The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren

Transcription

1 DOI: /tna The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren Ilir Gjinolli*, Arta Bytyçi Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Prishtina Prishtina, Kosovo; Ilir.gjinolli@gmail.com Abstract This paper tries to present the importance of local cultural values of the city of Prizren embedded in its cultural heritage. The Shadervan or fountain squareis a central public space, one of the most important landmark of the city. It is the centre of all public activities and a starting point of any story about the culture in Prizren. It is a landmark in physical terms, but it has also a strong social and cultural dimension bounded with many stories, songs and events across the history. We are searching here the cultural values embedded in the square being those simple life culture such as coffee and tea culture during an ordinary day or in the evening during the Ramadan, or cultural events that takes place in Prizren such as DOKUFEST, the international documentary and short film festival.empowered by the civic activism of talented people to enrich the culture life, the fountain square serves as main foci in the city, where festival activities are bounded with a local identity. In this research we used a combined research methodology/ strategy involving interpretative historical research and case study research method. Searching the history of development of the Shadervan area the basic arguments are found in the literature and archive documents. In the current standings, beside the literature and archives, analyses of the public life is used to present the findings and make comparisons within the same time frame and fast changing context. Keywords: Place; Urban culture; Identity; Shadervan; DOKUFEST Article history: Received: 03 March 2017 Revised: Accepted: 15 March Introduction Certain living places flourish because they allow every single individual to interact with the public life that takes place in it. By providing a qualitative experience to everybody, and opportunities to be actively engaged, these places bring happiness and wellbeing of the community. The Fountain Square or The Shadervan, is a central public space, and one of the most important landmarks of the city of Prizren, one of the oldest cities in Kosovo. Any visitor, who comes to visit Prizren, will be amazed with Prizren s Shadervan Square, its vitality and human scale involvement. This paper discuses the cultural values embedded in the square being those of simple life culture such as coffee and tea time routines during an ordinary day, in the evening during the month of Ramadan, or during the cultural events that take place in Prizren including DokuFest, the well-known International Documentary and Short Film Festival. This paper aims to present the importance of local cultural values of the city of Prizren embedded in its cultural heritage. The Shadervan square, as one of the main public space and landmark, is considered to be the centre of all activities, and a starting point of any story about the culture in Prizren. It is a landmark in physical terms; however, it has also a strong social and cultural dimension bounded with many individual life stories, songs and events throughout the history of the city. Prizren is one of the oldest cities in Kosovo. Due to its position, it is a very important city in terms of both economy and culture. Prizren is also a touristic city with cultural heritage attractions complemented by a very lively public space and public life. The Fountain Square or Shadervan in Prizren represents a focal point of public life, which has a long history dating back to century, when the entire region was under the Ottoman Empire. It is a place where several old bazaar streets terminate, and in the same time meet each other. Throughout the centuries the artisan s guilds of Prizren so called esnafs, maintained the tradition of meeting at the Shadervan I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

