Cultural heritage

Sahat Kulla (the Clock Tower) is located in the Gradina neighborhood, in the old center of Rahovec. It was built by Mahmut Pasha Rrotulli at the end of the 18th century. Above the door on the north-eastern side, in carved stone, there is an inscription in the Ottoman language – the year of construction according to the Hijri calendar 1206, which corresponds to the year 1792.
Sahat Kulla has a strategic position, representing the highest point in the silhouette of Rahovec. It served to orient the inhabitants to the time and as a strategic observation point.
Sahat Kulla has a rectangular plan, built with stones of different shapes, bound with lime mortar. The stones at the corners of the base are carved in a rectangular shape, thus creating pronounced corners along the four facades. The building is not plastered, so the structure of the masonry is clearly visible.
The upper part is covered with a hipped roof, covered with lead plates. Above the hipped roof extends the lookout with a square plan, where the bell is placed. This lookout is also covered with a hipped roof, with lead plates.
Entrance to the Sahat Kulla is through external stone stairs, placed on the north-eastern side. The stone stairs lead to the wooden entrance door, with a semicircular frame of carved stone. From the door, inside, there are wooden stairs that lead to the upper part.
In the interior of the Sahat Kulla is the clock mechanism, with the engraved inscription LEOPOLD DPABEINGER in SSJENN A793, which means the year of production 1793. The clock that was placed in the tower does not work and has been preserved in the premises of the Museum of Rahovec.
During 2009-2010 the Sahat Kulla was completely restored, and a new clock was installed.
With its position dominating the landscape of the town and its characteristic form, the Sahat Kulla in Rahovec is a monument of special historical, artistic, social and scientific importance.

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The stone fountain, also called the Haxhi Fountain (Kroi i Haxhive), is located in the south-western part of the old center of Rahovec. Based on the inscription in the Ottoman language, it was built in 1813.
From the time it was built until today, the fountain has served as a public fountain, supplying residents and passers-by with drinking water. The water in the fountain comes by free fall from the Zhdrella spring.
The fountain belongs to the type of wall-backed fountains, which were built mainly at street corners. It has a simple decorative treatment. It consists of two parts, the front and the basin. The front has a rectangular plan, and is made of carved stones in rectangular form bound with lime mortar. The upper part of the front ends in the form of a tympanum and is covered with a gabled roof formed from stone slabs. In the middle of the tympanum a circular stone is carved, depicting the sun and its rays. In the lower right corner there is a niche for placing soap and other items.
The basin has an irregular quadrilateral plan, made of monolithic limestone.
The inscription, which is located on the eastern side of the wall, is written on limestone in Kufic style and contains the date of the fountain’s construction.
From the time it was built until now, the fountain has remained in its original place with a few minor adaptations. With its form, dimensions, construction technique and artistic treatment, this fountain represents a special example of the public fountains built during the 19th century in Rahovec.

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The house of Qamil Vuçitërna is located in the old center of Rahovec. It is believed to have been built at the end of the 19th century. From the time it was built until a few years ago it was inhabited.
The house is located on a steep rocky terrain, and its spatial organization has been adapted to the configuration of the terrain. It has an irregular quadrilateral plan, built with a ground floor and an upper floor. The ground floor was used for economic functions, for storing and preparing food, while the upper floor served for living.
The eastern and southern facades border other residential buildings, while the western facade faces the street. These facades have a simple linear treatment without any decoration. The front facade, the northern one, which faces the inner courtyard, has a more distinctive treatment.
The walls on the ground floor are built of carved stones in rectangular form, reinforced with wooden beams, creating horizontal bands. The walls on the upper floor are built of baked earth bricks – qerpiç (adobe).
The roof is hipped, originally covered with stone slabs, while in the mid-20th century it was covered with corrugated sheets – “sallon”.
In the interior of the house some original traditional elements have been preserved, characterized by a high level of woodcarving. Among the interior elements, worth highlighting are the old wooden stairs and the wooden ceilings made in the “shishe tavan” style.
Alongside the woodcarving, the stonework has also been treated at a high artistic level. Of note here are the carved stones used in the structure of the ground floor walls, and the stone door with an arched opening on the front facade.
Over the years the building has undergone numerous transformations to adapt to the needs of modern life. The windows on the front facade used to have a frame made of stone, but have now been replaced with windows with wooden frames.
The proportions of the building, the prominent front facade, the materials and the construction technique represent the main characteristics of this tower house (kulla-house).

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Rahovec Castle is located east of the town of Rahovec; this fortification is known by local inhabitants as Durman Castle (Kalaja e Durmanit). The castle has a very important geostrategic position. It commands a wide view of the geographic area and has mutual lines of sight with other surrounding fortresses, such as Zatriq and Cërmjan on the northern side; Vraniq and Korisha on the southeastern flank; and Karashëngjergj and Vlashnja on the southwestern side.
The fortress is situated on two hills with elevations of 722 and 702 m above sea level, and has an elongated shape that often adapts to the configuration of the terrain. The longitudinal part of the fortification, oriented east-west, is about 200 m, while the width varies from 44 m at the northwestern extreme to 55 m at the southeastern one. Within this perimeter of walls an area of about 0.60 ha is enclosed.
The walls of the castle are well preserved above ground. This is best seen on the southern and eastern sides, where their height reaches up to 1.10 m. In the other parts, northern and western, the walls have the form of a trace above the ground surface, while at the southwestern extreme there are places where they are missing.
The surrounding walls preserve the same construction technique throughout the fortification.
The flank of the southern wall of the fortress is fortified with 5 towers, which represent different types of plans: horseshoe-shaped (towers no. 1 and 5), square (no. 2 and 4) and rectangular (tower no. 3).
The fortification of the southern part with 5 towers provided active defense in the least protected part of the hill, exposed to the plain and hilly territory of today’s Municipality of Suharekë, which is very rich in traces of settlements from the Roman and Late Antique periods.
Based on the construction technique of the surrounding walls, the planimetric form of the towers and other elements, we believe that the castle of Rahovec belongs to a fortification with a military observation character in this part of the route that connected the mountainous areas with the important center of Ulpiana. The numerous settlements around this fortification, dating from the 3rd-4th centuries, speak to the importance this area had in this period. The existence of communication routes, such as the Lissus-Naissus route along this region, certainly brought about the need to build this fortification with a military character for the purpose of observing the area and protecting this connecting economic artery. The dividing wall inside the fortification testifies to a continuity of life of this fortification, at least into the following two centuries, the 5th and 6th.

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At the entrance of the village of Celinë, there is a hill known by the name “Brzhe Bërde”. On the southern slope of this hill several graves can still be found today. On an area of approximately 0.2 ha, about 20 graves with stone construction can be seen. Two vertical limestone slabs stand at the head and the feet of the graves, which are generally oriented northeast-southwest. In two of these graves the headstones are well carved and each has an engraved cross, which in form resembles the Maltese-type cross.

