Gjirokastra

Gjirokastra

A few weeks ago, we went on a language trip to Gjirokastra, a city in southern Albania, and some other stops along the way.  It was a fast, full trip, but we had fun!

The beautiful city of Gjirokastra.

Gjirokastra Castle - This castle/fort has been occupied by troops over the many wars in Europe.

U.S. spy plane that had "engine troubles" over Albania :)

Our friend and photographer of the trip

Walking through the city.

Ethnographic Museum

This is where Hoxha, the communist dictator, was born and grew up.

Sweet seating!!

View from our hotel

Syri i Kaltar - The Blue Eye

The Blue Eye is a natural spring with beautiful coloring.  The water that is pushed out of the earth is done so with ridiculous force.

A beautiful oasis in the middle of Albania

I originally thought that we were going to a HUGE lake that was deep and beautiful.  When we walked up to what is actually was, I was a little disappointed - Oops!- though still awed by the beauty of it that isn't really captured in these pictures.

Butrint - UNESCO World Heritage Site

This city was occupied by many reigns over history, from the Greeks to Venetians to the Romans.  It was pretty cool to walk through this ancient city, and try and imagine what it used to look and feel like.

There are mosaics everywhere, but since they don't want them to be destroyed by weather, they are all covered....and we can't see them....but here is what the one of the floor of the baptistry looks like

Here is the baptistry and you can see how big the mosaic is.

One mosaic that the tour guide uncovered and then poured water on - haha.

Top of the castle part...I'm so great with remembering the names of things :)

Sean and a canon - yeah, he's tough!

On our way home we stopped Saranda for lunch!

Our view of Saranda during lunch on the water

Another stop on the way home was to a real Castle! This castle was also used during the wars.  Prisoners were held here at one point, but before all that a king of some sort lived here with his queen.  This is probably the first castle I've been in where I could imagine the people living here. It was pretty cool.

View from the top of the castle.

Some weird art that we have seen at random places throughout Albania.

And of course our guide had to show us the snakes that they keep at their restaurant.

We had a great trip, and enjoyed all the sites and all the people who joined us on this trip.  We are grateful we got to see southern Albania before we leave.