Rožaje, Montenegro

🇲🇪 Rožaje (Рожаје) is a town in north-eastern Montenegro.

Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), it is the source of the river Ibar, which gives its name to the local sports clubs FK Ibar, KK Ibar and OK Ibar. Rožaje is the centre of the Rožaje Municipality within the 24 municipalities of Montenegro.

Rožaje was first settled in antiquity by the Illyrians. Later, during the migration of the Slavs, Slavs settled in the area. Rožaje was first mentioned in 1571 and 1585. The settlement surrounding the then fort was called Trgovište, which it was called until 1912.

During the Ottoman Empire's reign over Montenegro, the Sultan Murat II Mosque was constructed in the city in the 1500s, which also contains the turbe of the sultan's body. It is considered to be the oldest mosque in the entire city.

In 1700, after the Great Serb Migration, the Kelmendi and Kuçi and other tribes like the Shkreli of Rugova established themselves in the region of Rožaje and the neighbouring town of Tutin in Serbia. The Shala, Krasniqi, and Gashi also moved in the region.

In 1797, the Ganić kula, a defensive tower was built from the Muslim side of the Kuči, as they supported the Muslim authority and cultural practices, was built. Nowadays, the tower is currently the town's museum.

Rožaje annually celebrates its foundation day on September 30.

Transport Rožaje is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro with Kosovo, known as the Rožaje-Kula-Peć road (Kula being the border post between Montenegro and Kosovo on both sides). It also has a link with Novi Pazar in Central Serbia. The IB-22 Highway (otherwise known as the Ibarska magistrala) is the main regional road that connects Montenegro with Serbia. It is also connected to the rest of Montenegro by a two-laned highway via Berane, which is some 30 km (19 mi) in distance.

The nearest airport is the Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari in Pristina, Kosovo which is 116 km (72 mi) away, compared to Podgorica Airport which is about 180 km (110 mi) away, and has regular flights to major European destinations annually. However, due to the opening of the Bar-Boljare motorway in November of 2021, the time from getting to Rožaje from Podgorica has greatly reduced, and is slowly becoming more preferred over the earlier option for most of the diaspora from other countries.