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The Roman settlement of Çifllak is located near the course of the White Drin, on its left bank. It is bordered to the north by the village of Kramovik, to the east by Guri i Kuq, and to the west by Meqe and Rakovina. The site extends over most of the terrace created by river activity in a quite fertile plain with a favorable geographic position. Research carried out in the first part of our millennium, namely the control excavations of 2001 and the archaeological excavations of 2002 and 2004, identified traces of a residential complex of the Roman period consisting of a Roman dwelling (residential house), other accompanying structures and a thermae, that is, a Roman bath of very large dimensions, where, among other things, parts of the pool area were also documented. The architectural structures and the materials discovered showed that we are dealing with a site of the Roman period of the 1st-4th centuries. The walls were built of stone and brick, bound with good-quality lime mortar; there are rooms where interior plaster – frescoes – was found, along with a waterproofing layer, lime mortar mixed with brick dust.
The rich archaeological material discovered here has a variety and rich typology of local production as well as imported terra sigillata. Various work tools were also discovered, various roof tiles and bricks, kitchen vessels of different sizes and shapes, glassware, metal jewelry, as well as coins, architectural fragments and other artifacts of daily use.
From a chronological viewpoint, the settlement of Çifllak is dated throughout the entire Roman period of the 1st-4th centuries, and two construction phases of this time were identified here. The first construction period is of the 1st-2nd centuries and the second of the 3rd-4th.

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Ismet Çmega’s kulla (tower house) is located in the old center of Rahovec, on the “Vrella” square. It was built during the 19th century by Dervish Meriqi, and is now owned by the Çmega family.
The building has the characteristic features of the kullas that were built during the 19th century in the Dukagjin plain.
It has a quadrilateral plan with dimensions of 6.3 x 4.3 m. It is built with a ground floor and two upper floors. The ground floor and the first floor each have a single space, where only the stair space is separated by an interior wall. Based on the typical functional scheme of kullas, the most characteristic space on the second floor is the dyshekllëk (sitting area). In this kulla too, the stone dyshekllëk extends along both sides of the tower, across the whole front of the southern facade and partly on the western one.
The walls on the ground floor are built of local stone with a thickness of about 60 cm, while on the upper floors they are made of baked earth – qerpiç (adobe). Another material found in the construction of this kulla is wood, which was used for building the roof structure as well as for the mid-floor construction in the form of beams and plank flooring.
The roof is hipped and covered with stone slabs, a characteristic covering of roofs in the Rahovec region.
From the time it was built until now, the kulla was used for dwelling, while today it is uninhabited.
The restoration interventions of 2014 contributed to consolidating the structure of the kulla, restoring value to this important monument of the cultural heritage of the Rahovec region.

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The house of Mustafa Jusuf Kadriu, before its demolition, with its front facade oriented to the southeast, was located in the center of Rahovec, opposite the Halveti tekke. Within the house was a courtyard surrounded by several new houses.
The house was built in the 19th century, namely in 1893, and throughout its existence it served as a dwelling. It was built on flat terrain, with a rectangular plan, on two levels, ground floor and upper floor.
The foundations were built of local stone. The walls of the ground floor and the load-bearing walls of the upper floor were built of local stone and qerpiç (adobe), bound with mud mortar. The horizontal reinforcement of the walls was done with wooden beams, hatullas. The partition walls of the upper floor were made of wooden framework filled with adobe and plastered with mud mortar (bondruk system). The surface of the interior walls was plastered and whitewashed. The thickness of the structural walls was ~75 cm, while the partition walls were 15-20 cm..
The mid-floor and roof structures were made of wooden beams. The roof was hipped, covered with half-round “Mediterranean” tiles. The doors and windows were original to the period, made of wood. The ceilings of the rooms were made of wood, in the “shishe tavan” form.
The building in question was among the rare residential buildings with high values of local vernacular architecture in Rahovec. But unfortunately the house was completely demolished in 2015 by the owner of the house himself, so it no longer exists today.

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The Kasum Mosque, with its main facade oriented to the north, is located in the town of Rahovec, on Bekim Sylka Street. Nearby are: Republika Square, the old fountain in the square, the Sokol Mosque, the Tower House of Hajrullah Çanta, as well as the old traditional houses around it.
According to the residents of Rahovec, the Kasum Mosque was built in the 19th century, in 1826, by the Haxhimustafa family with the support of the residents, while the plot was donated by the benefactor Kosum Shtatvica.
Architecturally, the mosque is built on sloping terrain, with a rectangular floor plan, and consists of the prayer hall: square in shape with dimensions of 677×657 cm and a height of 625 cm; the hayat (porch): half-open and covered with a roof, which serves as the entrance to the mosque, with an irregular floor plan; and the annex: built later on the eastern side of the mosque, rectangular in shape, with dimensions of 577×360 cm and a height of 240 cm.
The prayer hall has the gallery, or mahvil, built with a timber construction and supported by two timber columns, and it is surrounded by timber railings or balustrades. The construction of the mahvil and the columns are covered with white plaster-gypsum. Access to the mahvil is provided through the stairs of the minaret.
The prayer hall also contains the Mihrab, set into the wall, the Minbar, and the Kursi, made of wood.
Inside the mosque, specifically in the dome, there are mural paintings with geometric and floral decorations. The minaret of the mosque has one balcony (sherefe) and access is provided through an opening in the wall, which is at the level of the prayer hall.
The foundations of the mosque are presumed to be of stone, while the walls of the prayer hall, 70 cm thick, are of baked bricks bound with cement mortar, whereas the walls of the hayat and the annex are of concrete blocks, 25 cm thick. The minaret of the mosque is built of pumice stone (siga), plastered on the outside with cement mortar, and was repaired after the year 2000 as a result of damage from shells during the last war in Kosovo, in 1998-1999.
Immovable furnishings: the Mihrab; the Minbar made of wood with geometric decorations, which was transferred from the bazaar mosque with a gallery, demolished in 2000; the Kursi made of wood; the wooden railing of the mahvil; mural paintings with geometric and floral decorations in the dome;
Movable furnishings: Prayer beads (tespih); a large wooden clock; the capital base, carved from local stone, which is located in the courtyard of the mosque;
The mosque has historical value because during the 1990s it served as a secondary school for students of the Municipality of Rahovec; during nationwide demonstrations and protests it served for demonstration gatherings and as shelter for them; and during the last war in Kosovo in 1998-99 it served as a depot for food and clothing, for supplying the fighters of the KLA.
Throughout the entire time, the mosque has served, and still serves, as a mosque, a place of Islamic worship for the residents of Rahovec.

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The Great Tekke in Rahovec belongs to the Halveti order. This sacred Islamic building is located in the center of the town of Rahovec. The Halveti Tekke in Rahovec was built in 1732. The founder of this tekke is Sheikh Sylejman Baba Rahoveci, who passed away in 1771.
The tekke complex consists of several main units: the tekke with spaces dedicated to the followers of the Halveti Order; two tombs (tyrbe) where the spiritual leaders of the tekke are buried; the courtyard and the service spaces.
The tekke building has an irregular floor plan, containing the Sheikh's room, the room where the believers meet the Sheikh, the prayer hall – the Semahane, and the library, which holds a rich collection of old books and manuscripts. To the south of the tekke is attached the tomb, which forms the facade of the complex facing the main road. The front facade consists of nine windows with semicircular openings, and is unplastered, so the structure of regularly carved stones can be seen. The tekke is built of stone, while the roof was originally covered with stone slabs, a traditional material characteristic of Rahovec and the region, which were later replaced with clay tiles.
The interior of the tekke has a high ethnological value and is rich in traditional tekke elements, such as: old books and manuscripts, tools, musical instruments, etc. Its construction is made of stylized and well-crafted wood. It was built by local master builders. In the prayer room – the semahane, there is a niche marking the mihrab, which is decorated with ceramic tiles with geometric motifs. During different periods the tekke has undergone various interventions to adapt it to modern conditions.