2 square for business exchange while enjoying the coffee and tea talks during the whole year, both outside and inside the coffee shops. The transformation of the ottoman city started at the beginning of 20 th century, when Kosovo felt under the rule of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians in However, as Prizren was a city in the periphery of the Kingdom, it did not suffer much in terms of eradicating the Ottoman structure in terms of culture and tradition. The fountain square Shadervan preserved its importance because of its role as a crossroad of main bazaar streets and daily activities that were of vital importance to the square. This remained the same even during the communism time when the esnafs were dissolved, the shops partly nationalized, and artisan s products have lost their importance towards more industrialized products. Major transformations took place after the World War II 1950 s to 1970 s, when some parts of the bazaar were demolished and socialist modern building constructions replaced the older and traditional buildings. A combined research methodology/strategy involving interpretative historical research and case study research methods was used in this research. In the analyses of the development of the Shadervan area through history, the main arguments are found in the literature and archived documents. In the current standings, beside the literature and archives, the case study method using analyses of the public life is used to present the findings and make comparisons within the same time frame and fast changing context. Using the simple tools such as calculating, mapping, tracing, tracking, photographing, keeping diary and making test walks within the square, it is attempted to generate the intensity of public life linking the DocuFest festival as the major event within the square, and the surrounding spatial elements that make the area lively 24 hours a day. The findings were classified in three main categories including: the cultural values and significances for the local settings and identities that Shadervan Square produce in term of physical, social-cultural, and functional dimension. Positive features that support these values are identified including other categories that should be improved as well. As there is a growing awareness for protection of cultural heritage, we considered a set of recommendations in terms of preserving the current vitality of the square and possibly improving the actual situation. 2. History 2.1. Prizren The Romans called it Theranda, the Byzantines Prizdrijana, to get to the name known from the Ottoman period as Prizren [1]. Founded at the foothills of the Sharr Mountains, along the Lumbardhi River, during the entire its history, Prizren was an important commercial, administrative and cultural centre. From the Roman and Byzantine Empire, through Kingdom of Serbs to the Ottoman Empire, a rich treasure of cultural, historic and architectural values were left behind, which today make Prizren a historic city with a particular cultural heritage. In addition, today Prizren is considered a cultural centre of Kosovo and the region as well. Apart from the fortress that was inhabited until the end of 19th century, very little heritage material was preserved from the pre- Ottoman period, to be able to trace any form of the public life and the old city structure Spatial organisation of Ottoman Prizren Prizren flourished in the XVI century during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, when it became an important commercial and artisan centre with more than 1500 shops, businesses, and a capital of culture and art. The main morphological feature of the Ottoman city is the division into the two quarters. One is the quarter where economic, religious, cultural and other public activities took place The other is the residential areas, including a number of mahalles - residential neighbourhoods [2]. The city s morphological structure was bounded by a street network with mainly two types of streets - wider in the centre and narrower streets and alleys dead end streets or cul-de-sacs for local use. The main instrument of Ottoman city-making was the külliye [3]. Тhе word külliye derives from the Аrаbiс word meaning "the whole". А külliye was the functional centre of а well-defined neighbourhood, identified in the first decades by family bonds, profession, trade or place of the origin. It consisted of аn interrelated group of buildings around the mosque, installed and endowed by the sultan as the public interconnection of obedient citizens. Külliye is to bе distinguished from the administrative centre of the town, and the commercial centre of bazaars, placed nехt to the Friday mosque. The Ottoman city of Prizren was developed along the river Lumbardhi, and Gazi Mehmed Pasha külliye consisting of Bayrakli Mosque, Gazi Mehmed Pasha Hamam, Library and Medrese, a complex of public buildings linked to Arasta Bazaar (destroyed in 1960 s) (Figures 1 and 2). As a rule, the city was organized in the plain area under the fortress providing the Ottomans security from any kind of enemy attacks. Usually the city was divided into Muslim part, mahalles in the valley, and Christian part in the hill under the fortress, called varosh. I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

3 Figure 1. Prizren Ottoman city structure before 1912 Figure 2. Prizren - view fom the fortress around Mahalles Residential quarters Similar to all ottoman cities, residential neighbourhoods mahalle s, were developed around the külliye and the bazaar, which in Prizren were organized onboth sides of the Lumbardhi River. In Prizren we can find two types of bazaars-çarshi [4]. The first type of bazaars includes a complex of shops gathered around the mosques such as Arasta, Saraç-hane or Sinan Pasha located around the main square. Arasta was a covered type of bazaar. The so-called unorganized structure of the Ottoman city, i.e., narrow and labyrinthine streets, dead-end streets and unplanned quarters, which were the main characteristics of Islamic cities as well, is closely related to the concerns for privacy of the city residents[5]. Mahalles were the basic units of urban society, headed by a local prayer leader (imam). Each mahalle was structured to perform administration and tax collection duties. Non-Muslim and minority groups usually lived in their separate quarters. In Kosovo this was usually typical for Serbs and Roma neighbourhoods. In Prizren Serbian and Roma minority were settled on the hilly area at the fortress foothill. Mahalles were named by the family names, usually identified by crafts and skill they were practicing. The division of quarters according to ethnicreligious identity or occupation, however, did not necessarily mean a lack of communication among these groups. On a contrary, each community traditionally respected the tradition and religion believes of other groups Bazaar / Çarşi The core area of the city s centre was the bazaar or çarşi in Turkish, a commercial area consisting of a bezistan, (a covered market), han (a city or roadside inn) and shops where crafts, trade and other transactions were carried out. These buildings belonged to waqfs an endowment system was directly related to the urban economic activity such as artisanal production, trade and services [6].Because such buildings were rented by waqfs to merchants and artisans, they provided the larger part of the urban commercial facilities. Shops of all kinds, workshops, merchandise on display, artisans products, negotiations, observing random passers-by, crowded cafés, using different languages and cultures from corner-to-corner, this place has the same name çarshia. For some residents this place was bazaar and for others an interchangeable words that both mean market in Turkish and Arabic respectively. However, çarshia is not only a marketplace or a shopping street; it is public space where the citizen s social lives flow together and where the urban meets the rural values? A wide range of activities including business and marriage arrangements, vengeance, reconciliation, and negotiations have taken place for centuries at çarshia s cafes, naturally enjoying one or more Turkish coffees. The rich, the poor, different cultures and languages backgrounds they all shared daily life experiences and interactions in the çarshia [7] Open public spaces in the Ottoman Prizren Usually, the historians have explained the lack of formal open space as lack of а strong public life and municipal governing institutions, which is not quite true. Several travellers and historians have described the rich and picturesque open-air life of Ottoman towns. The Ottoman open space has its origin in the byzantine- Ottoman view of the nature and architecture. I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

