Çarshia e Madhe
Long bazaar quarter of timber shopfronts, rebuilt after the destruction of 1999
Walk it end to end in the morning; the metalworkers and saddlers open earliest.
Old BazaarOld BazaarRebuilt
Gjakova / Đakovica, Kosovo
Ideal: 1 dayBest: May–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Inexpensive
In 60 seconds
Gjakova / Đakovica in 60 seconds
Gjakova grew around its bazaar, the Çarshia e Madhe, which ran for several hundred metres of timber shopfronts and was among the oldest working markets in the region. It was burned during the war of 1998–1999 and has since been rebuilt along its original lines, which gives the quarter an unusual quality: the form is old, the fabric is new, and the trades inside it are continuous. Beside it stands the Hadum Mosque of the late sixteenth century with its walled graveyard and the remains of its library, and south of the town an eighteenth-century stone bridge, the Tanners' Bridge, still crosses the Erenik on eleven arches.
Old BazaarOttoman MosqueStone BridgeRebuiltClock Tower
Best for
Known for
- The Çarshia e Madhe, a long bazaar quarter burned in 1999 and rebuilt to its original plan
- Hadum Mosque of the late 16th century, with its graveyard and the remains of its old library
- The Tanners' Bridge over the Erenik, an 18th-century stone crossing of eleven arches
- The clock tower beside the mosque, rebuilt after wartime destruction
- A continuous craft tradition in the bazaar, from metalwork to leather and wool
Skip if
You are uneasy with recent conflict history; here it is close to the surface and openly marked.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Gjakova / Đakovica fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Hadum Mosque
Late 16th-century mosque at the head of the bazaar, with a walled graveyard and old library
The painted decoration inside is the surprise; enter respectfully and outside prayer times.
Old Bazaar16th CenturyGraveyard
Tanners' Bridge
Eighteenth-century stone bridge of eleven arches over the Erenik south of town
Go down to the shingle and look along the arches; from the road you see almost nothing of it.
Erenik18th CenturyRiverside
The clock tower
Stone clock tower beside the Hadum complex, rebuilt after wartime destruction
A small thing, and a useful marker for where the bazaar quarter begins.
Old BazaarClock TowerOld Bazaar
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
More places to eat
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Bazaar kitchens
InexpensiveSmall kitchens and grills inside the bazaar quarter, cooking qebapa, tava and flija
Eat inside the bazaar rather than on the ring road; the cooking is plainer and much better.
Old BazaarFlijaOld Bazaar
Bazaar cafés
InexpensiveCoffee houses set between the shopfronts along the bazaar lanes
Sit where the shopkeepers sit; the quarter runs on these tables as much as on trade.
Old BazaarCoffeeMacchiato
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
The old mills
Surviving water mills on the channels at the edge of the bazaar quarter
Ask in the bazaar which one is open; the machinery is the point, not the building.
Old BazaarChannelsCraft
The kulla tower houses
Fortified stone tower houses of the Dukagjin plain, several restored around the town
The regional building type worth understanding: blind lower walls, living quarters high up.
Around GjakovaDukagjin PlainRestoration
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Old Bazaar
The rebuilt market quarter with the mosque, clock tower, workshops and cafés
This is Gjakova; the rest of the town is where people live, not where you will go.
Old BazaarWalkable
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Around the bazaar
A small number of hotels and guesthouses within reach of the bazaar quarter
Limited choice; many visitors come for a day from Prizren or Peja instead.
CentralGuesthouses
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting There
- Gjakova is about 1 hr 45 min west of Pristina and 40 min from Prizren, with regular coaches.
- Getting Around
- The bazaar quarter is walked. The Tanners' Bridge is a short drive or taxi ride south of town.
- Currency
- Euro (EUR). The bazaar runs almost entirely on cash.
- Languages
- Albanian and Serbian are both official in Kosovo; English is spoken by younger people in the centre.
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 16th century
The Hadum Mosque was endowed at the head of what became the town's long bazaar, with a library beside it.
- 18th century
The Tanners' Bridge was built over the Erenik, carrying the road and the trade of the Dukagjin plain.
- 19th–20th century
The Çarshia e Madhe grew to several hundred metres of shopfronts and was among the busiest markets in the region.
- 1998–1999
The Kosovo War and the NATO intervention of 1999 destroyed much of the bazaar and displaced large numbers of people.
- 2000s onward
The bazaar, the mosque complex and the clock tower were rebuilt along their earlier lines.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Dečani
Marble-banded monastery of the 1330s with the largest surviving fresco programme of its period
Twenty-five minutes away and unmissable; go in the morning before the day warms.
25 min drive northMarble ChurchMonastery
Prizren
River town of mosques and a 14th-century painted church below a hilltop fortress
The most complete old town in Kosovo, and the obvious base if you want more than a day.
40 min drive south-eastHillside FortressOttoman Town