Living in a city and walking through its streets almost everyday, becomes an ordinary life activity that most of us forget to pay attention to the beautiful things surrounding it. Visiting some mural paintings in the city of Ferizaj was an incredible experience, I got to witness beautiful and breathtaking sights. A bunch of murals were visible in many parts of this city, starting from paintings on massive walls, to small and almost invisible spots. Looking at them I noticed how much a city needs vibrant colors and how much liveliness they give, considering how cities have an almost gloomy appearance in the absence of nature and greenery.
Once I arrived to Ferizaj, I came across a massive painting of a short-haired girl holding a bunch of yellow flowers on her hand. At first, glance I paid attention to the flowers as they celebrate love and comfort and not only are they appealing to the eye, but they also play an important role in our health. After taking a closer look, I saw the name below the painting that said 'Kantarion', that's when I realized it was the name of the flower. This is a medical flower used traditionally and it helps people who suffer from depression and anxiety. Taking into consideration the purpose of this flower as well as its color being a happy one, I supposed it was expressing a kind of healing from the inside out, a connection with the outside world and the beautiful nature around us.
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Deeper into the city, I stopped by two other amazing and colorful murals, yet this time these colors were unveiling a sad story. I saw a connection between them as they revealed the touching story of the war that hit Kosova in the years of 1998-1999. The first painting titled 'It's Not Just a Number' was of a little boy, blood spots all over his innocent face, sky blue eyes holding so much pain and sadness. He held a picture in his hand, revealing a man who could be his father, a father he may have lost during the war. My heart ached to the thought of the families who lost their loved ones, families who never got to say their last goodbyes to their sons.
The other fascinating mural was titled 'Shtepia'. A home, destoryed. Getting on the train, waving goodbye to their families and not knowing what the near future had in store for them. My eyes started watering at the sight of people sitting on the train racks, waiting to be saved while being forced away from their land, broken and completely hopeless. This painting made me feel two things, sadness and relief. A wave of sadness for all of the pain, the struggles our families went through and relief that our generation was lucky enough to be born and raised in a free and independent country.
Visiting those beautiful works of art was definitely an eye-opening experience. I learned to appreciate the art around me, the art that I walked by so many times and never stopped to truly see what it was trying to show us. Being able to create such intricate pieces of art takes a lot of time and effort. I kept looking at how neat the lines were and how real the paintings looked, the artists who worked on bringing them to life have a huge respect from me. After leaving I felt full of light and the places that I never bothered to stop by, might now be my favourite areas of the city to walk and hang around.
Leonore Kurteshi
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