IPEK, one of the two largest towns in Montenegro, Yugo slavia. Pop. 13,194, almost entirely Albanian. The town lies in a fertile plain on which tobacco is cultivated. Ipek is sur rounded by trees and gardens, while a pleasant stream runs through it. Nearly every house is provided with a watch-tower. It is situated on the road from Jakova to Prizren, and from its position, it is destined to form a connecting link for trade with Serbia. Ipek was formerly the centre of the Serbian Church, the archbishop having been raised to the patriarchate by Stephen Dushan (1331-55). It was suppressed in 1459, restored in and finally abolished by the Turks in 1767. On the heights above the town stands the 13th century monastery, the seat of the patriarchs until 169o, and the church, which dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. Here are the marble tombs of many church
dignitaries, and the marble throne of the patriarchs. After the fall of Belgrade in 1521 many of the inhabitants migrated to Hungary, and in 1690 there was a second migration there led by the patriarchs. The town was captured by the Montenegrins in the Balkan Wars (1912-13) and ceded to Montenegro by the Treaty of Bucharest (1913). In the World War thousands of refugees fled here. It was here too, that on the long march to Scutari, the broken Serbian army called a halt to destroy their guns, which they rolled over a precipice.