The Pešter Plateau (), or simply Pešter ( sr-Cyrl, Пештер, ) is a

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

in southwestern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, in the Raška (or Sandžak) region. It lies at an

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

of , with the highest point (''Kuljarski vrh'') at 1,492 meters. The territory of the plateau is mostly located in the municipality of Sjenica, with parts belonging to

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

and Tutin.

Name

The name of the region comes from the common Slavic word , meaning "

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

". In the speech of people native to the area, the original feminine

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

of the word is preserved despite the loss of the ''-a'' ending (nominative ''Pešter'', genitive and locative ''Pešteri''), but in standard Serbian the gender is masculine (nominative ''Pešter'', genitive ''Peštera'', locative ''Pešteru'').

Geography

Afternoon landscape with sheep and shepherds at the Pester Plateau in Serbia

The plateau is actually a large field (''Peštersko polje'') surrounded by the mountains of Jadovnik (1734 m), Zlatar (1627 m), Ozren (1693 m), Giljeva (1617 m), Javor (1519 m), Golija (1833 m), Žilindar (1616 m), Hum (1756 m), Ninaja (1462 m) and Jarut (1428 m). With an area of around 50 km², the Pešter field is the largest field in Serbia, and the highest one in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. The rivers of Uvac, Vapa, Jablanica and Grabovica flow through this plateau. In the geologic past, the field was a large lake, of which only a small remnant in Sjenica near the village of Tuzinje remains. This lake gradually drained through

ruptures, leaving marshy remnants in the lowest parts, around the flow of the sinking river Boroštica. Those areas are home to a wet peat bog habitat that is unique for a karst area. The soil is mostly karst interspersed with pastures. The economy of the area relies primarily on livestock breeding, chiefly of sheep. Pešter is famous for its

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s, especially the "Sjenica cheese" (''Sjenički sir''), as well as lamb and pršut (or prosciutto). The plateau is sparsely populated: most settlements are on the edge of the field, and the remainder is settled only during the summer months. Pešter is famous for its microclimate, which is particularly harsh in the winter months, and due to this, it is often called the "Siberia of Sandžak". The lowest temperature in Serbia since measurements have been recorded, , was measured at Karajukića Bunari village on 26 January 2006, beating the previous record of measured in Sjenica in 1954. On 1 May 2006, Ramsar included the Pešter wetland area of 3,455

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s into its list of wetlands of international importance. Pešter is home to a number of endangered plant species, such as '' Fumana bonapartei'', '' Halacsya sendtneri'', and '' Orchis tridentata''. The only nesting place of Montagu's harrier in Serbia is also in this area.

History

In this region, few, if any, descendants of the original inhabitants who lived in the Pešter area before the 17th century remain. During the 18th century, the population structure underwent significant changes. Turbulent historical events led to the departure of the indigenous population, making way for new settlers. In 1700 the High Porte of the Ottoman Empire instructed the Pasha of Peja to pacify Rugova, resulting in 274 families being displaced from Rugova to Pešter. At that time, some members of the Shkreli and Kelmendi began migrating into the Pešter region. The Kelmendi chief had converted to Islam and promised to convert his fellow tribe members as well. A total of 251 Kelmendi households (1,987 people) were resettled in the Pešter area on that occasion; however, five years later, the exiled Kelmendi managed to fight their way back to their homeland, and in 1711 they sent out a large raiding force to bring back some others from the Pešter region as well. The remaining Kelmendi and Shkreli converted to Islam and became Slavophones by the 20th century, and as of today they now self-identify as part of the

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

ethnicity, although in the Pešter plateau they partly utilized the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

until the middle of the 20th century, particularly in the villages of Ugao,

Boroštica Boroštica (; ) is a village in the municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to ...

, Doliće and Gradac. Catholic Albanian groups which settled in the early 18th century were converted to Islam in that period. Their descendants make up the large majority of the population of the Pešter plateau. Factors such as some intermarriage undertaken by two generations with the surrounding Bosniak population along with the difficult circumstances of the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

during the 1990s made the local Albanians opt to refer to themselves in censuses as ''Bosniaks'', in order to avoid persecution by the Serb-dominated government.Andrea Pieroni, Maria Elena Giusti, & Cassandra L. Quave (2011).
Cross-cultural ethnobiology in the Western Balkans: medical ethnobotany and ethnozoology among Albanians and Serbs in the Pešter Plateau, Sandžak, South-Western Serbia.
''Human Ecology''. 39. (3): 335. "The current population of the Albanian villages is partly "bosniakicised", since in the last two generations a number of Albanian males began to intermarry with (Muslim) Bosniak women of Pešter. This is one of the reasons why locals in Ugao were declared to be "Bosniaks" in the last census of 2002, or, in Boroštica, to be simply "Muslims", and in both cases abandoning the previous ethnic label of "Albanians", which these villages used in the census conducted during "Yugoslavian" times. A number of our informants confirmed that the self-attribution "Albanian" was purposely abandoned in order to avoid problems following the Yugoslav Wars and associated violent incursions of Serbian para-military forces in the area. The oldest generation of the villagers however are still fluent in a dialect of Ghegh Albanian, which appears to have been neglected by European linguists thus far. Additionally, the presence of an Albanian minority in this area has never been brought to the attention of international stakeholders by either the former Yugoslav or the current Serbian authorities." Shkrelis continued to migrate from Rugova to the territory of Pešter until the 19th century.

Gallery

Pester plateau in Serbia - 0855.jpg, Pester Plateau in Serbia - 1128.jpg, Pester Plateau in Serbia - 9663.CR2.jpg, Pester Plateau, Serbia - 0123.CR2.jpg, Pester Plateau, Serbia - 0193.CR2.jpg,

References

External links