Gjirokaster and it’s castle

June 13, 2018

Gjiokaster, another UNESCO designated World Heritage site, is an intriguing city to wander through, and the castle rising above it holds many surprises and offers dramatic views. Here is a good overview, with a more coherent and informed discussion than I could put together myself.

The town

Gjirokaster is known as The City of Stone, and it is immediately obvious why when you come to the end of the modern, paved road grid. It is reminiscent of the Zagori Villages, just a few miles south and across the border in Greece, but on a much larger scale. Its narrow cobblestone streets are beautiful but can be a bit difficult to navigate, with cars occasionally driving through at a good clip to keep traction on the steep, slick surfaces. You have to watch your toes.

Like any well-touristed city, the streets of the historical district are lined with vendors. In addition to the usual tourist temptations, Albania is famous for its handmade kilims (rugs), at ridiculously inexpensive prices. Rachael had to talk me down from bringing one home with me, reminding me that: one, we don’t have a home any more; and two, that I’d just have to carry it over the mountains between here and Ohrid - and if I could do that, couldn’t I just carry part of her oversized load instead?

The castle

The castle towers over Gjirokaster, straddling the bluff that borders the old town. The city originated with (and gets its name from) the castle, which dates back to the fourth century AD. It is the largest castle in Albania.

It’s a healthy, steep walk up to the castle, but the walk along the beautifully patterned stone lane is a worthwhile destination in its own right:

The fortress is a vast, sprawling structure, interesting everywhere you look. Luckily for us, all of the information panels are bilingual (Albanian/English), so we had some sense of what we were seeing. We wandered around for nearly two hours, admiring the views, checking out corners, peeking down into dungeons. A great destination to round out the afternoon until it’s time for dinner.

The Museum of Weapons

I’m not really drawn to arms displays or war memorabilia, but it’s impossible to not be impressed by the Museum of Weapons. It is visually arresting to walk down a long hall of stone archways (formerly part of the prison), with the barrel of an armament protruding from between each arch. The museum’s inventory is quite large, and goes back to medieval times; but the currently featured weapons are from the 20th century through the Second World War, and focus in particular on the resistance to Italian and German occupation. I could easily have gone down the hall and taken a photo of each armament - they’re all different and intriguing - but here’s a small sampling of what’s on display.

One of my favorites from the museum is this tiny, toy-like tank. See below for its background.

This is a startling object to see here: the remains of a US reconnaissance plane. See the next image for background.

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