlily3372 Why? It is beautiful indeed. Sure, the urban places like Prishtina are not that good to be honest, but Kosovo's nature is spectacular. I don't know if you were being ironic here and live in Kosovo, but you're totally wrong.
Hvala! I Hrvatska je lijepa, ali Kosova je jos i ljepsa, a narocito ljudi. Nazalost nezivim vise tamo, ali mi je drago vidjeti Prishtine poslije toliko godina. LP
The National Library looks like a prison but still kinda interesting. I wouldn't say it's the ugliest building in the world. It does remind me of Brutalist architecture which many say is the ugliest style of architecture.
This Orthodox Serbian Church in Prishtina its an ILLEGAL building in the Area of the Library Park . So it belongs to the library. They start tu build them before the War starts. Maybe it will be removed soon ....
Any statues of Tony Blair? He's the one that actually convinced Bill Clinton to get into the act in the Balkan wars. In fact, during my travel in that area in 2008, I was told by some in the area that the US was a bit late into the fray as they say.
No statues as of yet but Tony Blair is considered a hero among Kosovars. There are literally people named Tonibler (a tweak in the name to make it sound Albanian).
I have been following you for so long now. I know your one of if not the first. Lol. Gabe. That was funny bro. "I gave 5 bucks away already.". Okay. They walked away. .
Skanderbeg was successful, the ottomans re-occupied the area only after the death of his successor Lekë Dukagjini, so basically we had independence for a short period of time, also he slowed down the spread of the Ottomans and was declared by the Pope as Atleta Cristi, the protector of Christianity from Muslim invaders, originally Albanians were already Christian in the first century AD (source: Illyricum Sacrum) way before slavic invasions, and most of them converted to Islam in the 15th century, for example my family converted around 1640-50s, and most of the Churches were converted from Catholic Albanian to Serbian Orthodox
@@and11199 umm maybe cuz of the 5 decade religion ban in albania now i think no one cares who is which , and albanians had good relations with ottomans thats why they turned muslim almost everyone
You don't know what you're talking about June. Kosovo is about as pro-US as it gets, and most Europeans neither talk disrespectfully about the US nor do they need to beg for dollars.
I tell you, Eastern Europe is my favorite, Balkans same. I spent 3 years in Baltics and i can't wait to go back. After my retirement here in U.S, i will live this part of the world with very simple life. It takes me back to good old days.Great video as always.
It's interesting that lots of Americans fall in love with Eastern Europe quicker compared to the West. Could be that this part of Europe is more 'pure' and welcoming to Americans, especially the Albanian parts. Can't say the same for the Serbs that still hate NATO and the US as they're constantly brainwashed by their politicians.
Anyway, curious to know what do you do for a living in the US, if you don't mind sharing?
@@celphtitled904 Sure, no problem. Software engineer. Western Europe very much same as U.S. i like old and small buildings not skyscrapers. Eastern Europe looks like still 1950-60's.
@@alp196 software eng here. born in kosovo. leaving abroad. same retierment plans. amazing 😀
@@TankaNafakaYou are in Sebian lend☦️🇷🇸☝️🏴☠️
Thanks for this discovery of Pristina, very interesting with all your explanations 😀 ! Nice day, Greetings from France
I’m Kosovar and I LOVE watching people explore my home country!
Im from serbia to ❤️😀
@@Jasamaleksandar69 what is Serbia?
@@Jasamaleksandar69 real flag of serbia 🧻
@@Jasamaleksandar69 serbia is Albania 🇦🇱
@@albaniacreative8688 oops read that wrong i was so confused haha sorry
Its great to see that church dedicated to Mother Teresa. She was a Catholic nun also a saint, she committed herself to work for the poor, hungry and sick people in entire life. Mother Teresa was an Albanian, born in Skopje. She gained Indian citizenship and stayed most of her life in my home city of Calcutta (now Kolkata). She taught here in various schools, then became a head mistress and also she worked in a missionary for needy human beings. Later, she had a foundation on various charitable organizations to serve for the people, specially children suffering form poverty and health issues, she travelled many parts of the world to work on humanitarian crisis, then she stayed in India untill death.
