Pristina Cemeteries part 1 - Varrezat e Deshmoreve

I think cemeteries are fascinating reflections of how different cultures deal with death.   This is the first of three postings about cemeteries.  Sorry if you find the topic macabre.  I find it all just fascinating.

Loosely translated, Varrezat e Deshmoreve means Cemetery of Martyrs.  It's on a hill overlooking the city, and contains the gravesites of national hero Ibrahim Rugova (led Kosovo to independence from Serbia and served as Kosovo's first president) and Ahmet Krasniqi (a promenant colonel during the 1998-1999 war, assassinated in 1998), and many others who died in combat.  Many of the gravestones were engraved with the name of the person followed by the word Hero.  Kindof like our Arlington Cemetery, but much smaller and newer.

What I thought was most interesting was a row of nine simple graves all marked May 10, 2015.  What happened on May 10, 2015? I had to look it up.  Apparently there was a big ol' shootout between ethnic Albanians (many originally from Kosovo) and police in Kumanovo, North Macedonia.  Tensions between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Macedonians in that town had been brewing for some time, and finally erupted in violence.  It was difficult to find details about the incident on the Internet - much of the information is very cursory - and I don't recall hearing anything about it in the US.  None of the sources I could find on thee Internet were from the US.  I'll have to ask some one about it.  But it all just underscores the ethnic tensions simmmering just below the surface not just here but throughout the Balkans.  I keep finding little pieces of ethnic tensions in unlikely places.  Like the Cemetery of Martyrs.

A general scene here.  Hard to see from this picture, but one of the flags is the Albanian flag.
An interesting piece of modern art in the center of the cemetery

An amphitheater, which has not been well-maintained.  None of this is well-maintained.  Kosovo is the poorest country in Europe, and they don't have a lot of resources for keeping things beautiful.

Ibrahim Rugova's grave, on the other hand, is beautifully kept.  Priorities....

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