The town is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino River, at 300 m asl. The town features a series of outstanding two-story houses which were developed in the 17th century. The town also has a bazaar, an 18th-century mosque and two churches of the same period.
The town is nicknamed the "silver city" due to the colour of the roof tiles etc after rain. This photo was taken with no rain -
Many of the houses in the centre are tourist shops
The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress, where the Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival is held every five years.
Inside the fort is a museum of artillery
There is also a small bektashi shrine, with the grave of Baba Sanxhaktari. I wrote about the bektashi in an earlier blog on Albania. Girokaster was an important centre for the Bektashi.
Girokaster is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha and notable writer Ismail Kadare.
The mosque is also an important feature on the World Heritage listing, but this is currently undergoing renovation -
The 2nd World Heritage site we visited was the National Park of Butrint. See UNESCO listing for Butrint. "Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric. Following a period of prosperity under Byzantine administration, then a brief occupation by the Venetians, the city was abandoned in the late Middle Ages after marshes formed in the area. The present archaeological site is a repository of ruins representing each period in the city’s development."
It is also a RAMSAR wetlands site. It is important for flora and fauna.
The park is south of Sarande and Ksamil which are both busy tourist area. The national park border marks the end of the built up area. The park lies on a "peninsula" between a large lake and the Ionian sea, with a canal connecting the two. The lake -
The site has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Greeks were there in the late 7th century BC, when the city (called Buthros) was surrounded by fortifications.
Later the Romans occupied and developed the city. After this was a Christian period when many religious structures were built by the Christians.
A mix of stone walls from the different ages -
The Slavs came to the Balkans in the 7th century. Next was the era of the Epirus despotate (after the taking of Constantinople by the Crusades in 1204), which meant a lot of problems for the city. This was followed by the Byzantine administration (Epirus). The Venetians occupied for a short period in the late 14th century. The Ottoman administration was threatened by the marshes that formed around the lake, and the city was abandoned by the population.
There are various small ponds amongst the ruins and water is a constant problem for the preservation of the site. Important mosaics are covered with thick layers of sand to protect them from the elements.
The ancient theatre was constructed in the 3rd century, then was rearranged in Roman style. Our group in the amphitheatre -
A well, note the rope grooves in the wall
The Great Basilica, built in the early Christian period in the 6th c. -
The lake is used by mussel farmers
Avenue of eucalyptus
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