Setting off for the Peloponnese

We arrived back in Athens yesterday.  Once again, I am resolved never to book online again.  We had booked at a hotel 6 kms from Athens airport, which we did not realise was as the crow flies.  By taxi, the distance to Thalasso is 14kms and costs Euro 30 and the Mare Nostrum is described as a refined 4 star beach resort.  Not what we needed for a night's accommodation before picking up our rental car.  But the view from the dining room was lovely and we had a very nice breakfast.

We picked up the car -  a much classier one than our Albanian rental - and set off for the Peloponnese.  The second part of our adventure begins.

The Corinth Canal was our first stop.  It is an engineering marvel spanning many centuries to link the Aegean and Ionian seas.  Several rulers of antiquity tried to build a cutting through this isthmus but it was actually begun by Emperor Nero, and completed by the French in the nineteenth century.  Cut through solid rock, the canal is more than 6 kms long and 23 m wide.  It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland.

Ancient Corinth.

We drove on to Epidavros on the east coast.

Dinner was at a pretty local taverna festooned with orange trees.

Greece is a museum.  It doesn't matter where you go, there are bound to be some  ruins of significance.  As well as archaeological riches there is unique natural beauty and a superb climate.  It is very easy to understand why there are so many tourists that flock here.  Even, now on the cusp of October when it is supposed ot be the off-season or shoulder-season they are here wherever you turn.

This motor home made us feel envious.  It was parked at the port of Epidavros. In spite of the no camping signs, there were at least five motor homes nearby.

Look at the winding road along the coast

and a frequent and lovely sight, olive trees with the mountains as the backdrop.

A brief look at Tirana on our last day

We returned the car at Tirana airport a day early and went by bus into the capital city - a 20 minute ride depending on the traffic.  We had three hours to get a quick look around.

Statute of national hero Skenderbeu.

In contrast, the controversial pyramid memorial to Enver Hoxha that nobody knows what to do with.  Some want it demolished but it is standing there full of graffiti.

We went to the museum Bunk'art 2.  This is a sort of memorial to the crazy, paranoid, communist regime in Albania.  A tunnel to the vast bunker was built for the Ministry of Internal Affairs between 1981 and 1986 and the bunker is one of the largest of the 175,000 bunkers built across the country.  This bunker, code named "Objekti Shytilla", consisted of 24 rooms and a decontamination chamber in case of nuclear attack.

The sculpture of barbed wire in front of the Bunk'art 2.

Albanian rotisserie with a row of sheep or goat heads in front of the chickens.

This is our last day in Albania.  We enjoyed the warmth and friendliness of the people everywhere we went.  They were unfailingly helpful and interested in us.  Albania's developing tourism infrastructure is still in it's infancy but things are moving fast, especially along the coastal areas.  We hope that when the tourists fully discover this little gem of a country, the people remain as nice as they currently are.

To end this visit to Albania, the two headed eagle, representing union of north and south which is the national emblem on their flag.

Berat's historical background

4,000 year old Berat has fallen under Illyrian, Roman, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slavic and Ottoman rule through the centuries.  The most visible lasting impression was left by the Ottomans who constructed most of the ancient castle and the distinctive Ottoman houses, white-washed with brown tiled roofs and many windows along the front, making for a stunning visual.

Beratis often correct you when you call these Ottoman houses.  They are traditional Berati houses the say.  But the history speaks for itself as the houses date from the 1880s and earlier when Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire.  National and civic pride has its place but these houses are undoubtedly of Ottoman vintage.

Because of Berat's location on a steep hill, it looks as if the houses have been built atop one another from afar.  Countless windows, some houses with seven or eight in a row on the second storey (making it difficult for invaders to climb in) facing the road - hence the title of the "town with the thousand windows".

The excellent Ethnographic Museum - the best museum I have ever visited I may add - is down from the castle and in an 18th century Ottoman house that is as interesting as the exhibits.  There are traditional Albanian costumes on display and various tools, but the most interesting part is the upper storey which has bedrooms, entertainment rooms and guest rooms furnished in traditional styles.

The main entertainment room where the family lived but where guests were welcomed and entertained.

It is explained that women, according to strict Muslim tradition, were not allowed to be present when men visited.  The women climbed up in the small partition upstairs (pictured below), which was connected to the kitchen by very narrow stairs, where they could listen to the men's conversation and when required, could fetch more refreshments which they then handed over to a young boy who delivered the goodies to the male guests.

The guest room where the host slept in one bed and the guest in the other.

