Prizren to Wow!

Leaving Prizren we crossed the Metohija plain with 35% of Kosovo's area and people. It's a rich agricultural area bounded by mountains in all directions. We came across a couple of large Catholic churches and several memorials to Kosovo Liberation Army members.

The next morning we visited the Visoki Decani monastery. 

The brochure we picked up in Prizren states the church's frescoes "are almost too vast to be taken in by the human eye."  Hyperbole we figured, but we were wrong.  Pictures don't begin to convey the experience, enhanced by the incense in the air and the lack of other tourists. 

Monk Petar was an excellent guide.  The more interest we showed the more he pointed out.  When a group of Serbs arrived, the monks displayed the mummified remains of the 700 year-old sainted king who completed the monastery.  They graciously included us in the viewing ritual and blessed us equally. When we couldn't take in any more Petar offered us refreshments.

That's their brandy on the right...so tasty we bought some for later.

Due to past attacks, the monastery is still under 24/7 protection by NATO's KFOR soldiers. 

Next stop was a slightly older monastery in Peja.  Very impressive as well, but we couldn't appreciate it fully after Decani.

Bryan cooked another tasty camp meal and we savored the monks' products.