The Time We Have Left Behind

  

  The Time We Have Left Behind

   Altiona Begisholli

  24.05.2022

A serene voice, a breath of fresh air from the outdoors, and a greeting from a young girl's voice,is what I recall from the entrance area of the visiting National Museum of Kosovo .To be honest, I was a little anxious and eager to see how this visit will go because it was my first time visiting that museum. Continue reading to find out how this short “journey” of mine went.

The Museum of Kosovo is located in Prishtina, which was founded by Yugoslav authorities in 1949.There were two exhibits shown:The Archeological Kosovo and History of Kosovo.

Upon entering the museum there was a huge space in front of me with a lot of cupboards full of artifacts as I was a bit confused and didn't know where to begin. The museum's guide, a young girl , advised us to start with the Early Neolithic Period in order to observe things in chronological order.What I saw in the museum during that period was unexpected and startling to me since it includes a lot of primitive and strange items, such as Altars and Teracotta, which are working tools made from strim animal nails.

Following that, there were various fascinating items used in the past,such as: vessels of daily use , beakers, vases, cups, plates, decorative and storage vessels, working tools, weaponry and                     

jewelry .

Pieces of jewelry were all so beautiful as I  thought how lovely it would be if I held one of them in my hands. I was so taken by it that I joked with the guide about how much one of them costs, and we all burst out laughing.

After seeing all the corners of the first floor, which was more related to the archeology of Kosovo,we climbed the stairs to the second floor of the museum, where there was another exhibit about Kosovo's history. The exhibit reflects Kosovo's century-long struggle for independence and freedom. The focus was primarily on the Kosovo Liberation Army and the imprints they left on our history.

 The exhibit featured essential elements of Kosovo's history from the last war including war tools, which were created by hand from various components of various machines, then weapons and uniforms of some of the soldiers who served in the army at that time. License plates ,different laptops and satellite phones as well as various documents with various signed notices, were all in good condition, readable and visible. It amazes me that they have endured the test of time and are still visible to us.

Seeing the corner witnessed by the Serbian violence committed at the time, which contained cold weapons, spears, syringes, bottles filled with poison, and also a “Plis”(tradition Albanian Cap) in which were the marks of the bullet and they had drawn the mark of the Serbian army, made me feel extremely emotional. When I saw those things, numerous victims flashed in front of my eyes, many of them were women who had unwillingly experienced this form of abuse.

  

Visiting a museum, became an important part of my identity, led to successful social interactions and provided me in-depth information about my country's historical events.

My recommendation for you is to postpone an outing for items that you may not need; going to the museum will make you happier in the long term.

                            Photo Credits:Altina Salihu