Experiencing the Real KOSOVO | A Tour of GJAKOVA!!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

THANKS FOR WATCHING!! 👍 If you enjoyed the video please consider LIKING & SUBSCRIBING - they really help the channel!! 👍 🇽🇰 See more of my videos from KOSOVO here → bit.ly/mwt_kosovo | Subscribe for free here → bit.ly/2RyPwto

[@agussophianharnoko2107]

Beatiful Kosovo! Kosovo is not just Prishtina and Prizren but also Gjakova. It is an aesthetic city. Salam from Indonesia

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Totally agree! Loved my trip to Kosovo, lots of amazing places to visit. Thanks for watching!

[@Art-zn6ji]

Great video. I lived in Gjakova for the summer to visit my family, and it really made me smile seeing the city again.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks Art, glad I could bring back some good memories for you. Thanks for watching!

[@WITYTRAVELS]

Great lesson from the local! Yea, those older bridges are solid. Too bad the bazaar wasn't open. What a cute tour guide at the sign! Frida knows everything about the area. You really are finding the real Kosovo with the friendliest people. Everyone wants to be in your vlog. Can't blame them. Pizza and Fanta sounds like the perfect dinner. Glad you made it safely!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

It was a really fun afternoon and evening - and I was relieved for sure when I finally arrived in Prizren, I was almost certain the engine was going to explode when I heard those crazy noises!

[@131x]

Really great stuff mate 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@WhenAdventureKnox]

Such a wonderful opening to the video. Friendly, helpful and welcoming locals really can make a place that you travel to, then it rippled through this video ❤🙏 I love how you've been able to go into the Hadum mosque like that, to meet Zoe with the shop and both her son and daughter too. The cost of the pizza was phenomenal, especially in such a touristy place! Yet another reason why Kosovo should be a trip to do in the not too distant future! I'm currently editing my next series that will follow the Isles of Scilly and your car troubles in this video are mirroring what I'd editing. I hope unlike for us, your car lasts the full trip! Really enjoying this series!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Car problems really can be the worst, when you're on such a tight schedule the last thing you want is to be held up for a few days waiting for a repair or replacement. Even worse when there's no phone reception! Looking forward to seeing your experience, it doesn't sound like your story had a happy ending. The people I met all through the trip were incredible, easily the most friendly place I've ever been to - Kosovo is DEFINITELY worth visiting! With the food, I think the Fanta was either about the same price as the pizza or more expensive - amazing!

[@lumimore]

Nice short video of my home town, and thank you Matt! A little correction, if I may, for FYI, of course, at (4.16) you mention a few mosques, while in fact, the one in background is the Saint Peters & Paul catholic church, which is very beautiful (u should have visited ), and in front of the church, actually accros the St. Peter&Paul church, is St. Anthonys , another beautiful catholic church, but not as tall as St. Peter&Paulm (also worth the visit!). Anyways, a well done video! And, you are welcome back any time for more in depth visit of my beautiful home town! If am am free, I can be your guide (free of charge) Cheers mate.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you very much Egnen, that's very kind of you. I'm sure I'll be back at some point and when I do I hope to spend a bit more time in your city - that bazaar looked amazing and I was disappointed not to catch it before it closed. I'd also love to visit some of those churches! I'll keep your generous offer in mind if I do make it back! Thanks as well for the information you provided, it's always good to learn from a local. Much appreciated! All the best!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Hi Mr Skanderbeg, you seem to think everyone has an agenda which is not true! It's just a lazy assumption. I quite often film mosques in majority Christian countries and churches in Muslim ones. I'm there to see as much as I can in the time I've got. As a fairly inconvenient example for you, go back and watch my vlog from Tirana where I visited the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral and not the mosque. How about Pristina where I filmed the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa? Perhaps if you drop the constant fault finding & brush that chip off your shoulder people would listen to what you've got to say. Why don't you offer suggestions of places to visit next time, there's plenty of people reading the comments that are more likely than most to go to that place. With your attitude and tone nobody will listen to you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find some common ground and offer a hand to people you don't agree with - they might just listen to what you're saying. Have a great day!

[@vapour84]

Great vid Matt!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! 👍

[@Watfordfc71]

I’m just so excited for our kosovo trip in March , love the channel and I need to comment an like more as I know it’s important so apologies in that . I found a car on the link you gave me through sharr express £77 for 4 days all in so that’s very good , pick up in best western hotel at the airport . Cheers Matt this video was so enjoyable and still thinking how in earth did the car survive lol

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Haha it was a minor miracle that I got it back to the airport! Thanks for your comment and like, yes they really do help so very much appreciated. Sounds like you got a good deal with the car, hopefully you have better luck with it than I did! Have you made any plans on where you're going to drive to yet?

