TIRANA, July 14 – The southern Albanian towns of Gjirokastra and Berat will be marking their anniversaries as UNESCO World Heritage sites in the next few days with several events promoting cultural heritage and targeting to increase the number of visitors at a time when sizzling temperatures have turned all attention to coastal areas.
Gjirokastra will mark this weekend its 11th anniversary as a UNESCO town with a tight calendar of cultural and entertainment events dominated by musical performances.
“Because of its UNESCO inscription, Gjirokastra is one of the country’s most attractive destinations. This will also be an opportunity to introduce the city of many renowned personalities, among whom Ismail Kadare,” organizers say.
The two day-festival scheduled for July 15 to 16 has been named “Concert in Stone” because of the famous “Chronicle in Stone” novel written by Kadare, Albania’s internationally renowned writer who has been a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize for literature. Albania has proclaimed 2016 as the Year of Kadare as the writer turned 80 while his childhood home in his home town of Gjirokastra has opened doors as a museum.
The historic house of Ismail Kadare which dates back to the 17th century is one of Gjirokastra’s most significant landmarks and has also been portrayed by the writer in his writings.
Meanwhile, the southwestern town of Berat which has just celebrated eight years as a UNESCO site will host its third multicultural festival from July 21 to 23 with a wide range of music, art and cultural heritage events, promoting the best of the town of a thousand windows.
“The festival will acquaint visitors with Berat’s architecture, culture and gastronomy values. Local and French stone carvers will come together in an open atelier for visitors which can also enjoy jazz music and rafting in Osum river and its famous Canyons,” organizers say.
Berat and Gjirokastra have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in south-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. 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, says UNESCO.