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The tower house (kulla) of Hajrullah Çanta is located in Rahovec, on “Republika” Square. It is presumed to have been built toward the end of the 18th century. From the time it was built until now it has undergone many transformations, both physical and functional.
Initially it served as a residential and lookout tower, while during the 19th century until 1908 it served as a military base of the Ottoman Empire. After this period it was again adapted for housing.
The tower house has an irregular quadrangular floor plan and is built with a high ground floor and an upper floor.
The northern and eastern facades border the building with the street, and have a simple linear treatment without any decoration. The front (southern) facade, which faces the inner courtyard, has a highly artistic treatment. This facade emphasizes the central part, which projects from the perimeter creating a light-and-shadow effect, as well as the gate and the windows on the ground floor with semicircular arches, made of carved stones in white, blue and yellow.
The walls on the ground floor are built of carved stones of rectangular shape, laid regularly so as to create horizontal bands. The walls on the upper floor are mainly built of clay bricks bound with lime mortar. On the northern facade, part of the wall on the upper floor is of stone, as on the ground floor. This fact leads us to presume that the tower was initially built entirely of stone, while the upper floor must have been rebuilt later with clay bricks.
The roof is hipped (four-sided), originally covered with stone slabs, while in the middle of the 20th century it was covered with clay tiles.
In the interior of the house, the original traditional elements have been preserved, characterized by a high level of woodcarving. Among the interior elements worth highlighting are: old wooden doors decorated with geometric forms, wooden ceilings made in the “shishe tavan” style, the doors of the wall cupboards, and double windows with wooden frames and metal grilles on the inner side.
In the southern part of the house lies the courtyard, surrounded by a wall, which separates the space of the house from the street on the southeastern side. New buildings have been built in the courtyard to meet the needs of the owners, obscuring the view of this tower house.
The position of the tower, the emphasized front facade, the materials and construction technique, and the interior decorated with woodcarving elements create the main characteristics of this tower house.

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The tekke of the Melami order is located in the western part of the old center of Rahovec.
This tekke was founded by Sheikh Abdyl Maliq Efendi Hilmiu in 1887, and his successors were Sheikh Emin Efendi Durguti and Sheikh Sulemjan Efendi Kollari.
Throughout its history, besides the function of preaching religion, the tekke has played a very important role in the schooling and education of young people in the Albanian language. Sheikh Maliqi, known among the people as Sheikh Mala, was one of the most prominent personalities in the history of culture and education in Rahovec. He left behind manuscripts of a divan – poems written in the Albanian language, in the Arabic alphabet, and some translations of old religious books from Arabic into Albanian.
The tekke complex consists of the courtyard, the tekke building and the tomb. The tekke has a rectangular floor plan, covered with a hipped roof with clay tiles. At the front is the hayat – the half-open portico, from which one gains access to the fireplace room and the semahane – the prayer room, on its southern side.
In the interior of the semahane, on the southeastern wall, is the mihrab, with a semicircular floor plan, which at the top ends in the form of a stepped pyramid. In the semahane are preserved old documents that present the genealogy of the development of the Melami order in Rahovec, some old tools, as well as the divans – the poems written by Sheikh Mala, in the Albanian language in the Arabic alphabet.
Next to the tekke, in the southern corner, is the tomb, also with a rectangular floor plan, where the founder of the tekke, Sheikh Mala, is buried.
The old tekke building, built in 1887, had a basement, a ground floor and an upper floor, and was built of earthen bricks – adobe (qerpiç), while the hipped roof was covered with stone slabs.
In 1974 the old tekke was demolished, and the new building was built on the foundations of the existing one.
The walls on the ground floor are built with full clay bricks, while the hipped roof is covered with clay tiles.
The current appearance of the tekke does not preserve the characteristics of the local architecture of Rahovec.
After the death of Sheikh Sylejman Efendi Kollari in the 1990s, the tekke was left without a spiritual leader and its activity is fading away.

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The Stone Fountain, otherwise also called the Fountain of Republika Square II, is located in Republika Square, in the old center of the town of Rahovec. It was built in the 18th century. From the time of its construction to this day, the fountain serves as a public fountain, supplying residents and passers-by with drinking water. The water reaches the fountain by free fall from the Zhdrella spring.

The fountain belongs to the type of wall-backed fountains, which were built mainly at street corners. It has a simple decorative treatment. It consists of two parts, the front and the basin. The front has a rectangular floor plan, and is made of carved stones of rectangular shape bound with lime mortar.

The upper part of the front ends in the form of a tympanum and is covered with a gabled roof shaped from stone slabs. In the middle of the tympanum a square stone is carved, bearing an Ottoman inscription. On the two sides of the fountain there are two niches for placing soap and other items. The basin has an irregular quadrangular floor plan, made of monolithic limestone.

The inscription, which is located on the front side of the wall, is written on limestone in the “Kufic” style. From the time it was built until now, the fountain has remained in its original location with some minor adaptations; the upper part has been demolished, and its reconstruction is planned on the basis of analogy with other public fountains.

With its form, dimensions, construction technique and artistic treatment, this fountain represents a special example of the public fountains built during the 18th-19th centuries in Rahovec.

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The tekke of the Rifai order dates from the 19th century; together with the Kadiri Order, they are among the first and oldest orders. It has a tomb and many elements as well as important items which testify to the tradition and heritage of this religious temple. It continues to serve for prayer and religious ceremonies to this day. There have been works and reworks with wood and quality stone, especially after the liberation war, an expansion of the complex both inside and outside the building with the aim of creating the most suitable conditions and space for the believers.

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One of the cultural heritage objects of the Ottoman period is (was) also the old mosque in the village of Drenoc. Unfortunately, this building, which managed to withstand the weather conditions and the wars of various conflicts, did not manage to withstand the ignorance and low awareness of certain individuals, who without hesitation demolished the only cultural monument the village had. In place of this mosque they built a new one a few meters farther (to the north), opening the way for part of the neighborhood located on its southern side. The only good fortune from this misfortune is that the minaret was not demolished, so a trace remained of this monument that was several centuries old. The old mosque, the only monument in this village, was demolished in 2010, while the old minaret remained at the back (front) of the new mosque.
The minaret of the mosque is built of pumice stone and was re-plastered in 1958, based on an engraving made on its body. The lower part of the gallery (sherefe) of the minaret is decorated with modest profiling, which is common for neighborhood mosques. The roof of the minaret (kylhan) is not original and was rebuilt later. Thus, of the existing original minaret only the building structure is original, while the plaster and the covering are from a later period.
The base of the minaret is hexagonal while the minaret itself is circular. The sherefe is reached by spiral stairs.
During the restoration of 2012, the base of the minaret was cleaned and conserved with horasan lime mortar. The protective railing of the gallery was repaired by reinstating missing pumice stones and using lime mortar as the binding material. The roof construction was completely rebuilt with timber and covered with lead sheets. At its top a new decoration (the “alem”) was installed, since the existing one was not original and was badly damaged. The whole minaret was plastered with horasan lime mortar, except for a section of about 1 m², leaving a trace to show the structure of the masonry. After the restoration of 2012 the minaret is today in good condition.

