The town is called Deçani in Albanian and Дечани/Dečani in Serbian (similar pronunciation: "det-cha-ni"). It has about 3,800 inhabitants and is the capital of the municipality of Deçan/Dečani (40,000 inhabitants, 99.5% Albanians). The town is located 14 km south of Peja/Peć. Located at the foot of Mount Beleg (2,102 m above sea level) and crossed by the Dečanska Bistrica (Lumbardhi i Deçanit), Deçan/Dečani is the access point for two major sites in Kosovo: the southern part of the Albanian Alps National Park and the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Dečani, which houses the most richly decorated medieval church in the world. In comparison, the city itself looks very sad. It has suffered during the Kosovo war (1998-1999): a major stronghold of the KLA, it was heavily targeted by the Serbian paramilitary. The few kulas (fortified houses) and the elegant main mosque (Xhamia e Deçanit, Dečanska džamija), which dated from the 19th century, were rebuilt in the 2000s. The city has also seen the departure of its Serbian and Montenegrin minorities (15% of the population in 1981). To get to the monastery and the national park, the road passes successively in front of the monuments to the Albanian "heroes" and "martyrs" of the last war, under the huge flag of the KLA planted on the main traffic circle, then between the concrete blocks of a KFOR roadblock defended by a watchtower and an armored vehicle. Atmosphere.

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Monastère de Dečani. Filipako - Fotolia
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