Gjirokaster is my favourite city in Albania. Read my blog “Gjirokaster - The
Magic of a stone city in southern
Albania”. It is believed that the the city’s origins
begin with the castle of Gjirokastra, built in the 4th century AD. During
Ottoman times,
It was known as Ergiri while local Greeks
referred to it as Argyrokastro, a name applied also to the castle) from 1336
and its heydays were in 1800 -1830’s. The Castle is the most important structure
in the whole region and largest castle in Albania. It is at a height of 336 metres
(1,102 ft).
Courtesy of our driver who had not charged the car battery overnight,(it was now in an underground charging point !!), we were forced to walk to the Castle…. a long meandering walk down and then uphill. One sees the Citadel from a long way off.
Here I need to differentiate the difference between “Castle”
and “Citadel”. A Castle is a fortified residence, while a Citadel is a core
fortified area of a city. Typically, the strongest point of defence. So, a
citadel is a castle within a city designed as the ultimate defensive
stronghold. Gjirokaster’s castle is thus a citadel.
It’s a long inclined walk but not that
bad. The entrance has the obligatory ticket booth and as you will find in all
tourist oriented spots in Albania, excellent well designed clear and readable captions
about each exhibit. There are separate wings which you visit, one after the
other. Today it
possesses five towers and has the new Museum, a clock tower, two teke, a
cistern, the stage of the National
Folk Festival, and many other points of interest.
At the end of the passage is the Museum of Gjirokastër, where you pay a
fee again. In a well displayed logical order it traces the history of
Gjirokastër and some of the famous people involved in its evolution; including
visits by characters like Lord Byron, Francois Poqueville and Edward Lear who
had visited the city. It covers the
archeological history of the city and region from antiquity to the communist
era.
One of the recurring sights you see at all forts across the country are
the explanations on how water was brought into the citadel. A similar explanatory
post is seen at the Fort in Berat. It is obvious that the locals are proud of
the ingenious systems in play so many decades ago to ensure water.
Panoramic view from Gjirokastër Castle
One walks through a passage carved out of stone with high walls and
curved arches. At the end, a series of steps leads you to the top. Here, one
sees the panoramic view below of the city and, as it was a hot hot day, one
realises the tremendous heat that must have been in those small rooms which we
could not enter. One more series of steps and you could go right further towards
the very end of the top of the wall. Nirad decided to explore this on his own.
Turning
left from the main entrance, you will enter a long gallery lined with artillery
pieces. All of these guns were either abandoned by, or captured from, the
Italian and German occupation forces during World War II. Within this
gallery there is also a small Italian tank built by Fiat.
The National Museum
of Armaments occupies the former prison where inmates were “re-educated.” Built
by King Zod of Albania for political prisoners, it was later used by the
Communist regime up until 1968.
This museum is intense and mostly filled with a considerable number of weaponry but surprisingly, for a change, no written captions / panels.
The current displays cover Albanian arms from independence in 1912 to the end of World War II, and most of the museum is dedicated to the Partisan struggle against the Italian and German occupation forces from 1939 to 1944.The
castle, which is undoubtedly one of the most magnificent structures of the
city, sits on a rocky bluff with the city stretching out around it. It
offers spectacular views of the Drino valley and surrounding mountains.
The remains of a United
States Air Force T33 Shooting Star are exhibited on the ramparts overlooking
the city. The airplane was forced to land at Rinas Airport, near Tirana
in December 1957 due to technical problems.
In
1811, the Ottoman governor Ali Pasha of Tepelena added many elements, including
the clock tower on the eastern side.
We spent nearly three hours
seeing the whole citadel.
Well worth it as we explored Albanian history and saw
some interesting sights.
Do visit if in Gjirokaster.
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
One walks through a passage carved out of stone with high walls and
curved arches. At the end, a series of steps leads you to the top. Here, one
sees the panoramic view below of the city and, as it was a hot hot day, one
realises the tremendous heat that must have been in those small rooms which we
could not enter. One more series of steps and you could go right further towards
the very end of the top of the wall. Nirad decided to explore this on his own.
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Text and photographs are copyright of the author. No part of any article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com