July 12, 2012*

With our refill situation resolved thanks to the Saranda fisherman with his compressor, we had a day to view some more sites.

We toured Gjirokaster Castle, a large fortification on top of the mountain.

There are no artificial lights inside the castle, you can only see by the sun light that seeps in – Albania maintains a very “Green Friendly” tourist environment; the smell inside was quite unique, too.

The view from the castle.

This is me with an “American Spy Plane.”

The plane, sometime during the 1960’s, had mechanical problems and had to make an emergency landing at Tirana airport.

Albania sent the pilot home, but kept the airplane and used it as propaganda as a “captured American spy plane.”

The field used for large communist rallies; since then, events like concerts, apparently are held here.

Walking around the castle:

We left the castle and went in to the village:

Qeparo Village is a characteristic example of “Vernacular Architecture,” which is a category of buildings based on local needs and available materials.

A Grocery Store.

Enver Hoxha’s childhood home.

As the story goes, it was destroyed in World War II, and later rebuild by Hoxha even bigger and grander.

Gjirokaster Castle from a distance.

We walked all over the place – up hill in 100 degree heat.

We left after a few hours and headed to our next destination.

Heading to Blue Eye, we got stopped at a Police check point.

The Police Officer asked Idit where we were from.

Idit told him he is from Tirana, and that I am an American tourist, visiting the castle.

They exchanged a few words in Albanian.

“He wants to know how you liked the castle,” Idit said.

All the Albanian I had learned, I had forgotten.

I leaned over, smiled and gave a thumbs up.

The Officer smiled and we were let go without showing any paperwork.

*Due to time constraints, lack of reliable internet access outside of Tirana, power outages in Tirana and the strength of Albanian beer, posting of this article has been delayed.

July 11, 2012*

On the way to our third dive site, we were able to stop by the number one tourist attraction in Albania – The Ruins Of Butrint.

Admission was 700 LEK for foreigners, 500 LEK for Albanian nationals.

“Hey Idit, how did the guy know I wasn’t Albanian?” I asked.

“He knows, you don’t look Albanian,” Idit replied.

The ancient city of Butrint has ruins as old as the 4th century B.C.

Legend has it, that the city was formed by people fleeing the fall of the city of Troy.

As the brochure states, “On arrival, Priam’s son Helenus sacrificed an ox, which struggled ashore wounded and died on the beach. Taking this as an omen, the place was named Buthrotum meaning “wounded ox.”

For more details on these ruins, please see The Butrint National Park Page.

The entrance to Butrint.

Some old dwellings:

The coliseum:

The bath house:

Remains of what was once a church:

Hand carved stones fit together with precision to form the wall:

An entrance to the city:

The immediate wall and stair cases made rushing the city by invading forces, very difficult; there were also holes in the wall where defending forces could shoot at the enemy.

One of the towers:

Cannons guard against invaders:

It was getting really hot; we stopped by the restaurant and drank water for lunch.

*Due to time constraints, lack of reliable internet access outside of Tirana, power outages in Tirana and the strength of Albanian beer, posting of this article has been delayed.