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The Sokol Mosque, with its main facade oriented to the west, is located in the town of Rahovec, on Bekim Sylka Street near Republika Square. Nearby are: the Tower House of Hajrrullah Çanta, the old fountain in Republika Square, the Kasum Mosque, the Clock Tower (Sahat Kulla), old traditional houses, etc.
According to the residents of the town of Rahovec, the Sokol Mosque was built at the beginning of the 19th century, in 1824, before the Kasum Mosque, by Sylë Sokoli with the support of local residents.
Architecturally, the mosque is built on sloping terrain, with a rectangular floor plan, and consists of the prayer hall: quadrangular in shape with dimensions of 732×738 cm and a height of 695 cm, as well as the hayat, which is within the frame of the prayer hall and is covered with a flat roof. The space of the hayat, with an irregular floor plan, dimensions of 739×205 cm and a height of 351 cm, was built later and serves as the entrance to the prayer hall (mosque) from the western side of the mosque.
In the prayer hall there is the Mihrab, set into the southern wall of the mosque, the Minbar and the Kursi, made of wood. Inside the mosque, specifically in the dome, there are mural paintings with geometric and floral decorations. The minaret of the mosque, placed on the western side of the mosque, has a polygonal floor plan, with one balcony (sherefe), and access is provided through an opening in the wall, which is located at a certain height from the level of the prayer hall.
Within the courtyard of the mosque there are these accompanying structures: the fountains for ablution (abdest), the accompanying space of the mosque, sanitary facilities and a new annex building – ground floor plus one upper floor, serving the mosque. The courtyard of the mosque is paved with broken stones.
The foundations of the mosque are presumed to be of stone, while the walls of the prayer hall, 60 cm thick, are of baked bricks bound with cement mortar. The minaret of the mosque is built of pumice stone (siga), plastered on the outside with cement mortar, and was repaired after the year 2000 as a result of damage from shells during the last war in Kosovo, in 1998-1999.
The roof of the mosque is hipped (four-sided), covered with flat tiles, while the covering of the minaret is of sheet metal.
Immovable furnishings: the Mihrab, set into the southern wall of the mosque; the Minbar, made of wood; the Kursi, made of wood; mural paintings with geometric and floral decorations in the dome;
Movable furnishings: a large wooden clock; prayer beads (tespih);
The mosque has historical value because during the 1990s of the 20th century it served as a secondary school for students of the Municipality of Rahovec; during nationwide demonstrations and protests it served for demonstration gatherings and as shelter for them; and during the last war in Kosovo in 1998-99 it served as a depot for food and clothing, for supplying the fighters of the KLA.
Throughout the entire time, the mosque has served, and still serves, for Islamic worship activities for the residents of Rahovec.

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The mosque is located in the center of the village of Zatriq, 12 km north of the town of Rahovec. According to the data, it was built in the second half of the 18th century. One part of the mosque was used for prayer, while the other part as a mejtep – primary school.
The mosque building has a rectangular floor plan and belongs to the type of village mosques. It is divided into two parts, where the right side serves for prayer while the left side serves as a school. On the right side, in the northwestern part, is the hayat with a rectangular floor plan. The hayat is enclosed, and provides access to the prayer hall, and through wooden stairs to the mahvil – the gallery.
The prayer hall has a rectangular floor plan covered with a flat ceiling, above which is a hipped roof covered with tiles. Access to the prayer hall is through the hayat.
In the interior of the prayer hall the original elements have been preserved: the mihrab, the minbar, the railing of the mahvil and the ceiling, which were made with traditional construction techniques.
The school (mejtep) is located on the northeastern side of the prayer hall and is divided into a ground floor and an upper floor.
The minaret is located on the western wall of the mosque, has a hexagonal base about 3 meters high, and narrows to form a circular base up to the top. The minaret is built of local broken stones. It has a medium height, is covered with a cone-shaped sheet-metal roof, and is characterized by the sherefe – the circular balcony, with toothed decoration on the lower part.
The mosque together with the mejtep played an important role in the education of the locals as well as in the social life of the village.

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The Spasiç family house is located in the center of the village of Hoçë e Madhe, about 5 km east of Rahovec. The house was built by Sima and Spasa Nedeljkoviç during the years 1830-1835, who after building the house went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. From the time it was built until today, the house has remained in the ownership of the same family and has been used for housing.

The building has a rectangular floor plan, built with a ground floor and an upper floor. The ground floor contains the hayat, a room, the kitchen and the bathroom. Access to the upper floor is through wooden stairs from the hayat. The upper floor contains the çardak, which also plays the role of an entrance hall to two rooms and a bathroom. The side facade borders the house complex with the street on the eastern side.

A characteristic element on this facade is the console, which projects from the perimeter of the upper floor, creating a light-and-shadow effect on the linear surface. The front facade is oriented to the south and overlooks the courtyard. The characteristic elements on this facade are three windows placed in a row, and the çardak in the southeastern corner, bounded by a wooden fence.

The walls on the ground floor are built of local stones bound with lime mortar, while on the upper floor of adobe (qerpiç) reinforced with timber beams in the “bondruk” system. The roof is hipped, covered with clay tiles. In the interior of the house, the original elements have been preserved, characterized by a high level of woodcarving.

Among the interior elements worth highlighting are the wooden columns with capitals decorated in arched forms, the door leaves decorated with geometric motifs, the “shishe tavan” ceilings, the qymlekllëk – the fireplace, and the iconostasis with the family icon brought from Jerusalem, together with the family relics.

In the southern part of the house lies the courtyard, surrounded by a wall, which separates the space of the house from the street on the southeastern side. The courtyard is paved with river stones – cobblestones, where, alongside the house, there are two service spaces and the section for storing firewood. In 2010 it was converted into a guesthouse offering bed and breakfast.

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The mosque is located in the center of the village of Xërxë, 10 km southwest of Rahovec. According to the inscription at the entrance, it was built by Hysein Spahiu in 1900. From the time it was built until now it has performed the religious function of the village mosque.
The mosque complex consists of the courtyard, which is enclosed by a surrounding wall that separates the complex from the road on the northern and eastern sides, the mosque building, and the building used as a meeting hall for the residents of the neighborhood, to the southwest of the courtyard.
The mosque building has modest dimensions and belongs to the type of village mosques. In the northwestern part is the hayat with a rectangular floor plan. The hayat was originally built on a high ground floor, while in 2004 it was divided with a mezzanine construction, creating the floor that serves as an extended hall of the mahvil – the gallery. Access to the gallery is by external stairs placed on the western side.
The prayer hall has a rectangular floor plan covered with a flat ceiling, above which is a hipped roof covered with tiles. Access to the prayer hall is through the hayat. In the interior of the prayer hall the original elements have not been preserved. The minbar, the railing of the mahvil and the ceiling were newly made of wood.
The minaret is located on the western wall of the mosque, has a quadrangular base up to a height of one meter, and narrows to form a circular base up to the top. The minaret is built of local broken stones. It has a small height, is covered with a cone-shaped sheet-metal roof, and is characterized by the sherefe – the circular balcony.
Unprofessional interventions carried out over the years have reduced the original values of this mosque.

