Albania 2011!

Welcome to Albania!
Our first stop was Shkoder, a city in the north of Albania. This is the castle of Rozafa. Mike had always wanted to go there and he loved it.

 These sweet strong ladies do these every single day. It was amazing to see how they were able to walk up and down on that steep hill. I had to talk to them, and of course take a picture.

 This is Ryaan, the son of my best friend in Albania, Klodi. Last time I saw him was when he was just a newborn.  Isn't he a handsome boy?!

 Mike and I had just made it home that day, and Klodi, her husband Ali and their son Ryaan were there to greet us. I miss my friend so much. I wish we could be close to all of our dear ones.

 Mike and I had to go back to Mount Dajti or Mali i Dajtit. First time we went there together was almost four years ago when Mike came to Albania for the first time to meet me:) To make the story short, I'll just say that we took the lift up to the top of the mountain and we were in the air for almost 3 hours. (the ride is only 40 minutes) This time we took my parents and my aunt Vera with us. This time, we actually made it in time.

 Here is where we started our tour around Albania. We stopped in Apollonia, Fier.

Apollonia was founded in 558 BC by settlers from Corfu and Corinth

 We headed to the beach. I had never visited this part of Albania and I was amazed. The beaches were gorgeous, the water so beautiful. The only thing I regret is that I took most of the pictures with our IPod so the quality is not good at all. This is Himare.

 Porto Palermo

 This is the castle of Ali Pashe Tepelena (Source: Wikipedia)

Porto Palermo Castle is a castle near Himarë in southern Albania. It is situated in the bay of Porto Palermo, a few kilometers south of Himarë. The well preserved castle is commonly, but wrongly, asserted, by guide books and the local tourist guides, to have been built in early 19th century by Ali Pasha of Tepelena. It looks to have been built prior to the evolution of the star fort design. Most probably it was built by the Venetians as it could be relieved by sea and it has the same triangular plan with round towers found in the Venetian fort at Butrint. In 1921 the castle was called Venetian. At this time the identity of its builders ought to have been clear, from a plaque above the entrance gate. This plaque is now missing but the weathering of the stones clearly shows that it has not been missing for many decades. Almost certainly this plaque had a carving of the lion of St. Mark. The most plausible explanation of the error found in the guide books is a rewriting of history in the communist period. Re-ascribing a colonial legacy to construction by an Albanian fits a nationalist isolationist agenda.

The castle would have been vulnerable to cannon fire from the hill above and this also suggests an early date for its construction when cannon had not developed the range they had later. In 1662 the Venetians feared the Turks would recondition it.In 1803 Ali Pasha offered the castle and port to the Royal Navy. At which time the fort only had 4 or 5 cannon implying that Ali Pasha did not see the fort as important for him. 

 Butrinti (Mike's favorite place)

Butrint National Park is a national park created in November 2005 and located in the southwestern extreme of Albania. It protects 85.91 square kilometres of historic landscape, archaeology and environment. The park's boundary includes the seaside municipality of Ksamil.

The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country containing different artifacts and structures which date from the Bronze Age up until the 19th century. A number of major monuments are still extant including the city walls, late-antique baptistery, great basilica, theatre and Venetian castles. In addition to archaeological remains the site is robed by natural woodland with a complex ecosystem which depends on the nearby freshwater Lake Butrint and Vivari Channel which drain the lake into the Ionian Sea. It is this combination of historic monuments and natural environment that makes Butrint such a unique place, a 'landscape with monuments' as beloved of the Grand Tourists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

 Syri i Kalter! The temperature is really low, 10 degree celcius. Cannot keep your feet in the water for longer than...seconds!

The Blue Eye Spring (Syri i Kalter) is a hypnotic pool of deep-blue water surrounded by electric-blue edges like the iris of an eye. It feeds the Bistrica River and its depth is still unknown.

Mami and I freezing... 

 Mami and babi freezing...

 Mike's turn to freeze....

 Just a beautiful picture taken by Mike

 Gjirokastra. This is absolutely our favorite city in Albania. The city appears in the historical record in 1336 as Argyrokastro,under the Byzantine administration of the Despotate of Epirus. The city's walls date from the 3rd century AD. . Although the city's walls were built in the third century and the city itself was first mentioned in the 12th century, the majority of the existing buildings date from 17th and 18th centuries.

 The high stone walls of the Citadel were built from the 6th to the 12th century.Gjirokastër, home to both Albanian and Greek polyphonic singing, is also home to the National Folklore Festival. 
I always wanted to dance here someday!

 Typical houses consist of a tall stone block structure which can be up to five stories high.Many houses in Gjirokastër have a distinctive local style that has earned the city the nickname "City of Stone", because most of the old houses have roofs covered with stones.
 This is Berat. Berat Castle is a fortress overlooking the town of Berat, Albania. It dates mainly from the 13th century and contains many Byzantine churches in the area and Ottoman mosques. It is built on a rocky hill on the left bank of the river Osum

 The fortress of Berat in its present state, even though considerably damaged, remains a magnificent sight. The surface that it encompasses made it possible to house a considerable portion of the cities inhabitants. The buildings inside the fortress were built during the 13th century and because of their characteristic architecture are preserved as cultural monuments.

The south of Albania

 Our favorite restaurant in my hometown. Speciality: seafood!!!

 Taste of home. We love my mom's cooking.

 We also had the opportunity to go visit one of the orphanages close by. The youth of my branch actually goes and serves there every day for 2 hours.

 People whom I love! This is my uncle from my mom's side. If you see closely you can tell he is holding a gun:) Just kidding, is a bottle filled with some type of alchohol in the shape of a gun. Watch out for those wicked Albanians!

 Nena JOY!!!! This is my dear grandma whom I love to death. She is 87 years old and still full of life.

 I've had the best conversations with her. She was my best friend and always understood my heart.

 And she adores MIKE! This is proof that they actually talk to each other. It is so adorable, she talks to him non stop. I loved seeing them.

 And of course she has to try on the hat. She looooves taking pictures.

 Mike imitating babi or Albanian men/husbands. Here they are laying on the couch and Mike is asking me to give him a foot massage...I don't think it worked!

 When we were in Fier we stopped to visit my grandpa's brother (from my mother's side). I was very close to baba and he didn't get to meet Mike. He was such a sweet, caring and loving man. I remember telling him that one day I wanted to marry someone that was half as good as him and I got my sweetheart, who makes my life so wonderful.
It was very touching moment to introduce Mike to xhaxhi Avniu. It felt like it was baba giving us the blessing.

 Walking along the streets of Durres.

 Eating sufllaqe, the best in the whole world!!!!

 My cousin Mira...

 and her daughter Giulia...She is such a cutie.

 My aunt Dushi

 My good friends...Brisi, Olsi and Edi. We had a sleep over so I had to introduce them to "Ticket to Ride" We had a blast!

 My friend, Bela

 Kocillari Family

 Olsi and Edi

 Cenollari Family

 Sister Agalliu. We worked together for years in the Young Women's organization.

 Aunt Lulja in Gjirokaster. Mike loves her, because she is always smiling, laughing, serving...and doing something crazy!

 Sister Gjoni.

 Durres Branch, my family!

 Our friends Sonja and Marko.

 Lorena and her baby girl. Lorena is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. She joined the church with her brother when I was on my mission.

 This is her brother Marko (he is 19 and he is a futboll player, the sweetest guy you ever meet) and their sweet parents. I wanted for Mike to meet them and we finally had the opportunity this year.

 We had to say goodbye to my dear Albania...until next time.