Tuesday, May 27

Albanian flag over the clock tower at the castle fortress at Gjirokastra near the border with Greece.

As always our day began with a scenic drive through the mountains and a coffee stop with a view!

The view from our hote room

Cows on the hillside

Our ccoffee spot (building on the left)

Macchiato: espresso with frothed milk (my new favorite drink)

Gjirokastra is a well preserved Ottoman settlement and an important city for a few reasons. It is the birthplace of Enver Hoxha the Communist dictator of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. It is the birthplace of Ismail Kadare, literary author (who I’ll say more about later). And it is home to the 13th century castle fortress - one of the largest castles in the Balkans.

The castle houses the National Military Museum. The guns on the left are from WWII and the ones on the right are from WWI.

WWI Fiat Tank

There was a USAF T-33 Shooting Star (that had been gutted) on display. It had nothing to do with this castle or town, but since this is the National Military Museum for Albania it is on display here. In 1957 it had been discovered at the airport in Tirana (the capitol). Read more about it below.

Around the Castle Fortress:

Used as a prison during communist era

They hold a music festival here every year

And the view from up here is stunning!

Wild poppies everywhere!

Around town and lunch with a view (of course):

This man carves these designs out of the local limestone.

Posing with a carving of his father (also a carver)

Skenduli House, originally built in the early 1700s, has been owned by the same family for 10 generations (except for a few years when the communist government took it over), and has been beautifully restored. A daughter of the family gave us a tour explaining each room and how the family would have lived in it when it was first built. They were a wealthy family and the house has many bedrooms (with private bathrooms), four floors, nine fireplaces, elaborate carvings, and amazing conveniences for the times (18th century!). This was a highlight of the trip for me.

Chestnut in walls to absorb earthquakes

Basement hideout during raids/sieges

Rain water fed cistern behind this wall

Guestroom

With storage and balcony

Private bathroom off the guestroom

Toilet would have had water for flushing

Guestroom fireplace

Kitchen:

For roasting coffee beans

Communist era canteen

Communist era appliances

Summer veranda

Men's dining room

Grandparents' bedroom

Guestroom

There was also a bedroom for the newest married son and his wife. They would stay in this room until the next person married and then that newly married couple would get the room until the next one married. And so on….

Newlywed's summer bedroom

Newlywed's winter bedroom

Etlira, our host and 10th generation Skanduli!

Ismael Kadare was an Albanian author who died just last year at the age of 88, He was internationally acclaimed and was the first recipient of the Man Booker Award given out in 2005. His writings have been translated into 45 different languages! He was not a friend of the communist government, often writing in metaphors to convey subversive ideologies. He eventually sought asylum in Paris, returning to Albania in 1992 after the victory of the Democratic Party.

I’ve been reading his books in preparation for this trip and they have given me valuable insights into 20th century Albania.

We visited the Kadare Museum which is located where his childhood home used to be. (It had burned down during communist times.)

Cistern inside the house to provide water

"Modern" plumbing!

Bomb shelter for 90 peopl!

Excerpt, “Chronicle in Stone” (semi-autobiographical)

We ended our day by arriving at our hotel in Serande on the Ionian Sea. This is a beachy tourist place, so being here before the summer busy season is nice!