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The Tomb of Dervish Avdi and Ahmat, with its main facade oriented to the northeast, is located within the cemetery grounds of the village of Pataçan i Ulët, Municipality of Rahovec. Near the tomb are the village cemetery, the surrounding residential houses and the village primary school. According to oral accounts, the tomb was first founded more than 200 years ago, and later, more specifically around the year ’85 of the 20th century, it was rebuilt again with materials of the time on top of the existing walls.
Today the tomb is in good condition, but it is rarely visited by villagers. Architecturally, the tomb, with a square floor plan, is built on terrain with a low slope. It is a single-story building with dimensions of 600×560 cm and a height of 216 cm, and it is built on the walls of the earlier tomb made of local stone, with the existing walls built of materials of the time, concrete blocks bound with cement mortar, 30 cm thick. The inner and outer walls of the tomb are plastered with continuous white cement mortar. Inside the tomb are two graves of members of the Halveti order, the grave of Dervish Avdi and the grave of Dervish Ahmat, which are covered with boards and above them with covers and towels. The floor inside the tomb is paved with ceramic tiles. The door and the windows are of wood in arched form. In total there are two wooden window openings, closed on the outside with iron grilles. One is on the front facade, next to the entrance door, and the other is on the side facade and has a small opening where believers throw money. The roof is hipped, covered with flat tiles.
Access to the tomb is from the northeastern wall through the wooden entrance door. Within the tomb grounds there is the courtyard with the graves, a rest corner (wooden seats), the many-year-old oak tree (bungu) and a new fountain. The courtyard is surrounded by a low wall with decorative iron railings and is paved with stone slabs. The tomb is visited by sick people and other believers who bring candles, towels, offerings (harame), money, etc. The tomb is visited for St. George's Day, on 5 May, mostly by residents of the Rahovec region.

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The site is located in the place called “Pozhig” in the village of Bellacërkë (Fortesë). It includes the area between the village school and the houses located opposite it on the western side, as well as the area in front of the local office, between the road and the meadow above the village called Listenoll. In the first decade of the 1960s of the 20th century, archaeological excavations were carried out at this site, which resulted in the discovery of a settlement of the Roman period, with material belonging to the 1st-4th centuries. Today the village road and the sewage canal have been built over this site.
Also in the village of Bellacërkë there are other places where traces of foundations and typical ceramics of the Roman period have been found. In the place with the toponym “brinjë” wall foundations and ceramic finds were found. This place in the west of the village is a gentle hill slope with an area of 2-3 ha. Many ceramic fragments were found there, such as bowls, cups, jars, vessels typical of the late Roman period – terra sigillata, etc. Likewise, in the places called “pakidol” and in the toponym “Kodra e Zekës” Roman ceramic fragments have been encountered. The whole village appears to have been inhabited in the Roman period and then continued in later periods as well.

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The Tower House of Mahmut Pasha is located in the center of the village of Opterushë, 8 km east of Rahovec. It is known among the people as the tower house of Mahmut Pasha and is presumed to have been built in the 19th century by Mahmut Pasha Rrotulli, who also built the Clock Tower (Sahat Kulla) in Rahovec, and other monuments in Prizren, Mamushë and Budakovë. The tower house has the characteristic features of the tower houses that were built during the century.

19th in the Dukagjini Plain and served as space for living, socializing, lookout and defense. It has a floor plan with 6-meter sides. It is built with a ground floor and two upper floors. The ground floor served as a service area, as a stable for the livestock of guests. The first floor was used for accommodating guests and various meetings, while the second floor served for observing the situation outside the tower.

The tower is presumed to have initially had also a bay (qoshk), which was destroyed during transformations in the meantime. The walls are built 80 cm thick, of local stone of irregular shapes bound with lime mortar. The roof was made with a timber construction, hipped, covered with stone slabs – a covering characteristic of the roofs of the Rahovec region.

From the time it was built until today, the tower has undergone numerous changes. During the 19th century the tower had an administrative function and served as a municipal building, from which several villages around it were managed. Later, during the Yugoslav period, it was used for political matters.

In the last phase it was given for use to a local villager, who adapted the tower for use as a mill. During 1999 the tower suffered serious damage, which caused the collapse of the roof structure, the floor construction and the greater part of the wall structure.

The restoration interventions of 2014 contributed to the consolidation of the structure of the tower, restoring value to this important monument of the cultural heritage of the Rahovec region.

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The “Ukshin Hoti” Museum House is located about 770 m to the right (east) of the Prizren–Gjakova main road in the village of Krushë e Madhe, Municipality of Rahovec.
The house was built in 1987 in the rural architecture of the time. It is L-shaped and raised 60 cm above ground level, with the entrance hall and bathroom in the centre and a room on each side. The building was constructed with load-bearing walls of clay blocks and continuous mortar as the binding material. The columns were of reinforced concrete, while the slab was built using the semi-prefabricated “fert” system. During the last war (1999) the building was burned down completely, and it was rebuilt and adapted in 2013.
The reconstruction and adaptation of the building into a museum was carried out by the Municipality of Rahovec, preserving the original form, size, volume and architecture it had before 1999. During the reconstruction, one part of the house was preserved in the state in which it was damaged by the 1999 war, and it is now part of the history of the Hoti family. Thus, since 2013 the house has functioned as a museum presenting materials and various objects related to the personality of Ukshin Hoti. The original part of the house damaged during the 1999 war is also part of the museum. The house was rebuilt with similar construction materials, namely clay blocks (walls) and reinforced concrete (foundations, columns and beams). It was plastered with continuous lime mortar inside and out, and the floors were laid with laminate, except for the bathroom, which has ceramic tiles. The original part of the house on the eastern side has been preserved in its damaged state, where the broken blocks, damaged plaster and plank floor can be seen.
The Ukshin Hoti museum house holds important historical and social values for the Albanian people in general and for the state of Kosovo in particular. Considering the personality of Ukshin Hoti as an important figure in the modern history of Kosovo, it is of national interest to present comprehensively his activity, the conditions and circumstances in which he lived and worked, as well as the objects and artefacts directly or indirectly connected with his personality.
The “Ukshin Hoti” museum house, with two single-storey buildings adapted with exhibition spaces and a yard of 40 ares, constitutes the historic centre of collective memory and of human sacrifice for freedom and national rights. This centre carries universal historical and social values and is classified as cultural heritage of national importance, which must be preserved, protected and cultivated by present and future generations.
In the interior, several display cases and shelves have been placed, as well as photographs hung on the walls, presenting the life and activity of Ukshin Hoti. The conversion of the house into a museum has some shortcomings, and the organisation and presentation of the exhibits and the setting as a whole needed to be corrected or re-conceived.
The museum has a fairly large yard, part of which is paved with concrete slabs, while the bust of Ukshin Hoti stands in front of the building.

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The Berisha family kulla (tower house) is located in the village of Kramovik in the Municipality of Rahovec. The kulla is a rare example of a tower house built with combined materials. The ground floor is built of stone, while the upper floor is built of adobe bricks reinforced with timber lacing (hatulla).
It has a rectangular plan, built with a ground floor and an upper floor. The front façade stands out with its dyshekllëk (overhang), which projects as a console and contains four windows with semicircular openings. At the corners of the front façade there are also circular decorations made of adobe. The roof of the kulla is hipped, with a timber structure; it was originally covered with stone slabs, typical for this part of Kosovo, and over time the slabs were replaced with clay tiles.
The interior organisation of the kulla is presumed to have been usual for such towers: the ground floor was used for livestock and for farm or storage spaces, while the upper floor of the kulla was used for living. No part of the interior has been preserved because of the condition of the building.
The kulla is in a severe physical state, with a considerable part of the structure in ruins. At the mercy of time and without the necessary care, the kulla will collapse if there is no very prompt intervention to save this architectural pearl of the village, the municipality and the region.
Examples of traditional residential architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries are an endangered category, especially in the more remote rural areas. Considering this fact, preserving the remaining examples of traditional residential architecture is of great importance for our cultural heritage.

