Hills, Hills, Hills

The choice is yours, up or down

No matter which way you turn in this beautiful historical town of Gjirokastër, Albania, you are confronted with a hill…life is full of choices and the first choice you make here is either Up or Down. LOL

Old town is positioned on the hill in the beautiful Ottoman center and overlooks the New Town positioned down in the valley and the surrounding mountains.

The beautiful old houses covered with beautiful decorations is reminiscent of something you would see in a Disney fairy tale.

I ventured up to the castle on the very top of the hill which offers a visitor these epic views of all the land around. It is the second largest castle in the Balkan peninsula…as with many ancient sites, there are only ruins left of the castle but it is well presented and you can feel the history baked right into the stone walls.

Within the fortress walls, there are countless festivals held here year round. They were just dismantling the stage from the Miss World Competition that had just wrapped up.

Gjirokastër is also the birthplace of the writer Ismail Kadare, of which I read his book ‘The Fall of the Stone City’.  It is also the birthplace of the notorious communist leader Enver Hoxha, the city is intriguing and controversial as it preserves the deep history well.

You can visit an old bazaar, the only mosque in Gjirokaster as well as monumental Ottoman-style Skenduli House (which I have a separate gallery and description below. It was 100% worth individual recognition.

Step Back in Time…300 years to 1823

Ottoman-style Skenduli House

Stepping inside this Ottoman Style Skeduli House, one of Gjirokastër’s fortified stone houses from the 19th century was the most authentic historical house I have ever been in.

Everything is completely original and this is the best preserved house in old city of Gjirokastra. This house was built over 300 years ago in 1823.

The owner of the house, a descendant of the family that build it, gave me a guided tour and she was an amazing story teller.

She explained everything about the house, how it was built, how it was taken from the family during the communist regime and now it is back to its rightful owner it is open for visitors.

The Skenduli’s house was so special because it had 9 fireplaces which is a symbol of wealth, 6 bathrooms, 12 rooms, 44 doors, 64 windows, and 4 hammams (Turkish baths).

The stone houses were built with layers of wood between the stones to offer an ancient form of Earthquake proofing…the wood allowed for the gentle shaking and rolling of the earth. Kind of like cartilage between our bones.

Road trip back to Vlore

Fresh Mountain Water and Tea in Uji i Ftohtë Tepelenë

We stopped on the way back to Vlore at this small little village, Uji i Ftohtë Tepelenë, that is famous for the fresh mountain water run off. Every one stops here to fill up their jugs of water. The entire area was saturated from the water run off…it gave the illusion that it was pouring rain but it wasn’t. There was just such an excess run off.

I stocked up on fresh mountain tea (the bunch of dried flowers that look like weeds), honey and fresh fruit.

_{Please note that I have not received these products for free or at a discounted price in exchange for my opinion.  There may be links that are affiliate links but at the time of posting this review, I have not received any monetary kickbacks.}