Albania, full of hidden treasures

Two of the most exciting cities in Albania are Berat and Gjirokaster. They both became World Heritage Sites by UNESCO at the beginning of the 2000s. Gjirokaster is known as a “Museum City,” while Berat`s pictures may be the best-known image of Albania.

Berat

Berat is one of the oldest cities in Albania. You find the fortified Castel of Berat on the top of the mountain. Here you find the oldest part of the city. It is nice to walk around within the Castel walls; however, the lover part of Berat is called the City of floating windows. Here is where you find the view so famous for Albania tourism.

At one point, the Castel should have had 42 churches and two mosques; a lot of this was demolished or used for other purposes during the communist years. Today you can find eight restored churches, and the most famous one is the medieval Byzantine Holy Trinity church, which dates back to the 13th century.

Hotel Klea

I usually do not advertise much for places I stay. But I have to say, all the small hotels I stayed in, in Albania were so friendly, clean, and hospitable. Hotel Klea in Berat was no exception. It was a small family-run hotel with an excellent breakfast, and I got many good tips about my traveling in Albania. The host’s father drove me down to the bus the last morning.

Homemade Food Lili

You can see Lili in the center picture above. The host at Hotel Klea recommended this little restaurant, and it was a great experience. Lily was running the restaurant, and his wife was in the kitchen. He had four tables, and he created a good atmosphere there. Lili learned all the guests’ names, and all ended up talking to each other. The most memorable thing with Lili was when he came with the bill; he brought a bottle of Raki, the Albania strong liquor, and wanted to toast with the guests. So during the evening, Lily could have quite a few toasts. But it was great fun, and the food was lovely.

Gjirokaster

Gjirokaster is the second city I will write about in this blog. I went there a few days after Berat, and my host recommended me the hotel in Berat. The owner of Hotel Bebej Tradicional picked me up at the bus stop, and he did anything he could to make me feel welcome, including offering me to use his car while I was in Gjirokaster.

Thankfully, the communist saved Gjirokaster, so all the Mosques and churches were intact. And the city was classified as a Museum City. I visited the Zekate house, an imposing and typical house of a nobleman, from 1810. The tradition was that the rich and powerful build their homes like fortresses.

The Zekate house

Even though the City was declared a Museum City, it wasn’t easy to obtain these houses, and the Zekate house has not been lived in since 1968. These days distant relatives of the original family are running the museum, and the place is kept close to its original state.

The last place I will write about here is The Kubé cafe. This newly opened cafe in the arches under the Old Mosque was so lovely and friendly. Quite a surprise to discover. They tried to combine a shop, bookstore, and cafe, and the location was attractive.

All in all, Albania is full of surprises, and more will follow!