[@OlgasBritishFells]

Brilliant video, Matt. I think it's the best one out of your Kosovo series so far. This place looks so exotic in it's authentic way. It's sad about the war and that the place went through so much pain and damage. I was impressed how those little girls and boy understand and speak English so well. I like the conversations with real people, it makes the video like a proper TV documentary. The mosque was beautiful inside. That market buildings are like something taken out of medieval Gothic fairy tale. How long are you staying in Kosovo? You have so many videos about it! The prices are amazing!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks Olga, I really appreciate you saying! It was really good chatting with Zoe and meeting her children, it's crazy to think I was only there for a few hours, by the time I was wishing I'd had been able to spend a bit more time in Gjakova - it was a really cool place! I was in Kosovo for about a week, so everything you're seeing in this series was filmed in that time. I've even had to leave bits out otherwise the videos just get too long. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@ShkodranMaliqi]

English is like our second language here in Kosovo.. Everyone under 30 speak English, but the younger ones speak it even better (i'd say they speak English to an unhealthy amount lol, they'd rather express themselves in English than in their 1st language which is Albanian)

[@Kritika715]

Very good video of my hometown! One comment, Tabaku (Tanner's) Bridge was built by Tabaku families in Gjakova.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you for watching, really enjoyed my afternoon/evening in Gjakova. Thanks for the information on the bridge, loved seeing it and always good to learn a thing or two from the locals.

[@Hjkmaz]

My beautiful City Gjakova ♥️ Great Video brother!

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you, Flamur. Glad you like it! 👍

[@howarddutton9064]

Great one Matt 🙏🙏🙏

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you Howard, glad you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed walking around and meeting everyone!

[@lekdulazeka1983]

Gjakova was most destroyed and most deaths av all cities on Kosovo. On the Gjakova u have katolik church mosk and orthodox church. U had to go opp on Qabrat it cols the hill above and have a relaxing time and vew. I will recommend you even the Shkugëz forest outside the city it is fully with restaurants which are built on. I wish you a very happy day buddy and enjoy the Kosovo

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks for the information, Lek. I had read about the viewpoint and forests close by - wish I had a few more hours as I would have loved to find them. Thanks for watching, have a great day too!

[@_mjbn_]

Hello. I found you through some paper on the window of your dacia on Google Street view. Your videos are nice

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Hello Marián, thanks for letting me know how you found my channel. I've been taking Google Street View images since about 2016 but only recently adding a small banner to advertise my KZbin channel - glad to know it works. Glad you like the videos, I really enjoyed my time in Gjakova.

[@besimmejzini3590]

Good video you have a new follower

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Awesome thank you Besim, much appreciated. Loved my time in Kosovo!

[@besimmejzini3590]

Next time you travel to Kosovo, tell me i will also travel than i invite you. And maybe show you more. All costs will be on me.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Very kind indeed, thanks very much!

[@nebramlk]

Nice video! You covered a lot for a short time. Btw, that bridge (1:30) was not build by Otoman Turks, even though it was built when they were ruling. The bridge was built by Gjakova craftsmen.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks for the info! I guess the builders are often cited to be the rulers, kings, queens but it's often actually local workers who do the hard and skilled work of building things. Glad you enjoyed the video, it was an action packed few hours! Thanks for watching!!

[@nebramlk]

@@MattWhitingsEurope thanks for reply! More info about this bridge. This bridge was build and financed from Gjakova craftsmen, more specifically, from association of Gjakova’s leathersmiths (“tabak”). It was not built or financed in any mean by Otoman Turks. Thats why it is called Tabak’s Bridge (“Ura e Tabakut”). Reason why it was built is to make easier the road to Shkodra, road that was used for trading. Gjakova and Shkodra back at that time had very close ties, because the road between them was going by the river Drin valley. Nowdays, that road is flooded because there are built big water reservoires that are being used for electricity production and flood managment. Ura e Tabakut is in the list of protected monument by Government of Kosova.

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thanks so much for all the extra information @ulpiana - very interesting and helpful. I wish I had known this when I visited - I guess you live and learn! Thanks again!!

[@escase3995]

Guys in the river carrying a body 😢

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

😮

[@flameb8814]

My hometown ✨❣️

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Amazing place, hopefully I've done it some justice. Thanks for watching.

[@flameb8814]

@@MattWhitingsEurope I'm glad you liked it. The video is great 👍

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you Flame, I appreciate you saying!

[@shpendmorina9468]

Love usa 💪

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Indeed!

[@NegjatShatri]

Am frem Kosovo

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Wonderful place, thanks for watching!

[@blackcat.19]

Ottomans did not build anything by ottoman mosques. These bridges were built by Albanians during ottoman occupation.

[@domenikshehu4318]

Good job 👌👍

[@MattWhitingsEurope]

Thank you so much 😀