Pristina's new jazz bar sets Kosovo swinging
Posted: Monday, 17 January 2011 by Jimmy Christ in Labels: Kosovo, Pristina
Smoke filled drinking dens, foreign soldiers and swarthy freedom fighters, and a red flag with black decals whose appearance makes everyone feel awkward, Kosovo's capital of Pristina was doing a pretty good impression of 'Casablanca' all by itself, and that was before a jazz bar opened.
Hamam is the city's first jazz bar. With the swell of brass every night, it might be a bit much for most of Kosovo's drinkers – offering a stylish concrete and mud-slab interior, expensive drinks and equally expensive appetizers, including caviar, it wouldn't look out of place in Paris or London (where, funnily enough, those stylish fittings were designed by a Kosovan expat).
Hamam is the city's first jazz bar. With the swell of brass every night, it might be a bit much for most of Kosovo's drinkers – offering a stylish concrete and mud-slab interior, expensive drinks and equally expensive appetizers, including caviar, it wouldn't look out of place in Paris or London (where, funnily enough, those stylish fittings were designed by a Kosovan expat).
Promising local as well as international artists, Hamam might be a shock to the system after the years of bleakness, but it's a welcome addition to a city in dire need of some glamour and is set to be become a favourite with the international community and the city's music lovers. And doubtlessly weary budget travellers looking to spend a week's worth of funds on an evening's respite from kebabs and burek.
I wonder if it faces criticism from political parties...