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In the village of Pastasellë, located 9 km northwest of Rahovec, there was an old mosque presumed to have been built before the 19th century.
In 1976 a new mosque was built on the foundations of the old one. Of the old mosque only the base of the minaret remains, up to a height of about 1 metre.
During the last war (1998-1999) this mosque was demolished from the inside, damage that could never be repaired, and so in 2011 the mosque was torn down again in order to build a new mosque on the same site where the latter had stood.
The new mosque was built on a larger scale, using modern building materials. The new mosque has a rectangular plan and consists of the enclosed porch (hajat), divided into two levels, the prayer hall covered with a dome, and a very tall minaret decorated with two balconies (sherefe) and the roof. In the new construction, perhaps because of the donors or the influence of foreign architecture, the influence of the Arab style can be seen in the mosque's architecture.
From the old mosque only the base of the minaret and the inscription of the renovation carried out during the first half of the 19th century have remained.
The base of the minaret was built with carved porous stone (spongy limestone) cut specially for such constructions, and the stones were bound with lime mortar.
The inscription is written on white marble, in the old Ottoman language, in the “Thuluth” style of writing, and is decorated with floral and geometric motifs.

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The mill of the Isaku family (Vuçitërna) is located near the town of Rahovec, about 700 m from the Rahovec–Malishevë main road. It is built in the middle of a meadow beside which a river flows, on an irregular plot of sloping terrain.
The exact date of construction of the mill is not known, but it is presumed to have been built at the end of the 19th century. From the time of its construction until 1990 the mill performed its primary function, while today it is no longer functional.
It has a rectangular plan and is built on a single ground floor, as a single space for grinding flour, but owing to the owner's needs it was divided into two parts with clay blocks. The walls are built of various river stones bound with mud mortar and reinforced with timber lacing (hatulla). The mill's outer walls are pointed with lime mortar, while part of the interior walls is plastered with lime mortar.
The roof structure is hipped, made with timber beams and covered with local stone slabs (rrasa).
Two doors, opened in the eastern part of the building, connect the outside with the inside. The arched opening, the original one, is on the right side of the building, while the other opening came about as a result of access to the space that was divided later.
In the interior, the mill has two spaces where the movable equipment is located, and some original elements needed for its operation have been preserved. The grinding equipment is not in working condition.
The mill is an economic building and material evidence of the way flour was processed during the 19th century. At the same time it is tied to the service this building provided to the population for grinding flour. From an ethnological point of view, this craft of traditional flour milling is disappearing, so preserving and cultivating it is of great importance.
The mill of the Isaku – Vuçitërna family, based on an assessment of the damage, is in a moderately good physical condition.

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The village of Hoçë e Madhe lies in the southern part of the town of Rahovec, approximately 20 km west of Prizren. The village has a population of about 700 inhabitants, mostly from the Serb community. It has a continental climate with Mediterranean influences, with annual temperatures ranging from -20°C to 40°C. This mixture of climates is very favourable for the development of viticulture, with warm air currents coming from the valley of the White Drin river, which is also beneficial for agriculture. The favourable geographical position and rich natural resources have made this settlement favourable, attractive and habitable. According to some authors, the village has been inhabited since the Roman period, and the local population engaged in viticulture and agriculture.
The first written documents date from the period of the developed Middle Ages. It is thought that during this period Hoça e Madhe became a small trading, production and cultural centre. Several crafts developed, and wine production and agriculture played an important role. For this reason, the village has inherited a rich collection of objects of historical, cultural and spiritual interest.
Hoça e Madhe has architecture made up of religious and vernacular buildings. From the period of the village's creation several churches and shrines have remained; the village has 13 churches built in the 12th, 14th and 16th centuries, and many buildings, traditional dwelling houses and water mills. The two main types of vernacular dwellings that dominate in Kosovo, and in Hoçë e Madhe, are the stone house and the oriental-type house. The village of Hoçë e Madhe is protected by law (LAW NO. 04/L-62 ON THE VILLAGE OF HOÇË E MADHE) and is a special protected zone of Kosovo's cultural heritage.

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The archaeological site called Maqine is located on the northwestern side of the town of Rahovec. This site extends on both sides of a small stream, but the greatest concentration is on the left side of the stream, which flows in an east-west direction, in private fields. The site lies on sloping, flat terrain facing west and covers an area of about 3 ha.

During the survey of the terrain, archaeological material from different periods was collected, beginning with the Early Neolithic, the Late Eneolithic, the Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as the classical Roman period. This archaeological site is of particular importance because it preserves various deposits from several prehistoric and ancient periods.

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Traces of the Neolithic settlement of Opterushë were recorded in the register of cultural heritage assets of Kosovo in the first post-war years, and the settlement has still not been analysed, examined or studied.

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The ruins of the raised and fortified settlement, inhabited since the Iron Age and with great intensity especially during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, the “Gradishta” of Zatriq, are located on the top of the Zatriq hill, with a maximum elevation of 1039 metres above sea level. The fortified settlement sits on a triangular terrace. From the top of the hill one can see very well the mountain range that separates the Plain of Kosovo from the Dukagjini Plain. From the Zatriq fortress the view is open towards the areas of Llapusha, Klina, Istog and Peja. To the south one can also see the plains of Rahovec, Gjakova and Prizren.

This “fortress town”, of the multi-layered settlement type, was built along a perimeter line that follows the terrain's contour lines, making use of natural protection that was integrated naturally into its defensive system. The walls of the fortress can be made out only with difficulty above the surface, which does not allow their dimensions to be determined; nevertheless, in some places technical elements of the surrounding wall have been identified. The walls were made of medium-sized stones bound with lime mortar. This masonry technique was used throughout the surrounding walls, which today are hard to distinguish above ground.
The fortification covers an area of approximately 0.2 ha, and below it there is a second triangular terrace where traces of dwellings could once be seen. Across the whole fortified area, as well as in the “Fields of Gradishta” (Arat e Gradishtës), which are terraced next to the fortress, fragments of fired clay vessels from different periods have been documented, such as the Iron Age, Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval.
However, what is special about this archaeological site of fortified character lies in the fact that an Italian specialist identified Rock Art from prehistoric periods, reflected in signs and symbols that are presumed to have been created by human hand seven millennia ago.

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The ruins of the Church of St. Luke are in one of the old graveyards in the centre of the village of Hoçë e Madhe. Only the side walls, the north wall and the south wall, remain of the building. However, in the surviving walls two phases of construction can be seen, as well as the remains of two layers of mural painting. According to the fragments of mural paintings, it can be established that the church was built in the 14th century, while the second phase of construction took place at the end of the 16th century.

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The tumulus necropolis of the village of Kramovik lies in the eastern part above the village, on a rocky terrace known to the villagers as “Boka e Kramovikut”. So far only one tumulus has been recorded, measuring 32 m east-west and 25 m north-south, while the height of the tumulus reaches up to 1.8 m. It was built mainly of stones with a little earth. The tumulus is elliptical in shape. The terrain on which the necropolis lies is in many parts a rock formation, and the possibility is not excluded that there are other tumuli or destroyed tumuli, given that to the south-east of the recorded tumulus a considerable amount of the terrain's stone material has been taken.

