GAZIMESTAN MEMORIAL PARK
This park (Zonë e Veçantë e Mbrojtur i Gazimestanit, Memorijalni park Gazimestan) was created in 1953 and classified as a "special protected area" in 2008. It combines a natural area and two historical sites related to the battle of Kosovo Polje (1389): the "monument to the heroes of Kosovo" and the mausoleum of bayraktarlar. The name of the site has two possible origins. According to the Turkish version, Gazi Mestan was the name of the bayraktar (flag bearer) of Murad I, the sultan killed in the battle of 1389 and buried in the mausoleum of bayraktarlar. According to the Serbian version, the name is composed of the Turkish word gazi ("hero") and the Slavic word mesto ("the place") and would thus mean "place of the hero", in reference to Prince Lazar, who also died in the battle of Kosovo Polje. Turks and Serbs use the same name to designate two monuments related to the same event, but separated by a small natural area. The latter covers 15 hectares. But it struggles to survive the discharges of the neighboring coal-fired power plants. It is nevertheless home to a very rare species of wild peony: the Paeonia decora Anders, better known as the "Kosovo peony"(Kosovskih božura in Serbian). It blooms from May, with bright red petals. According to Serbian tradition, this flower was white before the battle of 1389, but it became red because of the blood of the warriors who fell here... The Serbs made it the symbol of their spirit of resistance.
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