4 Maurice Cerasi [8] classifies the Ottoman open space in four principle types: meydans, namazgah, mesire or çayir. Branislav Kojic, a Serbian architect, considered that in the Balkan cities, the amorphous type of square which occur in the road crossings, is the main public space that, besides the streets and bazaars, constitutes the public space network [9]. In Prizren, during the ottoman period, public life in the open space took place mainly in the bazaars through shopping and production activities. Eating and drinking in the cafés and meyhanes (restaurants) was also part of the daily life of those working within the bazaar quarter. Public gatherings took place at specific places - small squares and open areas around the bazaar - mainly around the Shadervan square. Shadervan is the Prizren s main square, which even today remains the most attractive public space in the city. Enclosed by the shops with a drinking fountain in the centre, it is the main arena of public life. People walk, stand and sit around in the cafes to enjoy the city, the view towards the medieval fortress, and the surrounding mountains. (Figures 3 and 4) Shadervan is the Prizren s main square, which even today remains the most attractive public space in the city. Enclosed by the shops with a drinking fountain in the centre, it is the main arena of public life. People walk, stand and sit around in the cafes to enjoy the city, the view towards the medieval fortress, and the surrounding mountains. Diverse groups of residents would typically meet at their places of work or wherever they conduct their commercial activities. For other residents, however, public gatherings were synonymous forsocial meetings. From time to time meetings were organized for amusement and entertainment, even if impromptu, took on a different note. Marash, the suburban garden of Prizren, was a public place open to all residents. Usually, residents would gather for walking and socializing in the natural setting. Even today, Marash provides the opportunity for leisure activities, including walking and running. The shops and the cafes were usually open towards the street, encountering a small piece from the public space to attract the costumers which acted as a kind of semipublic hall to the private space of the shops or cafes. In Prizren, social gathering places included Meyhancilık- a small cafe, and a meyhane complex - where these shops were grouped to form a particular street of the bazaar. Public life took place also in the hamam, the public baths that were city s most visited public buildings such as Gazi Mehmed Hamam one of well preserved cultural heritage monuments. Figure 3. Plan of Shadervan Square before 1912 I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

5 Figure 4. View of Shadervan Square before 1912 The public spaces of the old Balkan town were distributed throughout the urban fabric of bazaars and mahalles. The network of these spaces was not planned, so we can assume that they occurred spontaneously. Observing them in the existing fabric and based on the surveyed material, we could consider that the open spaces usually occur at the street crossings. Occasionally they may occur alongside the streets and at the end of dead end streets [10]. According to Branislav Kojic, the shape of the squares is diverse and irregular but among these various forms, triangular plan can be distinguished in most of the cases. It was usually created in a Y shape street crossings, where two or more street branches with a lot combination of cuts and corners alter the triangular square shape. Other square shapes that can be found in the Ottoman Balkan are trapezoidal shapes, which occur when several streets flow into the same space; elongated irregular rectangle which represent a street extension; a combination of the two earlier types of square into one, and other various suaretypes that cannot be defined by any geometrical shape. Typically, the market paved area was similar to the street pavement. Cobblestone ( kallderma ) pavement was used the market space was used for social gathering and activities. 3. The Shadervan square Shadervan Square is the central square in the city of Prizren dating back from the century. Shadervan square is a typical triangular square. The triangular shapes squares are known since ancient times in the towns that were created spontaneously. Thus, in the medieval town, triangular square often occurs as a form of public space. Shadervan is a small square positioned at the intersection of main pedestrian axis in the city, leading to Sinan Pasha Mosque located in the city centre. It is enclosed by cafes and two storey shops that provide a human scale. Most of the architectural features of the buildings around the square are from the end of 19 th and the beginning of 20 th century, the period when the majority of old shops were refurbished. Light colours with little details are used adding features to the urban architecture to fit the purpose of the square. The square and the streets that terminate at the square are paved with granite cobblestones. Originally the square was paved with stones provided from the Lumbardhi or other local streams and rivers. Building façades that shape the square were built in the same way as the street that fronts mahalle or çarshia (bazaar) where the market is located. The façade s line I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