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The tumulus necropolis is located in the northeastern part of the village of Pastasel, on a flat rocky hill known to the local inhabitants as “Fusha e Breshkave” (the Tortoise Field). The position of the tumulus necropolis is quite special and has an extraordinary dominance over the whole plain territory of the south-western area.

During the survey, three tumuli of different sizes were recorded, but since in some parts the terrain is covered with bushes and oaks, the possibility is not excluded that there are other tumuli. They are built mainly with a little earth and many dark grey field stones. The tumuli have a semi-spherical shape with dimensions ranging from 16-18 m and a height of 0.6 up to 1.5 m.

Based on information gathered in the area, we think that this necropolis belongs to the Bronze Age, but that it may also have been reused during the Iron Age. This assumption also comes from the fact that about 150 m east of the necropolis a hilltop settlement was recorded, where a prehistoric rampart line was preserved, which is characteristic of the Bronze Age.

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The Early Neolithic settlement of the village of Pastasel is located southwest of the village and is known to the local inhabitants by the name “Arat e Demës”. The settlement is on the right side, at the edge of the village stream, on flat terrain sloping towards the east. It should be said that above this settlement, over an area of about 20 ha, a very scattered settlement of the Roman period has been recorded.
During the survey of the terrain, in the company of Mejdi Krasniqi, who stated that besides many tiles and various bricks of the Roman period he had also found a stone axe.
During the survey various fragments of medium and coarse ceramics of the Early Neolithic were collected. The presence at this settlement of impresso ware and monochrome red ceramics makes us think that we are dealing with a settlement from an earlier phase of the Early Neolithic.

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From the surveys carried out in 2001-2002, traces of a religious monument were identified, known to the locals by the toponym “Bregu i Kishës” (Church Hill). It is located south of the village, on a hill that dominates the whole surrounding area.

In the current state of preservation of the church it is very difficult to form a clear idea of its plan, since agricultural work has been carried out here continuously, which has disturbed and damaged its surface. Nevertheless, this monument, with an east-west orientation, is preserved in overall dimensions of 15 x 10 m. The side walls are damaged and can be followed only as a line.

On the southern side, the preserved wall, 0.65 m thick, was built of medium-sized stones bound with lime mortar, in which the use of brick dust can also be seen. In some cases, fragments of bricks were used to level the walls. On the eastern side the apse can be outlined only with difficulty. Evidently this church had three naves.

The archaeological material collected on the surface is represented mostly by fragments of bricks and roof tiles, as well as a few ceramic fragments, which typologically belong to the Late Roman period and Late Antiquity. Near the church, traces of a paved road were observed over a length of 20-25 m, laid with river stones up to 3 rows deep.

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Traces of the Roman settlement of Senoc were recorded in the register of cultural heritage assets of Kosovo in the first post-war years, and the settlement has still not been analysed, examined or studied.

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In the village of Vranjak there is a toponym “Varret e vjetra” (the Old Graves). During the opening of the road, many skeletons, traces of graves and gravestones were found here, which were visible until recently beside the road. The orientation of the graves is northeast-southwest, while their length varies from 1.9 to 2.00 m. The graves were built with worked stone slabs, typical for the area. At the two extremities, head and foot, two massive slabs were placed, while the covering of the graves was made with smaller stone slabs. In terms of construction, these graves in Vranjak closely resemble the graves of the Koman culture.

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The castle (Gradisha), that is, the fortress of Gexhë, is located in the village of Gexhë, Municipality of Rahovec, east of the course of the river and above the canyon of the White Drin, positioned about 500 metres north of the Hidden Bridge (Ura e Fshejtë). On the highest part of the Gradisha hill there once stood a fortress fortified with defensive walls and towers. The fortress has not been excavated to this day.
The fortress or Gradisha of Gexhë has a very good geostrategic position. The fortification developed on the northern and northwestern side, along the flat terrace that extends to above the steep cliffs of the White Drin canyon, which forms a natural defence, while in line of sight it communicates with several other fortifications, such as Suka e Cërmjanit, Kodra e Hereqit, Gradina e Gurit të Kuq and, to the northeast, Gradishta of Zatriq. On the upper plateau of the hill in question, the traces of the fortification can be seen, with approximate dimensions of 150 x 90 m and an approximately trapezoidal shape. There are also indications of traces of several towers.
Based on the pottery fragments found here, a multi-layered hilltop settlement is attested, whose timespan runs from prehistory, namely from the Bronze Age and the first Iron Age. Likewise, many fragments of ceramic vessels dated to the Late Antique period were found on the surface here, the period to which the fortification also seems to belong, with many planimetric elements of a castrum. According to written sources, this castle has clear elements of a castrum, and may have been built perhaps in the time of the Tetrarchy (4th century) and was used throughout the Late Antique period.

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Original inscription of the gravestone: D(is) M(anibus) / Scerulae-/dus Sitaes / vix(it) an(nis) XXX / interfectus / a latronibus Sita Da-/si p(ater) f(ilio) (ientissimo) et sibi / et Caiae Da-/si coniu-/gi b(ene) m(erenti) vi-/(v)us f(aciendum) c(uravit).
Translation of the gravestone inscription: In honour of / Scerulae dus Sitaes / Lived 30 years / Killed on a journey by a robber / This monument was erected by the husband Sita Da and the son of Caiae Da.
The object is on display in the National Museum in Prishtina.

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The bridge was built over the Remnik river, which passes through the village of Fortesë. The village of Fortesë is 7 km southwest of Rahovec and is a locality that has been known and inhabited since the time of Roman rule over these lands. The chronological continuity of the settlement meant that this place was also inhabited in other periods, leaving architectural traces to the present day; among the evidence of this is the stone bridge.
Based on the construction technique, materials and form, the bridge is presumed to date from the 16th century. The bridge has been in uninterrupted use by the villagers from the time of its construction to the present day.
The bridge has one arch with a diameter of 7 m; its length is 10.7 m and its width about 4 m. The arch of the bridge was built in two rows of porous stone – tufa (siga). The part of the structure above the arch was built with broken limestone, bound with lime mortar. The roadway was paved with cobblestones, and towards the end of the 20th century it was levelled and laid with concrete slabs to adapt to motor traffic. 150 metres northeast of this bridge there is also a smaller stone bridge.
The presence of the archaeological site from the Roman period and of the two stone bridges are presented to us as material evidence of the age of this settlement and of the urban development that took place from the early Roman and medieval periods.
In 2011 the retaining walls of the Remnik river were built with limestone, and the old bridge was integrated into this complex, creating a distinctive cultural landscape.

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In the village of Brestovc, which is 5 km south of the town of Rahovec, there stood an old mosque presumed to have been one of the oldest mosques in the Municipality of Rahovec. Based on the oral accounts of the villagers and the literature researched, the oldest traces of the mosque dated from the 16th century. The mosque is in the centre of the village on the eastern side of the Krushë e Madhe – Rahovec road. It was set on a dominant terrain, on a hill, very close to the village cemetery.
Unfortunately, during the last war (1998-1999) the mosque was burned and destroyed by Serbian forces. Of its original structure only the minaret has remained, as the rest of the building could not withstand it. The minaret of the mosque was built of local, porous stone, bound with lime mortar. The body was re-plastered with continuous mortar. The lower part of the minaret's gallery (sherefe) is decorated with profiles of various geometric forms. The upper part of the gallery and the roof of the minaret (kylhan) were rebuilt in 1999, after the end of the war.
The base of the minaret is polygonal, forming the shape of the letter U, and the minaret itself is also polygonal in form. The sherefe is reached by a spiral staircase made of stone.
In the cemetery, alongside the new graves, there are also some old graves, which are presumed to coincide with the period when the mosque was built. The minaret continues to stand and to be evidence of the cultural heritage and more recent history of the country, being part of the list of heritage under state protection.