This museum provided a fascinating insight into the traditional lifestyles.  We enjoyed our visit very much and appreciated the informative value of the displays.

The old bridge across the river.

Until 1945, this area was the palace of the Pasha of Berat.  All that remains are a section of the women's quarters.

Berat - a higlight

Not only is our accommodation today vastly superior to yesterday's, but Berat is a delight.  Lonely Planet describes it as a highlight of visiting Albania and it is very true.  It too has a rugged mountain setting as many of Albania's towns.  Both Berat and Gjirokastra are UNESCO-designated museum towns.  Albanians themselves consider Berat to be their country's most beautiful town.  We agree.

But first the journey here.  Berat is in central Albania and quite far from anywhere else.  We drove from Gjirokastra to Berat and it is quite a long and circuitous drive as the mountains get in the way of roads.  There is a shorter route but we were told it is a very windy road and more suitable to a 4WD than our little rental car.   The scenery was tremendous.

The Hotel Mangalemi is a gorgeous place inside two lovingly restored, sprawling Ottoman houses where all the rooms are beautifully furnished in traditional Berati style and the balconies give superb views.  Our balcony actually overlooks the internal courtyard which is as lovely view as we would wish for.

Ottoman houses have many windows, thus earning this town the name of "town of a thousand windows".

The terrace restaurant at the hotel serves great traditional food and is reputedly the best place to eat in town.  We are lucky to have managed to get two rooms here.  We have one more night in Albania and we contemplated staying on here but the hotel is booked out.

The path uphill to the castle.  It is a 900m STEEP uphill slog.  Built to protect the north-south trade routes, it is not a castle in the traditional sense but a thick stone wall and towers encircling the grounds which are filled with still inhabited Ottoman houses.  The old town is in the castle precinct and about 1,500 people live up here.  To think the residents, young and old have to face this every day of their lives is astonishing.

Looking down on the new town.  Note the ever-present mountains.

Back in Albania

We have three more days in Albania before flying back to Athens.  On returning from our brief visit to Corfu, we drove from Saranda to Gjirokastra, a town defined by its castle and wonderful views over the wide Drina Valley.  There has been settlement here for 2,500 years.

The castle is one of the biggest in the Balkans and the town's best sight.  What is not publicised is that this castle was used as a prison and a place of torture for many years during the communist years in the country.  Now it is merely an attraction for visitors.

A shot-down US Air Force jet in the 1950s is displayed at the top of the castle.

I have to include a photo of a rare sight - a post box - which Brian was constantly searching for in all our travels.  He and Mairi write post-cards to their grandchildren and post boxes seem to be rare in the Balkans.  Sometimes he had to ask a landlady to post his cards as we were leaving a country.

A view of the Drina Valley and the mountains flanking it.  Almost everywhere you go in Albania you see imposing mountains.  They are an integral part of the country's landscape.

Two of Gjirokastra's most famous sons lived in this town.  The Ethnography Museum has been erected on the site of the communist dictator Enver Hoxha's house of birth. He also returned from studies in France and taught as a school teacher in his town of birth.

This is the house of Albania's most famous literary export and locally born author Ishmael Kadare. He describes this hillside town in the book Chronicle in Stone.  Kadare won the Man Booker Prize in 2005 for the best book in English translation.  It should be noted that Kadare is not so well loved in his own country as he is regarded as having been a friend of the communist regime.

We managed to find not so wonderful accommodation in this town although the balcony had nice views.  Our bedroom which used to be the kitchen in a large house is worthy of a photograph.

Note the juxtaposition of the old Aga style stove and the TV set.

Still in Corfu

Our two days in  Corfu are not yet over, thankfully, as it is so lovely here.  There are many British, and surprisingly, Dutch tourists here.  Some live here semi-permanently or permanently and someone we spoke to said not to tell everyone how much like paradise it is as more will come.  So, I hope not too many will read our blog :-)

We finally had a swim, the first on this holiday.  Having a paddle in the Ionian Sea and looking at the Albanian coast is a wonderful sensation.

Corfu Town where the ferry arrived and left from, was somewhat of a disappointment. The houses are pretty run down and not well maintained.  Rather shabby compared to the rest of Corfu which is sparkling and very beautiful.

The Cathedral is a lovely building

as is the Town Hall.

The old fortress

and the moat around it.

Corfu Town also has its small city beach which has its obvious devotees.

Playing bridge while waiting for the ferry at Corfu

and coming back to Albania on the ferry.