Following the feature on Natland News on 5th October, I can now report that we (Judith Robinson and three daughters) had a wonderful trip to Kosovo. We were met at the airport and taken straight to the western mountains, to visit the C14th Decani Monastery and to stay overnight in an C18th kulla (fortified house), where a traditional meal was served. The next day we were driven up the Decan gorge (in lovely autumn weather) where we found the position of the campsite where Neil and his colleagues camped in 1956. We were accompanied by two Kosovars, an anthropologist and a local historian. In the nearby city of Peja (formerly Pec) we found that one of the very few buildings to survive the 1999 war was a hotel beside the main square which Neil had photographed, with a horse-drawn taxi. The roof and the name of the hotel have changed, the communist star has gone and the square is much busier but a modern taxi pulled up as we stood there.
 |
| Taxi in Pec Square 1956 |
 |
| Taxi in Peja Square 2011 |
The opening of the exhibition in the Ethnological Museum in Prishtina was attended by about 100 people who were most enthusiastic about the photographs and appreciative of my initiative in offering the pictures to the museum. I was interviewed for the main national newspaper and for three television channels. I am told that the event featured less than an hour later, on the 8 o’clock news. Drinks were served in the museum garden, so as not to risk damage to the carpets, but it turned very cold as we stood talking there. Next day the four of us strolled along the “Boulevard Mother Theresa” in bright sunshine accompanied by a cold wind and occasional snowflakes! At Mass in the evening, Elva and I were invited to read the English versions of the Readings, following locals reading in Albanian.
 |
Exhibition (Elizabeth Gowing, Judith Robinson, H.E. Ian Cliff (British Ambassador) and Valon Shkodra of the Prishtina Ethnological Museum) |
On Monday morning, we were given a guided tour of the Ethnological Museum, so as to see the exhibits without the crowds. While we were there, 3 elderly Kosovar men, who had never been there before, came to see the photographs because they had read about them in the newspaper that morning. They too were very appreciative.
We felt that we had achieved something good in bringing this piece of their heritage back to Kosovo. And the achievement is really Neil’s.
 |
| Elva Almond, Judith Robinson, Astri Ablitt & Iona Robinson, with Arberita & Rexhep, in the Decan Valley |