Under the slogan “I am World Heritage” the event titled “Concert in Stone” will kick off on Monday, July 15 with a series of activities concluding with the White Night celebrations until the early hours of July 16
TIRANA, July 11 – Gjirokastra will mark its eight anniversary of UNESCO inscription with a series of events which include concerts, a book and handicraft fair. Under the slogan “I am World Heritage” the event titled “Concert in Stone” will kick off on Monday, July 15 with a series of activities concluding with the White Night celebrations until the early hours of July 16.
A scientific conference on Gjirokastra’s cultural heritage which since 2005 has been under UNESCO protection has also been scheduled.
The event’s big concert at the Gjorkastra fortress will bring together three regional rock folk bands and several DJs.
Inscribed on UNESCO as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period, Gjirokastra, in the Drinos river valley in southern Albania, features a series of outstanding two-story houses which were developed in the 17th century. The town also retains a bazaar, an 18th-century mosque and two churches of the same period. The 13th-century citadel provides the focal point of the town with its typical tower houses.
The historic town of Gjirokastra is a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estates. The architecture is characterized by the construction of a type of tower house (Turkish ‘kule’), of which Gjirokastra represents a series of outstanding examples, according to UNESCO.
The history, culture and traditions of Gjirokastra and its Drino valley are featured in the newest museum that has opened at the southern Albanian town which has been under UNESCO protection since 2005. Situated in the indoor premises of the local Argjiro fortress, the museum documents Gjirokastra’s 2000-year-old history, bringing evidence of the life of its inhabitants, its most prominent figures and archeological remains discovered in the Drino Valley, especially in the Hadrianapoilis Park.
Cerciz Topulli, Musine Kokalari, Ismail Kadare are some of the local heroes displayed in the museum stands. A special corner has also been dedicated to late Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who ruled the country for 40 years, from 1945 to 1985. Some of the dictator’s photos featuring him visiting his hometown of Gjirokastra and some of his political writings are displayed in a special stand for those who look back nostalgically to the communist regime.
The museum is the third in Gjirokastra after the arms museum in the local fortress and the ethnographic museum located in the house of late dictator Enver Hoxha.
Berat marks 5th UNESCO anniversary
On July 8, the southern town of Berat also marked its fifth anniversary under UNESCO protection with a scientific conference bringing together experts. Five years after its UNESCO inscription, the southern UNESCO town of Berat faces a series of challenges with the preservation of its monuments, illegal constructions and road infrastructure. Denouncing lack of support by central government, Fadil Nasufi, the Berat Mayor, says around 500 monuments are endangered in the town.
Since 2008, Berat has been inscribed as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417.
Berat bears witness to a town which was fortified but open, and was over a long period inhabited by craftsmen and merchants. Its urban centre reflects a vernacular housing tradition of the Balkans, examples of which date mainly from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. This tradition has been adapted to suit the town’s life styles, with tiered houses on the slopes, which are predominantly horizontal in layout, and make abundant use of the entering daylight.
