IPEK (? 12,000) (Slavonic, Petcha ; Albanian, Peja; Latin, Pescium), a town of Upper Albania, in the Turkish eyalet of Uskub, situated in the upper valley of the Drin between the mountains Peklen and Koprionik. A small stream, bearing like several others in the Balkan peninsula the name of Bistritza (the bright or clear), flows through the town. On one of the neighbouring heights is situated the monastery of Ipek, founded by Archbishop Arsenius in the 13th century, and famous as the ancient seat of the patriarch of the Servian Church. The buildings are surrounded by thick walls, and comprise a large central church (Our Lady’s), and two side chapels (the Martyrs and St Demetrius), each surmounted by a leaden cupola. The church dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. Among its numerous objects of interest are the body of Archbishop Nicodemus, the white marble tombs of Arsenius and other chiefs of the Servian Church, and the white marble throne on which the patriarchs were crowned. The side chapels have stained glass windows. According to some authorities, Ipek occupies the site of Dioclea, destroyed by the Bulgarians in the 11th century. In the Turkish administration it is the seat of a pasha with two tails, and at one time the pashalik bad become almost an hereditary government. The population of the town was calculated by Boué (1838, 1845) at 8000 and by Dr Miiller (1844) at 12,000. Jourishitch, the Servian author, states the number of houses at 4000. In the recent troubles of Turkey Ipek has suffered, and in 1876 the Turkish officials closed the monastery.

See Boué, Itinéraire de la Turquie ; Irby, The Slavonie Provinces of Turkey, 1867; Barth, Reise dυ∕rch das Innere der Europäischen Türkei, Berlin, 1864.