Article on Decani Orthodox Monastery Wins Prize in Readers’ writing competition 2011
Sarah inside the foyer of the Visoki Decani monastery, right. Photographs: Sameer Saran; Reuters/Corbis
17/11/2011
At a monastery in the mountains of Kosovo, Sarah George Thengungal finds the monks’ chanting and their fiery plum brandy equally uplifting.
THE WINNER
Driving through the armoured gates of the Serbian Orthodox Visoki Decani monastery in our Kosovar government car (my friend, who worked for the EU in Kosovo, had the use of the vehicle), I am surprised to see no signs saying that you are entering the hallowed and fiercely disputed ground where the largest medieval Balkan church stands. Three armed Italian Nato soldiers, undeterred by our official-looking car stickers, stop us to check passports and interrogate us on the reasons for our visit.
We drive past avenues of towering cypresses, with the pitch darkness lit by moonlight reflected off the snow-covered ground. Pealing bells summon us to the ancient cathedral for evening mass. We follow the tight flocks of monks in black billowing robes and tall black hats as they hurry to the cathedral. I enter to find myself in a cavernous hall illuminated by chandeliers of candles far above our heads and a single lamp hanging over the Bible and holy books.
Almost inaudibly, the monks begin a slow chanting, like a dirge. As their voices rise, clouds of sweet-smelling incense fill the cathedral, reducing the worshippers to ghostly figures. I gaze at walls covered with Byzantine frescoes, imagining the centuries of strife that the cathedral has weathered. I think of the bloody years of the Kosovo war between 1998 and 1999, when the monks rescued Albanians terrorised by Serb armies and gave them sanctuary.
Today the Serb and Albanian faces around me are wreathed in peace, mesmerised by the chants. Time seems to stand still but my watch tells me that it is just over an hour. The lights come on slowly, like a theatre brightening after a play.
As we come out of the cathedral, the monks invite us upstairs for a drink. We don’t understand a word of Serbian but are curious to taste their rakija, the famous liquor brewed in the monastery. We sit at a long table, the buzz of Serb and Albanian conversation rising and falling around us. The monks flit from one table to the next bearing shot glasses filled with dark, cloudy and transparent brandy. My throat is on fire from the sip I take and it seems that the snow outside has all but melted! After more plum brandy, we feel fortified for our drive back to Pristina – and another round of checks by the Nato gatekeepers.
Sarah lives in London
The judge: Tahir Shah, author of travel books including Travels With Myself, available at lulu.com, said: “Sarah’s piece is brought into sharp focus through poignant imagery and sleek description. I liked the way she affected my senses – sound, sight, smell and touch – and how the warmth of her visit has as its backdrop the cold reality of the Kosovo conflict.”
The prize: A two-night trip for two to the Italian city of Aosta (aosta-valley.co.uk), including flights, two nights at the four-star Albergo Milleluci (hotelmilleluci.com), a tour of the town, a hike in Gran Paradiso national park, and a visit to Bard Fortress.