6 in the Shadervan Square follows the streets without particular emphasis to any building, while keeping human dimension to allow the Mosque and the Church to exercise the hierarchy, as landmarks that visually dominate the urban landscape around the square. Sinan Pasha Mosque, is a typical Ottoman mosque with a dome and a minaret, built in the second half of the 17th century. The Mosque possess a number of monumental features such as a large porch that due to the topography is elevated more than 2.50 meters from the street elevation Cult of water "The Water of Allah!" they yield and after a halt of five times by a hundred long nights they trapped it they captured it they detained it in a pillar they named it Shadervan Edi Shukriu, Archaeologist and poet In these verses of Edi Sukriu [11] poem Shadervan, one could trace the importance role of the water in Muslim society, and how difficult they considered to extract the water from the nature. Of course it s God s water, so even it took long time to extract it, this didn t forbid the public use of the water because, in the end, it was a public good the God s water. The water in the Shadervan square was also a public source of water in the city for those working in the bazaar and market, and for those who didn t have drinking water wells in their homes. Due to the proximity wash legs and hands to complete the abdes, an Islamic ritual before praying in the mosque Urban transformation of Ottoman Prizren Shadervan square within its history of existence as an open public space has served as a place of special experiences for its individual users, and a generator of creative community of artisans, artists and writers. Since its origin, Shadervan has served as a place that connects neighbourhoods and bazaars, and has been the foci of public life of the city which remained until nowadays. Through the years, the square has improved the features adding functions that fit in the existing physical space structure suitable for different yearly seasonal activities. During the Ottoman Empire, tea and coffee shops were mostly frequented by male costumers. After the World War II a situation has changed in that as diverse users including gender, age and ethnicity, started to frequent tea and coffee shops. Urban transformation of the ottoman city becomes visible in the beginning of 20 th century when Ottomans were withdrawn from Balkans. Kosovo felt under Serbian Kingdom in Because Prizren was in the periphery of the Kingdom, it s structure was not eradicated and most of its Ottoman features were preserved because the Serbians were more focused in transformation of the Ottoman structure of the cities in Serbia, so changes that occurred in Kosovo Ottoman cities were fragmented and interventions were more focused on providing new communal buildings. Most of public life remained the same as in Ottoman period, taking place in the bazaar and in the small squares. So did the Shadervan or the Fountain Square. Although after the World War II the economy shifted from small manufactures in the city core to more massive industrial production that migrated to the periphery, the bazaar preserved its vitality because it was the principal space in the city where citizens met and public life took place. The Shadervan was important also it was a crossroad of main bazaar streets. But, major transformations took place between 1950 s to 1970 s due to new property ownership relations. Most of waqf endowments were dissolved so the property was nationalised. The nationalisation caused massive transformations of the Ottoman city core - to built the new city over of the old one. In this period, we could speak about planned transformations that affected Ottoman city core structure in all Kosovo cities Shadervan A foci of contemporary social and cultural life As one of the oldest cities in Kosovo, beside its cultural heritage, Prizren possesses a strong sense of community self-organized in terms of keeping a traditional vitality in the public spaces. During the socialist period, there were many local culture initiatives such as festivals, primarily music and poetry festivals, that were usually linked to Shadervan. These activities were supported by traditional artisan shops and cafes. The failure of the socialist system in former Yugoslavia brought liberal economy. The war of 1999, influenced the change of the city residents structure, primarily in ethnic terms, so the changes in the use patterns of the inner city. After the war, beside the new forms of artisan production and services, the cafe culture regained important role in the public life, which laid the paths for different initiatives that contributed to enriching public life in the public space. Today, the Shadervan square is characterized by a set of formal and informal activities that take place during the day and the evening. A very lively public life through the whole day can be experienced in the square. There are periods during the year when the square is full of people through the whole night until early hours in the morning. This usually takes place during the DOKUFEST the I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