Kolkata is a city I haven't been to yet, but really want to see.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos great, you are wholeheartedly welcome.
Agree with your philosophy to give people a handout when you can and just hope it helps someone out of whatever jam they are in. Spread kindness.
Second that thought. $1 may be nothing for me but a meal for someone else.
Thank you Gabriel 😊 alot of history! The library was interesting architecture! Stay safe ❤
I really enjoyed your video. ⭐️
Thanks for Sharing! 👍🏼 💕
Greetings from Albania. 🇦🇱
Perfect lighting made this incredibly sharp video achievable!
All the visual elements worked great in leading the viewers’ focus to the subject.The foreground added the perfect depth to this upload.
The intense colors are tastefully used to create a compelling video.
Amazing effort guys....thanks for shaing!!!!🥰🤩❤💯👍
When I went to the beautiful city of Pristina in 2001 we was posted on the Serbian church and many others churches in Kosovo to understand to people of Kosovo and it’s diversity wonderful people ❤️
In Kosovo not only Albanian muslims,but also are Albanian Catolics.
yeah 29% of Kosovo is catholic ✝
@@Master-12s yesss
My mother Albanian catholic..
The library was the most interesting building for us, we've never seen a building like that before!? 🤯
@@Stephen-ob3ij um, no. it’s a part of our culture and it’s a nice place on the inside!
@@Stephen-ob3ij so should you and the fake ethnicity of “serbs” which are legit Russian immigrants 🤣
I was in Kosovo in 1999 as a US soldier. It was a bit different then. Glad to see they are living the good life.
Kosovo is Serbia!
@@diledelijapssst no nonsense allowed here! 🤫
Thank you for your service soldier thanks for saving our country love from Kaçanik
See you on the batlefield soon
Thank you for your service God bless you✊
wow that library is a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover.
It’s soo cool! All the places look like they are abandoned, but then he walks in
I could be wrong but I think the difference between the flags of Belgium and Germany, is that the stripes on the German flag are horizontal and Belgium is vertical.
Yes, I realized that later. Also the yellow and red stripes are reversed.
It would only take you a couple seconds to google and check if you thought you could be wrong.
Yet it was the German flag. You arent entirely wrong, but Kosovo is strongly connected to Germany because of the war first, and the sheer amount of people Kosovo/Albanians who live in Germany.
@@dioritbajrami8283Када поново ослободимо Призрен доћи ћу са породицом да живим тамо леп је то град Српски 🏴☠️🇷🇸🇷🇺☝️☦️
OMG THATS WHERE I LIVE IM SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY VISIT IT STILL
I was there around 2011 and loved it. Pristina seems very busy still. The main things that stood out to me was the sheer quantity of Pharmacies everywhere in the city 😅. Not sure if it's still the same. And the city was very young, which still looks like the case. Full of young people. Also easily one of the friendliest countries I've visited. People in Prizren and Pristhina were really easygoing and friendly. Will you be going on to Mitrovica or Peja or any other towns? I must go back for a visit soon and definitely want to see outside Pristina more. Great videos. Accommodation still not TOO cheap by looks of it. But maybe it's down to international organizations driving prices up? KFOR now gone from streets of Pristina? They were a regular sight years ago.
Next video will be in Peja and the Accursed Mountains.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos I thought the town was called Pec, with letter "c" pronounced as soft "ch".
@@tombuddy100 "Pec" is the serbo-croatian term for the city.
The native local one is *Peja* .
@@albinh.3149 You mean just like native name for "Shkodra" is "Skadar"?
@@tombuddy100 No.
The Native name for Shkodra is Shkodra (indef. Shkoder).
Bruhh...
Pristina was certainly an interesting city for us too but unfortunately we visited during a spontaneous snow storm and it was freezing 🥶
me too.
Another great travel vlog thanks Gabe
Wow, interesting. That library was interesting. I've never seen anything quite like it. 1944 is before the area was communist. It was church-like and pretty on the inside. It's so interesting to learn about this part of the Balkans. Thank you for the great video.
