Gjilan is a town in Kosovo, in the southeast linked with the highway of Pristina, Serbian Border and North Macedonian Border.

Understand

Gjilan

In the Ottoman Defter of 1455, it is said that this settlement had 41 houses, and according to the cadastral de fi cation of 1566–1974, there were 38 houses and 12 single. This place of residence is later mentioned in written documents and in different descriptive directions.

Another opinion says that an Ottoman officer who stayed in this settlement was from an Gjejlan, somewhere in Syria or elsewhere in the Middle East and has baptized with that name, while the most realistic opinion lies in the fact that in Gjilan, around the year 1750 the (Gjinolli Family) was established, which came from Novoberdo, belonging to the Gjinaj tribe, so also this family (Bahti Beg Gjinolli) got its name. It is said that the first settlement of Gjilan was the most northwest in today's Dardania I neighborhood, but since 1830 it included a fire and burned completely. The Gjinolli family then moved the city to the east, in the midst of today's commodity and market house, a neighborhood that also called Begler's Corner.

Statue of Agim Ramadani, poet and KLA commander

The icons of the city are:

• Idriz Seferi who died in war for the freedom in 927.
• Agim Ramadani who died in the last war against Serbian occupation in 1999.
• Rexhep Mala who died protecting himself in a fight with the Serbian Police in 1984.
• Nuhi Berisha who also died in the same night with his friend Rexhep Mala in 1984.

Get in

By bus

• From Bujanoc to Prishtina stop at the bus station here. There are also dedicated buses from Pristina bus station (60 minutes) cost €2.50.
• From Ferizaj stops at the bus station (30 min) cost €1.50.
• From Prizren stops here (120 min) costing €5.

Get around

City Museum

By foot

The mosque and the church (roughly 500 meters from the bus station) can be accessed from Ibrahim Rugova st. through forward to the Mosque Xhamia e Madhe and left at Nena Tereze st. to the Orthodox church. The museum is near post and telecom of the city.

By taxi

• 1 Taxi Luli, Nato 99, toll-free: 0800-66-666. €0.85/km. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Taxi Shaqa, Haki Myderizi, toll-free: 08000-1000. €0.85/km. (updated Jul 2019)

See

• 1 Atik Mosque, Zija Shemsiu. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 City Museum, Adem Jashari. 08:00-16:00. €1. (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 City Square, Ibrahim Rugova. 24/7. (updated Jul 2019)
• 4 Municipal Assembly, Ibrahim Rugova. 08:00-17:00. (updated Jul 2019)
• 5 Dardania I and II, Muharrem Ibrahimi. 24/7. (updated Jul 2019)

St. Nicolas Church

• 6 Orthodox Church, Nena Tereze. (updated Jul 2019)
• 7 Hill of Martyrs, Lot Vaku. 24/7. (updated Jul 2019)
• 8 Livoqi Lake, Fehmi Agani. 24/7. (updated Jul 2019)
• 9 Mirusha River. 24/7. (updated Jul 2019)

Do

Park

• GuideKS (Kosovo Tourist Guides Association), guidesinkosovo@gmail.com, ☏ +38349372639, guidesinkosovo@gmail.com. umbrella organization of tourist guides in Kosovo. They will put you in touch with a local guide suitable for your activity. (updated May 2022)

Eat

Clocktower

• 1 Baresha, Pasjak, ☏ +383 44 151 159. 10:00 - 23:00. Meat with sauce. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Labinoti Steak House, Fehmi Agani. 08:00 - 22:00. Steak (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 Pojata, Fehmi Agani, ☏ +383 44 709 853. 08:00 - 00:00. French fries (updated Jul 2019)
• 4 Garden, Fehmi Agani, ☏ +38344154177. 08:00 - 22:00. Beef. (updated Jul 2019)
• 5 Sky Rooftop, Fehmi Agani. 10:00 - 20:00. Lasagna. (updated Jul 2019)
• 6 Vali Ranch, Vellezerit Rexhepi, ☏ +38345506863, info@vali-ranch.com. 08:00 - 23:00. Italian pastas. (updated Jul 2019)
• 7 Shaqa, Skenderbeu. 24/7. Pizzas. (updated Jul 2019)
• 8 Gersheta, Gjilan-Stanishor, ☏ +38345611050. Traditional food. (updated Jul 2019)
• 9 Bujana, Lidhja e Prizrenit. Traditional food sauce with bread. (updated Jul 2019)

Drink

• 1 Papaku, Zija Shemsiu. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Tribeca, Adem Jashari, ☏ +38349777345. (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 Savanna Bar, Abdullah Tahiri. (updated Jul 2019)

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Kristal, Ibrahim Rugova. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Astoria Resort, Skenderbeu, ☏ +38344888838, info@astorialuxury-spa.com. (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 Planet Resort, Egnatia, ☏ +38344134073, info@planet-gjilan.com. (updated Jul 2019)
• 4 Joni Ranch, Kamenice (200 m near the village of Berivojce), ☏ +38348117117. All types of horses and their breeds, as well as traditional foods. 0.70 EUR and up. (updated Aug 2022)
• 5 Lura Agroturizëm (Lura), Makresh i Epërm (from Gjilan, head towards Novoberdo), ☏ +38344554468, info@visitlura.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 11:00. Lura includes: restaurant with local food and products from area farmers, guesthouses for accommodation, wine and brandy cellar, outdoor terrace, orchard, gardens and other recreational spaces. Lura is known for the processing of fruit from the orchard, and produces several types of brandy in the traditional way. Different vegetables are also cultivated and then used fresh in cooking. There's a mini-chicken farm as well. (updated Mar 2022)

Go next

Go in Prishtina to northwest and to Ferizaj to the southwest. Novo Brdo nearby is a rural area rich with history.

Go next

Go in Viti