7 International Festival of Documentary Film in the summer, when the square becomes a kind of living room for all citizens and visitors of the festival. In the morning you can drink coffee or tea and have light breakfast in the terraces or inside. Then, around noon people gradually fill up the area around, sit in the cafes or do shopping. The street vendors are usually in the west side. They sell festival tickets and souvenirs. Beside the environmental and social values that possesses, the square is very vital economic spot in the city. Cafes and shops are viable businesses that contribute to the vitality of the square. At the same time, they play an important role for safety of the place. In the other side, the use of the terraces provides incomes for the municipality from tax incentives necessary for an effective maintenance. A mix of stakeholders in the square takes care on how the square is maintained. Shop-keepers, and local civil society organisations constantly keeps warning the city department for public services on whatever the square may need in terms of maintenance (Figure 5) Citizens initiative and public space activism These facts are motives for different initiatives in terms of enriching public life in the public space. During the socialist period, there were many local culture initiatives such as festivals and art exhibition, primarily organized by a very strong culture community in Prizren. This was continued after the war. One of the mainstream local initiatives is DOKUFEST, the International Documentary Film Festival organized since From a very modest three-day festival in the beginning, it grew to a ten-day international event that brings more than thousand visitors in Prizren. Dokufest provide the city not only a top class documentary film festival, now rated among the 25 best festivals in the world, but it made city of Prizren to flourish, making all residents be engaged in the different culture activities and those supporting the event in different ways. The initiative came from local people working in culture, the class of the local people that love the city, its history and traditions. And they recognize the values of the cultural heritage that can help city development. DOKUFEST, is now the largest short and documentary film festival in the Balkans. Each year the festival fills the cinemas and improvised screening venues around historic city centre of Prizren with a selection of more than 200 handpicked films from around the world. The festival is known for its lively atmosphere, the amazing enthusiasm that grasps the city and its people and also for more than 150 volunteers working for the festival. Documentary photo exhibitions, debates, master classes and lively music events are also part of the festival. Figure 5. Shadervan Square from the west I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

