Day 13 - Berat-Tirana
Friday, May 30
Berat
The town of Berat sits on one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in Albania, with settlements here since prehistoric times. A river divides the town in two - the Christian Quarter and the Muslim Quarter. The houses are built on top of each other against the side of the mountain all facing the same direction, giving Berat the nickname, “city of a thousand windows.”
We began our day with a walk around town and to the river.
We walked up that hill to the Old Town where that flag is.
The Old Town is located at the top of the mountain (hill) inside the castle walls and is everything you’d imagine a medieval old town to be: cobblestones, ancient doors, narrow walkways, and a couple horses! It was utterly charming with million dollar views all around.
And did I mention the views?
Inside the hilltop castle walls is the Church of St. Mary and Onuphre Icon Museum. The church contains the finest examples of religious art in Albania.
Onuphi is known for introducing more realism and individuality into facial expressions. He also developed “Onuphri Red,” a special shade that, some say, was never repeated again. Onuphri took the secret of his red shade to the grave, but fortunately his works–and his son’s works–live on.
Because this church is a museum and not a worshiping congregation, we were allowed to go behind the iconostasis - the carved wooden wall filled with icons across the front. Normally, only the priest is allowed back there to perform the mass at the altar.
There is also a museum with more icons and religious pieces on display.
Bunk'Art is a massive, five-story underground atomic shelter turned museum on the outskirts of Tirana (the capital of Albania, where our trip began). Secretly built in the 1970s to accommodate late communist dictator Enver Hoxha and Albania's political and military elite in the event of a nuclear attack, the bunker was a sprawling maze of hallways and more than 100 fallout rooms, with living quarters and apartments, meeting rooms, and offices. In 2014, the Albanian government and a nonprofit arts group took over the presidential atomic shelter, transforming 24 of the 100 rooms into a contemporary arts and culture center. There's also an Albanian history museum with rooms just as they were in the 1970s, including Hoxha's office with his original furniture, desk, radio, phone, and maps. Going through it gave us a glimpse into Albania's dark communist past and history of repression.
Below are some of the letters written to churches telling them that they are no longer to be churches but that they will be repurposed into community centers or womens’ centers or childrens’ centers, or a number of other functions. The image on the right are “Religious Objects to be Destroyed” and the display was a wall of images.
Hoxha loved Hollywood movies so he had a full movie theatre in the bunker!
We checked into our hotel, and began preparing for our flight out the next morning. Mom and I went out to spend the last of our lek (Albanian currency). And then our group had our last Albanian dinner together before turning in for a very short night of sleep. Tomorrow we fly home!