page_title: Culture of Gjakova
section_title: Cultural Heritage Monuments
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Gjakova / Cultural Heritage Monuments
caption_attribution_description: English: Hadum Mosque
context_page_description: Gjakova has been populated since the prehistoric era. During the medieval period, in 1485, Gjakova is mentioned as a village, concretely as a market place.
  Gjakova served as a trading center on the route between Shkodër and Istanbul.
  The old town of Gjakova was one of the most developed trade centers during the rule of the Ottoman Empire in Balkans. A testimony to this period is the Grand Shopping area located in the center of the old town, containing many preserved and restored shops and residential buildings. Shopping was developed around the Hadum Mosque, built in 1594-95 as a donation by Hadum Sylejman Efendia, who simultaneously donated funds for other public facilities in the town, including some of the first shops in the old marketplace.
  Gjakova is mentioned as a city for the first time in 1662, by the Ottoman Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi, who described it as a flourishing and attractive town consisting of 2,000 houses, all built of stone with roofs and gardens.
context_section_description: Gjakova is very rich regarding to the monuments of cultural heritage. Most of them are religious monuments, but Gjakova is also known for some other interesting monuments, such as: stone houses (kulla), strong stone bridges and Old Bazaar, as an urban, architectural and traditional handicrafts entirety.
  The historical monuments in Gjakova, western Kosovo, are divided into three main categories based on their cultural, religious, and social context. In 1574, the Hadum Mosque was built on Jak Vula's property, laying the foundation of the city. The core part of the town was created between the Krena River to the east and Cabrati hill to the west. Around the cornerstone of the town, the Old Bazaar, the center of trade and craftsmanship, was created. By 1900, the bazaar housed around 1,000 businesses. Numerous bridges were built to enable trade caravans to cross the neighboring rivers. With the fast development of trade in the city, several inns were built to host visitors. Because of its ancient origins, and rapid economic development, Gjakova is of historical importance.
caption: Hadum Mosque
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