Highlands of Gjakova
Traditionally, parts of the Gjakova Highlands that are now located in southern Montenegro were used as pasturelands by the local Albanian tribes.
[7] The Gjakova Highlands are characterised by alpine landscapes, deep valleys, vertical cliffs, dense coniferous and deciduous forests, small lakes and rivers.
The forests of the park are covered by a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees growing on limestone and dolomite, which is characteristic to the Albanian Alps.
[13] A lush mixed forest occurs in the upper part of the valley represented with a mixture of silver fir, common beech, norway spruce and scots pine.
[9] Besides, the park contains boglands, which are situated in the wet low lying environments whereas various species of narthecium, carex and sphagnum can be found.
[9] The steep slopes and ravines of the Valbona Valley are home to communities of largeleaf linden, sycamore, ash and wych elm, which grow mostly in cool and humid locations.
The river is particularly known for the diversity of flora and fauna and is surrounded by swamps and canals that drain the whole local basin such as the region of Malësia e Gashit within the Albanian Alps into the Adriatic sea.
It dwells a number of various species that are fast becoming rare in Southern Europe, with animals such as the eurasian lynx which inhabits the rugged forested areas, the endangered brown bear and gray wolf.
[21][22] The Highlands of Gjakova were inhabited by the Illyrian tribes during antiquity, as is evidenced by archaeological findings such as castles and tumuli found within the ethnographic region.
The region was represented by notable figures such as Bajram Curri, Binak Alia, Mic Sokoli, Tahir Sinani and Shpend Dragobia.
[26] In May 1845, following Reşid Pasha's outlawing of the right to bear arms, 2,000 people from the Gjakova region, as well as the Highland tribes of Krasniqi, Gashi and Bytyçi, rose in revolt.
Under the leadership of Mic Sokoli and Binak Alia, the tribes of Krasniqi, Gashi, Bytyçi, Nikaj and Mërturi organized a resistance near Bujan.
[29] During the Albanian uprising of 1912, Bajram Curri led the Krasniqi tribe to Prush Pass, near the Has region, where the Ottomans had left a garrison of four battalions.
A bloody battle would follow, in which the Krasniqi were joined by the Hasi, Gashi and Bytyqi tribes in their siege of Prush Pass.
This resulted in a heavy defeat for the Ottoman Turks, which left the rebels with much ammunition, arms, machine guns and cannons.
[30] The Bujan Conference was held in the Gjakova Highlands between December 31, 1943, to January 2, 1944, and it was a concrete undertaking by Albanians to unite the Kosovo region with Albania.
There was not much enthusiasm for the fascist administration throughout Albanian-inhabited lands during World War II, but Kosovo Albanians preferred it over Serbian rule.
However, after the partition of the lands which had Albanian ethnic majority and the subsequent loss of the Ottoman Empire to Serbia and other Balkan countries, many of the Gjakova Highland tribes became destitute after being cut off from their main market town as the region of Kosovo became a part of the Serbian state.
They were believed to have arrived in their present region sometime after 1600, driving the Gashi eastwards and the Thaçi westwards, and the tribe can be traced to a common ancestor by the name of Kolë Mekshi.
They border the Krasniqi to the west and the Bytyqi to the south, over the Luzha Pass (Qafa e Luzhës), and they possessed summer pasturelands east of Vuthaj in present-day Montenegro.
In 1690, Mahmut Pasha Begollii expelled most of the tribe, forcing them to relocate to the Llap region, leaving only the village of Luzha behind.
Their settlements within the Gjakova Highlands include:[40][41] The Nikaj tribal territory is situated north of the Drin River and in the present-day western parts of the District of Tropoja.
They trace their origins to the ancestral father Nikë Mekshi, a herdsman from Krasniqi who left at around 1550-1600 and settled in presently Nikaj territory, where they replaced the local Mavriqi tribe.
Their settlements within the Gjakova Highlands include:[42][43] The Mërturi tribal territory is situated north and south of the Drin River, west of Fierza in the Districts of Tropoja and Puka.
It borders Shoshi to the west, Nikaj to the north, Krasniqi and Thaçi to the east, Berisha to the south and Toplana to the southwest.
The rubat is mostly unicoloured, but it can vary, and women's aprons covering the front waist area are traditionally decorated in the corners (which remains uncovered by the midriff scarf).
