Vlora, the city on the edge of the Adriatic and Ionian coast

This is the essence of Vlore - open spaces, new skyscrapers, lots of restaurants 

and new found economic growth, especially tourism.

Vlore / Vlora was part of my itinerary. Its basically halfway between Tirana and Ksamil in the south – opposite Corfu. Its named after Ismail Quemal Vlora, 1844 -1919, the first Prime Minister and founder of the first Albanian State. He was the architect of Albanian independence. More about him later in this blog.   

Getting here from Gjirokaster we went through Sarande – Himare – Dhermi to reach Vlore   where we spent two nights. Then onto to Tirana for the final stretch via Zvernec.  The weather leaving Gjirokaster was foul – fog so thick you could not see through more than 100 metres! We had to cross the mountains and my driver enjoyed driving so slowly to irritate me. By now I was regretting hiring him through my agency as he was far too inquisitive about personal matters even though he had been told by the company to stay off personal subjects. In fact, in a Vlore restaurant, I told him to get out and I would arrange another driver thru the company. But after his apology, we continued! 

The city of Vlora is one of the beautiful cities of Albania, where the blueness of the sea, the beauty of nature with the mountain and rocky slopes of the rugged coast of the south of the country come together in harmony. Its all open spaces, lots of restaurants and today, a thriving construction boom. 

Considered the pearl of Albanian tourism, Vlora lies on the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, in southwestern Albania, about 135 km away from Tirana. It is bordered to the north by Fier, to the east by Mallakastra and Tepelenë, while to the south with Saranda and Gjirokastra. You can see the range of colours of the sea when driving to Vlore. 

In antiquity, Vlora was known as Aulona and is mentioned by many foreign travellers and chroniclers, as one of the main cities of Southern Illyria which flourished after the fall of Apollonia and Orik. The importance of Vlora grew even further as the independence of Albania was declared in this city by the Ottoman Empire in 1912. 

   My hotel was in the town centre. In the evening, I walked about two kms on main street straight down town to reach this French restaurant as I was tired of local food. It was a superb meal and I even went and congratulated the chef and owner.

Next morning, we began the city tour. Among the most visited attractions within the city is the historic Museum of Independence, the sea terrace of Teqea of Kuzum Baba, located on a hill above the city, 16th C Murade mosque, near Vlora -Skelë boulevard, in the archaeological area near Flag Square, The Jewish Street etc

Opposite Flag Square you will see a communist monument and if you climb the steps, you’ll get a good view over the city. Likewise, if you head for Kuzum Baba with its tyrbe/monument high on the hill.  

Surprisingly, there used to be a Jewish community here and there is a street called Jewish Street to commemorate the community. 

One evening, I went to a local restaurant , fully of families, where I had an incredible dinner. See the photos ! The avocado salad, the prawns and finally the chocolate mint dessert! 

At the far end of the promenade, there is a building with sand all around it. Small structure. As you walk, you see raised plaques in the ground. Closer examination reveals these are memorials to the independence martyrs and these are lit up in the evenings!

The building houses the place where Ismail Vlora and his group planned the whole independence movement. It’s a small museum with one floor. The guide / sentry is helpful and shows you around.

Crossing the road, you come to a huge open area with the sea on one side. I had seen earlier that every city in Albania is blessed with at least one large huge open space – presumably in old times, people gathered here for rallies etc. Now, families and tourists walk and play here.

We then went on a drive of about 20 kms to a restaurant from where you get a wonderful view of the ocean and beaches. 

The Narte Lagoon represents one of the largest and most important lagoons of Albania, which is located at the southern end of the coastal Plains. This lagoon along with the island of Zvernec and the Forest of Soda are located a few kilometers from the city of Vlora, in its north-western part and creates an impressive and unique natural ensemble. Here is Triport, a natural beauty unexplored by visitors.

The Monastery of Saint Mary on the island of Zvërnec is a great location – totally isolated  and can be accessed through a narrow wooden bridge; We saw a few families even in the blistering hot weather. 

The coasts of Vlora are the enchanting postcard of the Albanian Riviera, which begins with the descent of the Llogara Neck and follows with the magical panorama of the broken line of the Ionian Riviera, which creates bays, islands, peninsulas, and numerous beaches, one more fabulous than the other. 

Some of the most beautiful destinations of Vlora, treasures of the Albanian Riviera are: Karaburun Peninsula, the largest in Albania; Island of Sazan; Ancient Orik Park, Archaeological Park of Amantia as well as beautiful coastal villages and uncharted caves on the Ionian Sea, fortress of Porto Palermo in Himarë.

Vlora is the second largest port city after Durres, an important commercial and maritime center in Albania. Vlora is the circle where all forms of relief alternate between them, such as the low field, hill, and mountain. Two of the cultural heritage values that the Vlora region carries are also the Vlora Polyphony, considered UNESCO asset, or Vlora civic songs. Certainly worth two days for sight seeing. 

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

Tbilisi City tour with Zura Mosiashvili, our driver and Keity Abuvashilli, our guide.

We left our Azerbaijan guide Elchin and our driver Xeyrullar at the border and then began our harrowing experience of crossing into Georgia. We knew there was a walkway which had to be crossed. But we did not know that this 600 m walkway had steps upwards, many of them broken, snapped and irregular. Luckily for me, a young Chinese man and a local soldier helped me with my two large bags. We reached the no man’s land and then another 500 m of Georgian walkway, luckily on level ground and an interminable wait….some had waited there for 4 ½ hours to cross. We managed it in just under two hours. My recommendation – do not walk into Georgia from Azerbaijan.

Then began our Georgia tour with Zura Mosiashvili, our driver and Keity Abuvashilli, our guide. Two wonderful people with good humour and great warmth. This blog is about our tour of Tbilisi city and its mainly photos, less words. 

The city is well spaced out. Lots of people and modern cars. Though there have been wars in the recent past, the city and country don’t show those scars. The Caucasus mountain range is ever present as a backdrop. Looks really beautiful.

 

The Christian religion is strong in its different avatars - all churches and cathedrals in this region are large, beautifully maintained and have a strong presence in the minds of the people – young and old. 

Tbilisi has its old and its new part – both interesting.  Linked together by museums, bridges, the river.

 

     

In many places, we saw carts selling freshly cut fruits – berries of various sorts in large cups. They made a nice display and I regret we never tried any. 

   

So enjoy these photos of the city which we toured that day. 

Keity is a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable about her city. A fund of local history. 

Zura is a great driver, enjoys his work and travel. Seeing the city and the country with them brought real value to our trip. 

This blog is dedicated to two wonderful people - Zura Mosiashvili, our driver and Keity Abuvashilli, our guide. They were with us from the Azerbajani Balakan - Georgia border to the Sadakhlo Georgia -  Hagapat Armenia border road. They were with us 3.5 days and we drove over 655 kms in Georgia. They were extremely helpful, warm hearted and knowledgeable. They resolved issues which our travel agent in Tbilisi failed to do. Thank you.

Their contact details are in my blog on "Guides who have been really helpful to us. "

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