Bulidng Its build during socilasm (or in west call communism ) ..most off buidilng have large hall and mosaiks on walls
All the monuments, monasteries, masterpieces in so called Kosovo are Serbian cultural heritage... Albanians dont have a single brick in Kosovo. Its shame what some countries can do to others only by force and power like UK and USA, influencing all anglo saxon world and their puppet satelite countries around the world. But more than 6 billion people of the planet Earth do NOT recognize their project and experiment Kosovo or more than 90 % of the global population, so Kosovo will never become a country and never get into UN or UNESCO. Long live Serbia and Serbian cultural heritage important for the whole wold, in Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, mount Atos in Greece, also in Palestine and Israel. Serbia built for centuries while albanians as ottoman tribe called Arnauts have nothing, not only in Kosovo but in all areas they populated in the Balkan
@@kokiliusOff course ☦️🇷🇸☝️🏴☠️
love your adventures and explanations, very cool vibe, loved the library and the bazaar hunt, how bizarre hehe
That "ugly" library was beautiful in the eyes of me.
Don't know about you but I find Pristina to have a sweet twang to it! Blessings to you people of this fair city.
Love from croatia 🇭🇷
To Republic of kosovo 🇽🇰 👍
hvala! 😀
Really worth to know from your explanations about Kosovo.
Serbia*
European are always welcome to
Kosovo 🇦🇱
like the music you picked
Another great video 👏Thumbs up 👍and thanks for sharing 😁
The music in the beginning really rocks!! 🤘
Excellent.
I realize that my one day trip there was not enough. It was the end of a 3 month trip in eastern Europe so I was a bit tired of travelling, which rarely affects me. 🙂Albania and Kosovo is an area I will go back to soon again. Newborn and Clinton statue was something I checked out. And the city center sights.
Great video as usual Gabriel. And the market in end was nice. I remember it like yesterday.
I hope you come back to visit kosovo (serbia)😭😘
@@Jasamaleksandar69 Hello. I think I will sooner than later. There is a direct flight from my small town in Sweden to Skopje. :-) :-)
That library could be an incredible building if they used the metal latticework to grow ivy and plants all over the building! Would be like a living structure!
I believe they are considering that very same idea in the future!
there was a lot of population dislocated in the 90tis , that's why the population is now 97% Albanian, just understand the conflict..
Remember to include dislocated serbian police in that procentage 😅
I live in Kosovo .
my birthplace is Prishtina,
kosovo has many beautiful places in all cities (lakes, castles, waterfalls, mountains, etc.)
other countries of the world can recognize the people of kosovo for hospitality, traditional food, we are people of faith and peace we have witnessed this because we come from a past that our country has been invaded by serbia.
Thank you for coming and visiting us and telling us about the natural beauty of the Albanian people and culture. 🇦🇱🇽🇰
I really like the library. Very brutalist!
Wow she was beautiful, your friend at the front desk. Too bad they did not let her visit. Canada does that to me. Had to do the "Walk of Shame" (where you walk back across Rainy River to "The Falls", MN. Did not turn out too bad though. Went over to Rabeir, MM..nice summer beaches & lake. Interesting folks.) in front of my young nephews
Beautiful city and good information Mirza, from pakistán 🇵🇰
Selam
@@turkofalbanianorigine1629🇷🇺☦️🇷🇸☝️🏴☠️
@@toplicaknez1530 stop it ,turks are coming again in the balkans because balkans was ours u go back to russia
@@toplicaknez1530 🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
Kosovo is only statistically a Muslim majority - people are declared Muslim in official population 'registration' processes but in fact very very few Kosovars actually practice the religion. You can prove that during the month of Ramadan where the bars/coffee shops during the day and clubs during the night are still full. People here put ethnicity/nationality first and religion second.
Sounds like it's similar to Albania in that way, not very religious.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos Exactly. Historically Kosovar-Albanians were Orthodox Christians under the Byzantine Empire. Then most forcefully converted to Sunni Islam under the Ottoman Empire. Albania (including Kosovo) were ruled for around 500 years from the Ottoman Empire, that is why most of our tradition is oriental in nature like eating/drinking certain foods with Turkish origin, wearing certain clothing etc. We were then ruled for around 100 years from Serbia, so in essence, we were almost always 'occupied' and fighting for freedom. Sad history there but it was what it was.