8 During the festival, the Shadervan square becomes the starting point of all activities. There is an info-box, which provides all necessary information on daily and evening activities, projections, workshops and venues and maps for orientation, and nightlife, which usually last until early hours in the morning. Considering central position, it is a reference point to find all important places to visit in the city. In the Shadervan organisers of the festival, directors and media, meet to exchange information s and experience the public life. While eating kebab, drinking traditional Turkish coffee or tea, interviews take place. The square also connects other landmark and hidden public spaces, areas in the vicinity where some other would like to enjoy the city charm in a more relaxed atmosphere. Although the festival last only 10 days, the flavour of the event takes off from the March with a constant rise ending with the impressions of those comes for the first time and those who are regular visitors of the festival Making city development and inclusive process The generative feature of the fountain square arises from the multi-layered dimensions such as time, morphological and functional dimension. Positioned very close to the river Lumbardhi, at the mountain footstep, under the historical neighbourhood of Nenkalaja ( under the fortress ), presents the most interesting focal point of the city core. There are two most prominent religious buildings in the surrounding: the Sinan Pasha Mosque from 17 th century and the Sent George Orthodox Church from 19 th. The square was the centre of the city bazaar including goldsmiths, gunsmiths, furriers, grocery shops and coffee shops. It was also the intersection of the Blacksmith Street crossing the river through the Old Stone Bridge, the other Prizren s landmark, as well as Tailors Street. The ordinary citizens play the crucial role in improving the public space. Local residents understand that the city image goes beyond individual interest. Recently this activism broke the barriers between Municipal authorities and citizens. These activities are bringing the new culture where people are more and more interested to contribute for the public space. 4. Public life of the Shadervan square understand how the space is used. Direct observation is the primary tool for studying of the public life in the city. The choice of tools is based on the features that make chosen public spaces samples for finding answers to the research questions. For the field survey, it was necessary to consider the study context holistically, including physical, cultural and climate aspects. In order to study different aspects of public life, it was necessary to combine various types of investigation [13]. Usually this issue depends on the purpose of the study and local conditions. In order to cover the different time periods in a day, the survey took place from to and from to Counting took place 15 minutes each hour. It is considered that 15 minutes observation and counting during the hour could sufficiently illustrate the social life and activities in the public space. Concerning the nightlife, especially in the occasion of particular events-such as Dokufest in Prizren, separate observation until midnight was made, in order to extract the features specific for this particular event. In order to see the daily differences, the research was carried out during weekdays and weekends, because patterns change during the non working days and holidays. In Prizren, the traditional market day presents also a significant pattern change around the market and generally in the centre of the city. Basic tools used for survey were: counting, behavioural mapping, tracing, photographing and diary keeping. By counting we provided numbers for making comparisons between different sites over time. Maps of activities show people s places, places for walking, staying and sitting. (Figure 6). Differences according to timing are shown in the diagrams. People s movements inside or crossing through, are drawn as lines of movement on a plan of the site being studied. The interaction of urban life and form were captured and documented by photographing. To register details and nuances of interaction between public life and space, the notes were taken in the diary, noting observations that can later be categorized and quantified. We tried to answer the question: what makes a public space a pleasant place to be and to use? The survey shows graphically how they change during the day and the days in the week. What is the best time to sit in the square or adjacent café, how time influences the use of parks or how working time of the shops triggers people to walk on a shopping street? These criteria are based on human senses and needs....please look closely at real cities. While you are looking, you might as well also listen, linger and think about what you see. Jane Jacobs [12] The flow of people Through counting the flow of the people using the Shadervan square on different hours of the day, on different days, and different weather conditions was measured. The flow of people varies of different In this research, the users of public space were not directly involved in the survey, but their activity and behaviour were observed and mapped in order to I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

9 conditions. Mornings are usually quieter but there are more people who use the square in the morning during working days as their way to their work, especially in the summer. At 11 o'clock there were more people on the weekend than on the working days, but in the rainy days the number of people decreases substantially. The afternoons are characterized with small differences through hours (Figure 7). The diagram of common lines of movement used on the space is an outcome of several observations of the site on different days of the week. People prefer peripheral parts of the square for walking. (Figure 6) There are cases when they use these lines just as a connection between two points, but in most cases there are other reasons people prefer these lines. Walking through these lines people enjoy shadow during the summer and shelter during a rainy day, facts that are very important to have people in the public space. But the main reason people prefer peripheral lines has to do with the interaction with the activities that take place in the shops in the ground floor, such as greeting people sitting in the bar, or just looking to the shop windows. Figure 6. The common everyday activities on the square Figure 7. Diagram of people s flow in the square Figure 8. Analysis of the most common lines of movement and the intensity of the flow I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

10 Figure 9. Measurement of the speed of the people walking through different paths in square Figure 10. Moments from different movement lines through 'Shadervan' Even though peripheral lines are preferred, observations have showed that the number of people passing through the fountain is still quite large not organised in one line, but there are many paths used while passing through the fountain, creating a network of movement lines in the middle of the square. Passing through square and drinking water at the fountain is a must for all pedestrians- citizens and tourists in Prizren, mostly children and elderly people (Figures 8-10). tourists, children or other people who wants to experience the sunshine in front of the fountain especially in the colder days of the autumn and winter (Figures 11-12). 5. Conclusions The city of Prizren could not be imagined without the Shadervan Square. Numerous songs and poems written about Prizren have contained rhymes on the Shadervan Square, almost without exceptions. Shadervan has been and is still considered a landmark of Prizren comprising the cultural values and that pose an immersive contribution to the local settings and From the observations the preferred spots for standing are usually under the trees. These spots sometimes serve as prearranged meeting points, but there are also cases when people prefer standing on the shadow under the tree from where they passively experience the space. The fountain is usually a standing point for identities. I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

11 Figure 11. The urban furniture Figure 12. View from the square to the south I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp

