Finiqi-antiquity sleeps beneath the ruins

Saranda- A visit to the tourist city of Saranda or a few days holiday on the shores of the Ionian are inconceivable without seeing and admiring the ancient monuments in Butrint; without feeling the soft breezes that waft off the surface of “The Blue Eye” and without contemplating the beauty of the ancient city of Finiq.
After the National Park of Butrint which occupies an area of 170 hectares of land, another park is being extended, the new park of Finiq. The township stands on the hill overlooking ruins that have reached down to our days as evidence of the work of culture, the ancient traditions of the Illyrians.
The discoveries of Finiq have given this location its name which came down from ancient times when it was the capital of the southŠFeonike or present day Finiqi is not only famous because of the legends of the Iliad, where it is mentioned, but also due to the many discoveries during archaeological excavations in the area. Many foreign and local archaeologists and experts have excavated in the zone for many years and have uncovered blocks of walls and traces of ancient temples. They unearthed the magnificent theatre; the foundations of the royal palace, streets, coins, pottery, temples, baptismal fountains and handicraft which served the inhabitants of Finiqi. This centre has long since attracted the attention of archeological research and universities centers of renown in the UK, the US, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. The diggings which have been concretized by scientific studies are of a great deal of value for the genesis of the Albanian people and other peoples of the Balkans.