However, Albanians in general always tried very hard, will all their might, to protect and continue the pure Albanian traditions. There were attempts from Saudi Arabia and certain Wahabi sects to influence the peaceful and tolerant Islam religion in Kosovo (which still goes on to this day), through funding, free language courses, free tech stuff like PC's etc. which made people easily allured after the massive economic destruction during the war. But we survived those attempts and although it was tough, today Islam practitioners are still peaceful here and not engaged in terrorist behavior. Some earlier plans and attempts were caught early on by our Intelligence, but it's all good otherwise.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos In fact although the Ottoman Empire was largely on the Sunni Islam side, the Bektashi Order (Shia Islam) was predominant in the Balkans area where the Ottoman Empire ruled. So Kosovar-Albanians were in fact originally Shia Muslim (Bektashi) and then slowly turned to the more Arabic and Middle Eastern side of Sunni through different influences. It's all good as long as terrorism isn't at play, but I personally find the Bektashi's to be more suitable for Islam practicing in Kosovo because they are generally more open-minded, more patriotic (nationality first) and have contributed more in the freedom-fighting during the war. Bektashi's are mainly based in the Dukagjini region (Gjakova, Peja, Decan etc.)
Arab/middle eastern influence doesn't sit well here in general and that is probably why Islam is practiced very little. It's too primitive for the modern society and with the globalization and modern trends that our youth follows, it will die out in some generations.
@@GabrielTravelerVideos long live Big Albania Catholic 🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱⛪️✝️🏥🦅🦅🦅🦅☝️👌👍
@@celphtitled904 Very interesting, I had no idea about the Shia history here
Pristina Kosovo 🇽🇰 is my favorite 🤩
*Pristina Serbia
@@damien4233 finally someone to say something correct
Prelijepa Priština. 👍
The Bazar which you were looking for is like 3 min walk from your Hotel, it was around that Mosque you visited in the first video, that turkish styled area which is also prishtinas old-town
Hi Gabriel, Outstanding day of walking and checking out sites in and around Pristina the library was an interesting structure it had a geodome structure which I have seen in Florida and was popular back in the 60s if I'm not mistaken for its energy efficiency I'm surprised it isn't used today with all this talk of green energy. I'm very surprised that the Bill Clinton statue has no Graffiti on it he seems revered there in Kosovo.
A time to pick up a jacket or sweater or even boots winter is coming to an end good prices I bet.
Great observation about the lack of graffiti there. True, the respect and admiration is immense because pure Albanians and Kosovar-Albanians in this case are very respectful and acknowledgeable towards those that have been good to us, historically.
hi Gabriel thanks for the amazing video. I am currently based in Portugal. As far as you are concerned, what are the cheapest routes to reach Pristina by plane ?
Hi, I'm not sure about that, flights are very random and depend on lots of factors. I recommend checking skyscanner.com to find the best deals.
An explanation about the “ugliness” of Prishtina National Liabrary (discussed from 09:38): The reason why that building is coated on the outside with that metal grid is bcs the architects wanted symbolically to portray the repression posed by south slavs against the Albanians living in former yugoslavia, hence the National Library, a symbol of literacy and knowledge (and also symbol of freedom) is encaged (in a cage)…hence the metal grin on the building… the white domes represent the traditional scull caps - Plis.
My beautiful Kosova 🥰🇽🇰🇦🇱
Serbia*
@@Jasamaleksandar69 Albania*
@@Jasamaleksandar69 “serbia ” is not a place anywhere in the world, OH WAIT! Your referring to a state is in the region of Illyria that was Illyrian Albanian land before Russian immigrants came in? Ohh yeah. That’s called Illyria. “serbia” is not a place although, unless you go back to russia and form some fake country there, maybe they let you have some land 😂😂
Serbia*
@@damien4233 what is serbia?
As an Indian who lived in china . A capital city with such a low population is bizarre
Bern, Podgorica, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Skopje all these European capitals have low population
Gabe with your explanations all the time makes the videos excellent thank you so much
I like when you speak with local people....
One of the Best City I visited in Balkan region
You have got ur facts wrong about Skenderbeg ( Albanian national hero ) - he did defeat the ottomans. In fact, he didn’t allow ottomans to get into Europe so he should be considered a European hero not only Albanians. Ottomans occupied only after his death….