12 Physical dimension Shadervan possesses a set of physical features that makes it the most important public space in the city. These features include interwoven architectural styles from the early and late Ottoman period, Colonial style from the beginning of the 20th century, and building elements of the modern architecture included in the refurbished buildings such as shop storefronts, display windows and doors. Low height of the surrounding building envelope contributes to the human dimension of the square providing hierarchy towards monumental Sinan Pasha Mosque,Arasta Bridge on the east, and Sent George Church towards Terzi çarshi (Tailor s bazaar) on the west. The balance between these contrasts of dimension and materials is provided by a green alley of linden trees, which also provides the shade during the hot summers when taking a break while sitting on the benches. The overall visual features are complemented by the dramatic landscape consisting of medieval fortress walls on the top of the hill and residential neighbourhood under the l fortress that gradually flow towards the Lumbardhi river. Functional dimension The Shadervan square for the centuries was the foci of production and trade activities. Beside doing usual business, the artisans and traders have traditionally gathered in the coffee shops and meyhanes to eat and drink during the long working days. The traces of artisanal production remained nowadays. Goldsmiths and silversmiths have their shop corners including Prizren s traditional filigree artwork, which is known internationally as well. Restaurants and coffee shops, presents a significant business activities through all the day. Other shops and groceries complement the variety of functions in the square and around. The Sinan Pasha Mosque, Saint George Church and the Catholic Church in the proximity, shows the centuries of harmonious coexistence of different religions, a feature that characterizes the majority of Balkan cities. Social-cultural dimension Shadervan Square has preserved social values that were built during the Ottoman period. Ottoman era everyday life can be still traced in the present. Shopkeepers and vendors have changed, but the sense of socializing inside and outside in the open space has remained a cultural feature that is valued by the users. Shadervan Square presents one of the Pirzren s liveliest public spaces. Beside physical features, its public life features contribute to the local identity of the area and Prizren as a whole. Residents and visitors would not hesitate to say that without Shadervan Square, Prizren wouldn t be such a lively city. Linked to the culture events that take place in Prizren, Shadervan Square will probably continue to attract writers and musicians to comeback with new poems and songs on the water fountain and people. References [1] Doempke, Stephan, et.al., Four Historic Cities in the Western Balkans. (Tirana: Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organisation, 2012), [2] Acun, Fatma A portrait of the Ottoman Cities, Muslim Worlds, Volume 92, no. 3/4 (2002), [3] Kostof, Spiro The history of Architecture. (Oxford, Oxford University Pres, 1995) 457. [4] Serafim Nikolic, Prizren-od Srednjegveka do savremenogdoba. (Prishtina, Kosovo Institute for Protection of the Cultural Monuments, 1998), [5] Pierre Pinon, The Ottoman city of the Balkans, in The City in the Islamic World, Vol , ed. Salma K. Jayyusi, Renata Holod, Attilio Petruccioli and André Raymon (Leiden: BRILL, 2008), [6] Shkodra, Zija Qyteti Shqiptar në shekullin 19 - (The Albanian City in the 19 th century), (Tirana: Academy of Science of Albania, 1972) [7] Rukaj, Mariola Čaršijas/çarshijas, ancient markets at the heart of the Balkans - OsservatorioBalcani e Caucaso-transeuropa, 23/11/2010, /Seenet/Carsijas-carshijas-ancient-markets-at-theheart-of-the-Balkans [8] Cerasi, Maurice, "Frenk, Hind ve Sind: Real or Imaginary in the Aesthetics of Ottoman Open Spaces. Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 2, ed. by AttiloPetruccioli, (1986) [9] Kojic, Branislav Dj. Stari Balkanski Gradovi, Varoši i Varošice -( Old Balkan Cities and Towns ), (Belgrade, IAUS-Serbian Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, 1976), [10] Kojic, Branislav Dj. Stari Balkanski Gradovi, Varoši i Varošice -( Old Balkan Cities and Towns ), (Belgrade, IAUS-Serbian Institute for Architecture and Urbanism, 1976), [11] Shukriu, Edi Shatervani, in Qielli - ( The Sky ). (Prishtina: Rilindja, 1989), 23. [12] Jacobs, Jane The Death and Life of Great American Cities, (London: Pimlico, Random House, 1962), 1962, 09. [13] Gehl, Jan, Svarre, Birgitte, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013), 22. I. Gjinolli, A. Bytyçi: The Fountain Square Shadervan A living Landmark of Prizren, pp