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Original inscription of the gravestone: D(is) M(anibus) / Aur(elia) Catul-/la vixit / annis XX /Popar / f(iliae) b(ene) m(erenti).
Translation of the gravestone inscription: In honour of / Aurelia Catul / Lived 20 years / The monument was erected by Popar for his daughter.
The object is on display in the National Museum in Prishtina.

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During agricultural work at the place called Rrëzina in the village of Bratotin, ceramic fragments and foundations of dwellings, architectural structures, were uncovered. During surface archaeological surveys in this area, various fragments of archaeological material were recorded above the surface, such as various fragments of bricks, roof tiles, amphorae and parts of various vessels for everyday use.

In general, the fine ceramic material was made of very pure clay of a light brown colour. The occasional discovery of some dwelling foundations during agricultural work apparently points to a settlement of the Late Roman period.

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Northwest of the village of Guri i Kuq, on the hill known by the name Gradina, there are clear traces of a fortification. The top of the hill has a visual connection with the surrounding area, with the plains from Istog, Klina, Peja, Deçan, Gjakova and Prizren.
The fortification on the top of the hill is oval in shape, measuring 50 x 65 m, with an area of nearly 0.35 ha. It is made up of two fortification rings, which form the castle part and its citadel. This manner of fortification is quite widespread among the castles of this region.
The citadel consists of oval-shaped walls measuring about 35 x 25 m. The western side is surrounded by cliffs, which are here and there fitted with walls bound in dry-stone, a technique also encountered at Pogragjë in Klina. From the north, the rock ridge is continued by a wall preserved in the form of a rampart 2-3 m wide, made of small and medium stones, apparently bound with weak lime mortar. The faces of the wall are damaged and covered by dense vegetation. In the eastern part of the citadel, where the terrain is gentle, traces of an entrance were identified, created by a break in the surrounding wall. Around the fortification of the citadel, at the top of the hill, about 30-40 m away on the outside, lies the surrounding wall of the castle. This wall was built of small and medium stones, and in some places supplemented with steep cliffs.
The weak construction technique and the adaptation of the fortified terrain in the fortification make us think that we are dealing with a rapid, urgent construction, used for emergency cases.
The surface survey of the terrain did not produce any find that would allow the site to be dated precisely, but the shape of the castle, its plan and the construction technique tell us that this place was used from prehistory, while the construction of the surrounding walls with lime mortar shows us that this fortification was also used as a place of refuge in the Late Antique period.

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The ruins of the church “Holy Saviour” (St. George) are by the old cemetery of the village of Opterushë. The church was placed under protection in 1963. Around the church there are traces of graves with gravestones made of worked stone slabs of rectangular shape. This church belongs to the late Middle Ages and is thought to have been built in the 17th-18th century.

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The Church of St. Nicholas in Hoçë e Madhe is located at the cemetery outside the village. The church was built in the 14th century, and its interior continued to be painted until 1345, when the nun Marta, mother of the leader Gradislav Sushenica, was buried in it, as stated on the gravestone. The monument represents immovable cultural heritage of exceptional importance. It is presumed that the monument was built by Gradislav's parents in the 14th century. The church is a single-nave building with a semicircular vault, with a three-sided apse on the outside and a semicircular apse on the inside. The wall between the narthex and the naos no longer exists, as it was removed at some point. Only on the west wall has a part of the original fresco been preserved, which according to its style belongs to the time of Dushan's kingdom.
The church was renovated in the 16th century, and at that time it was painted again inside, with biblical figures added to it. Conservation work on the frescoes was carried out in 1970-1975. The monument is under the protection of the state of Kosovo and is of great importance in completing the mosaic of the cultural heritage of the village of Hoçë e Madhe.

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The village of Opterushë is in the Municipality of Rahovec, namely 7 km southeast of Rahovec, on the Rahovec – Suharekë road. The village has an area of nearly 9 km2 with an average elevation above sea level of 450 m. The site of the church and the cemetery is located in a raised part of the village, at an elevation of 540 m above sea level. The walls of the church are still preserved, and inside them the frescoes are still preserved in some places.

The church is thought to date from the 14th-15th century, the late Middle Ages. The church was built of limestone and tuff stone, all taken from the local terrain. The graves around the church are numerous; they are built with slab construction, and at the head and foot they have stones, with the cross at the head. The crosses are of the Maltese type.

In archaeological excavations, skeletons were found in some graves, as well as factual material dating from the period between the two world wars. It is thought that these graves were reused during this period, since the archaeological material does not match the construction of the graves and the gravestones. This cemetery was also used at the end of the 20th century, and this has caused much damage to many old graves.

The walls of the church and their structure are today in good condition, since the walls have been conserved.

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On the right side of the Prizren-Rahovec road, in a fairly large open space, stands the church of St. Sunday (Shën Dielë). The church building was built in 1852 on the foundations of an earlier church from the 14th century. After the Second World War the building was ruined, and in 1975 the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments rebuilt the church on the foundations of the earlier church.

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The Church of St. John in Hoçë e Madhe is located on a hill at the eastern entrance of the village. According to the frescoes inside the church, it is believed to have been built in the VIX century. It is among the important religious, historical and cultural monuments of the village. The Church of St. John has an unusual architecture: the church has the form of a tetraconch, with a square narthex. The side apses are lower than those in the east and west. The naos and the narthex have a semicircular vault. The apses are polygonal on the outside and semicircular on the inside. At the end of the 16th century the church was renovated, and its interior was painted. The frescoes have biblical content, and the iconographic program of the frescoes in the narthex, with an interesting selection of scenes, emphasizes the message of the prayer addressed to Christ.
On the eastern wall of the narthex, in the Deisis composition, the Mother of God and St. John pray to Christ to be a gentle judge at the “Last Judgment”, which is painted on the western wall. The portrait of the patron saint is painted in a chamber above the entrance to the naos, and scenes from his life are illustrated in the upper zones of the narthex.
The frescoes of the Church of St. John were conserved in 1975.

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The Monastery of Zoçishtë, which is also known as the Monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, is located in the village of Zoçishtë, about 5 km southeast of the town of Rahovec.
The monastery was built in the 14th century, on the ruins of an early Christian church of the Byzantine period. During recent research, traces and remains of late antique gravestones, namely of the 4th century, were discovered, as well as traces of pottery fragments from the late Roman period (3rd-4th century). The first written sources about this place of worship are found in the chrysobull of Stefan Dečani of the year 1327.

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The lodge and the winery building are located in the center of the village, in the “Deçan” neighborhood of Hoça e Madhe. It has been property of the Dečani Monastery since the time of King Dušan. The building is constructed with a ground floor and an upper floor. The ground-floor part is used for wine. The other part is the storage for agricultural tools. The upper floor is a guest house. In the courtyard of the lodge are the old buildings where the grapes are collected and the preparation of wine and rakia begins.

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