What a lovely lady at the hotel reception
Wow nice viewing!!
Oh my goodnes! I loves this astmosphere,when my can ear can hearing many people talking in their native language without influance of English (we usually call it as Bahasa Gado-Gado or Rojak)😁
Great video! Thanks
A remarkable video of a truly remarkable place.
Welcom in kosovo 🇦🇱 DARDANIA 🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱
Thank you for this, this male ne very happy ans proud Thank you for Comming in my Country
My knowledge of World Geography has improved immensely, since I began watching your videos. Thanks !!
the history of Kosovo is much more deeper...It is a very mixed territory..
I was there in 2003, a very different place. I'm thinking of going back.
nice city love from Bangladesh 🇧🇩 ❤️
Prishtina is everything but vibrant.
Your name is vibran haha you know nothing ..
🇺🇸❤️🇽🇰
Z
I live in Kosovo and i truly love it ❤
I love the Illyrian race 🇦🇱❤️🇽🇰
Hahaha 😂😂😂
@@petarjovanovic1481 you seem lost, let me guide you back to russian caves
Ilyirian are Slavs(Serbs)🤦ретарде оболели научи историју копиле
Thank you for your love for Serbs. :)
@@ВукШекуларац serbs are not illyrians, illyrians were not slavic people
Hey gabriel, I'm travelling to North macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, is it pretty safe there, everything should be fine
Yes, it's very safe.
Lol Gabriel hitting on reception lady, classic
Great video Gabriel. I would like to ask you about monetizing RUclips videos/ earnings if possible, because it's hard to find exact answer online. But from which point do you start making money?, and is it paid monthly or in a once only payment, and do you need to sign up as a business, or specifically ensure other sign ups ?
Any advice welcome. Thank you Gabriel.
Ps I already watched your video about it but don't remember if you explained about the question I pose. Much appreciated.
I like how he always has some available coinage for the musical peasants.
And then he has to water board us with telling us how he will give. But it’s 2 euros like chilllll out we get it
@@ofaestival You gotta love the hang loose he always does
Thank you for your video
I really like these Eastern Europe videos. Much more interesting than the typical countries like Italy.
It's not even far from Italy!
I went to Italy, hmm depends where you go. We never even walked Roma.
Mostly hung out in South in Calabria. Saw some old castles churches and monastery.
Among other things like fig farm and olive fields. It's very cool.
But Yes, Eastern Europe is very cool. Pristina looks like a lively city!
But this is one of Balkan countries. Not Eastern Europe. There are Balkan countries which is in Southeast Europe, And Eastern European countries. Please refer to the map. And also you can read from this Wikipedia about Balkans. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans. Happy visiting Guys. I encouraged you to come to see Balkans. They are really gems.
@@ritaevita8827 is greece eastern europe? this is kind of where greece is on the map, more or less
@@ritaevita8827 he's never seen a map of Europe, he must be American!
Hi i born in Prishtina ,left Prishtina "97 moved to London since then . Thanks for sharing this video, Kosova need more tourists, so the spend some money haha just like you ;)
The problem with Kosovo in general is the education system, poverty, and negativity of Albanians. But of course, that is mainly because we were occupied for 600 years more or less and the old generation's mindset is really affecting the young, but anyway, Kosovo itself is a really nice country with some great places and people. Also, I want to tell all the people who are from different races, maybe you will get some look's from people but that is because we have so few foreigners here and I can assure you that we are not racist at all. I would recommend visiting Kosovo to everyone especially during the summer when the Albanian diaspora comes for vacation, I honestly don't know why but everything is better during the summer here.
Pristina is the capital and the economic, financial, political and trade center of Kosovo, due to its location in the center of the country.
VISIT...GJILAN CITY.IS THE BEST CITY IN..KOSOVO....WELCOME....TO...GJILAN.
I’m coming pristina next month hope I will enjoy my 4 days holiday. Not lie I’m bit scare because I’m solo traveling 🧳..
Very nice hotel. Whats it called. Great conversation, good vibes for you and her. I like her.
GREAT VIDEO.🇦🇱🇺🇸🇦🇱🇺🇸🇽🇰🇦🇱🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱
Kosovo is an independent state and will always be. Thanks for this wonderful video of my most beautiful state. Together with our friends we are moving forward towards success. God bless this wonderful place. ❤️ thank you
The fact that everyone from Kosovo has to keep repeating it is independent, makes me feel like it’s not fully independent. Even more than 20 years after the war still not an UN member. Sad ….
Library looks like a Borg hideout... or Pinhead's liar. Beautiful building.
Hey man I gotta ask, have you ever been to Japan? Id love to see a Japan series from you.
Yes: ruclips.net/video/YF9xGmvMWGE/видео.html
Excelente video😀👍
Gabriel there was no Albania in the 15th century. It was known as Illyria and the people were known as Illyrians. The term Albania was officially used as the country’s name and people in the late late 18th century. Albania before then referred to a group/tribe of people characterised as Christians and enemies of the Turks. The term Albania and Albanians was officially incorporated by the Ottomans because it primarily reminded them of their homeland back in Caucasian Albania. While the Albanian population is made of some Illyrians, the majority of the population are remnants of the Ottoman Empire; for the Ottomans this was their western front and as such they purposely altered the local population by replacing them with Ottoman soldiers strengthening this front in case of invasion by the neighbouring Christian states.
Nice bullshit story... and this coming from a greek with probably 70% middle eastern dna, mate why this hate? Because your heroes were albanian? (Arvanites, Souliotes... should I countinue?)... so drop the hate mr anatolian immigrant. We have been here since anicent times, "some illyrian" nah mate we are the direct descendants of the illyrians.
And you know this but you are full of hate for some reason obviously.
@@maskinisten019 Those whom you refer to are Illyrians. They were Christians that were hunted by the Turks forcing them to flee their country. You claim what I write is a lie; no it is not. When was the term Albania used to describe a nation and people? Late 1790s. All those squares honouring George Kastrioti Skanderbeg was because he fought Christians or Ottomans? Ottomans. What you also forget to mention is that during classical antiquity, ‘Albania’ was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast. So the question ultimately is, were those Greek heroes Greek or Illyrian? There is no propaganda here my dear friend. The proof is in the population demographics: Muslims. The proof is in the population genetics: while many Mediterranean populations have up to 30% the Thalassemia gene, like the Turks who are originally from Central Asia have at most 5% of this gene in their gene pool. Albanians, like the Turks have the exact same genetic profile when it comes to this gene. But if that were not enough, in Albania and Kosovo, Turkish flags are a regular scene and when Turkish Prime Minister visits and refers to you guys as Turks, I do not see anyone upset; on the contrary everyone claps. What hate? You clearly are very hateful towards Greeks despite Greece opening up its borders and helping to feed your people and rebuild your nation after 1912, Nazism (ally of Nazi Germany) and later communism.
@@kostasg7109 Mate you are writing a mish mash of stuff, its really hard to reply to all that rubbish but I wish you goodluck and hopefully you will wake up someday and drop all that hate and realise facts.
@@IadoreyouMaxxy I sure do care a lot , a bunch of slavic immigrants liking 😂🤦♂️
@@GoldenEagle0007 🤣🤣🤣
Make sure to visit Gjakova.
I'm curious about all those dogs.
A lot of strays, or kind of semi-stray loose dogs that are maybe consistently fed by certain people but are not fully fledged pets of theirs, and wander the streets. It's the same in several places in south eastern Europe.
@@cephalopod7300 Yes
It used to be like that in parts of northern New Mexico
you who do not know about the republic of kosovo then you can know that this country is recognized by 117 states including the strongest richest countries in the world for example america, germany, england, france, israel and more,and more
Hey Gabriel,we love to watch you exploring different part of the world as each and every place is unique and beautiful,however would love to see ur Indian 🇮🇳 vlogs as it’s one of your favourite place too ,and is Finally open for tourists,meanwhile stay safe and keep enjoying ur journey 🙏
My dream country
Who loves Albanian?
Receptionist was fantastic!
Are Albanians of Illyrian origin?
Yes obviously, the direct descendants of the illyrians. The name Albania or Albanian comes directly from the ancient illyrian tribe of the Albanoi.
@@maskinisten019 What happened to other tribes? There were at least 20 more illyrian tribes.
@@tombuddy100 The tribe of Albanoi was one example as thats where the name Albania comes from. We still descend from the other tribes ofcourse. For this vlogg its more relevant to maybe use the illyrian tribe of Dardania, because it lies prettt much on modern day "Kosovo" aka Dardania.
What amazes me is how some people try to claim a place where they were people living there waaaay back. I mean the Dardanian Kingdom 400 bc.. the slavs invaded in the late 7th century.
@@maskinisten019 Maybe so, but Albanoi was just one of the tribes in the land that is Albania today.
Why do you appropriate other Illyrians? Are Dalmatae, Liburni, Daorsi, and other Illyrians Albanians too?
@@tombuddy100Well im not, some tribes acutally got mixed or forced to assimilate to other people, those who refused went further south, its really a long topic but in many cases they were pushed down south or assimilated to the invading people.
Beautiful Kosovo🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤❤🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷
You obviously never visited! Lol
@@ashlily3372 Why? It is beautiful indeed. Sure, the urban places like Prishtina are not that good to be honest, but Kosovo's nature is spectacular. I don't know if you were being ironic here and live in Kosovo, but you're totally wrong.
Hvala! I Hrvatska je lijepa, ali Kosova je jos i ljepsa, a narocito ljudi. Nazalost nezivim vise tamo, ali mi je drago vidjeti Prishtine poslije toliko godina. LP
Beautiful
😢❤
The National Library looks like a prison but still kinda interesting. I wouldn't say it's the ugliest building in the world. It does remind me of Brutalist architecture which many say is the ugliest style of architecture.
What a library. :o
Holiday vs Holy Day
Wonderful city my friend.
This Orthodox Serbian Church in Prishtina its an ILLEGAL building in the Area of the Library Park . So it belongs to the library.
They start tu build them before the War starts.
Maybe it will be removed soon ....
Kosovo (btw, serbian name) is an illegal "state", it will be removed soon.
Any statues of Tony Blair? He's the one that actually convinced Bill Clinton to get into the act in the Balkan wars. In fact, during my travel in that area in 2008, I was told by some in the area that the US was a bit late into the fray as they say.
they actually name their kids tonibler LMAO.. no joke. look it up on wikipedia - tonibler
No statues as of yet but Tony Blair is considered a hero among Kosovars. There are literally people named Tonibler (a tweak in the name to make it sound Albanian).
Not yet but it will be in the future we have many kids after his name ...
I have been following you for so long now. I know your one of if not the first.
Lol. Gabe. That was funny bro. "I gave 5 bucks away already.". Okay. They walked away. .
He has to add that clip for literally zero reason or context, just to let us know
Kosovo named by Kosovo field from central Kosovo, which means field of blackbirds on Serbian.
In california you have 95 % mexicans and only 3% anglo saxons so it is Mexican as always was.
Skanderbeg was successful, the ottomans re-occupied the area only after the death of his successor Lekë Dukagjini, so basically we had independence for a short period of time, also he slowed down the spread of the Ottomans and was declared by the Pope as Atleta Cristi, the protector of Christianity from Muslim invaders, originally Albanians were already Christian in the first century AD (source: Illyricum Sacrum) way before slavic invasions, and most of them converted to Islam in the 15th century, for example my family converted around 1640-50s, and most of the Churches were converted from Catholic Albanian to Serbian Orthodox
Thanks for the info.
Why don't you convert back to Christianity now that the Turks are gone?
And convert the Serbrian churches back to Albanian while at it.
@@and11199 umm maybe cuz of the 5 decade religion ban in albania now i think no one cares who is which , and albanians had good relations with ottomans thats why they turned muslim almost everyone
@@StarJes1 religion was never outlawed in kosovo, which is the area we were referring to in this conversation.
Its amusing how most Europeans will talk so disrespectfully about the US but yet beg for the dollar 😏
i think they may speak disrespectfully about a past politician but overall they are big fans of America ... maybe change your network
You don't know what you're talking about June. Kosovo is about as pro-US as it gets, and most Europeans neither talk disrespectfully about the US nor do they need to beg for dollars.