TIRANA, Sept. 30 – The house of Albania’s internationally renowned writer Ismail Kadare in his hometown of Gjirokastra is on track to be turned into a museum by next January when the perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature celebrates his 80th birthday.
The characteristic house is already in its final stage of restoration after an accidental fire burned it down back in 1999.
Gjirokastra’s municipal council has already approved a decision turning Kadare’s house into a museum and expects it to open doors to tourists by January 28, 2016 when Kadare marks his 80th birthday.
Alber Kasi, the director of the regional cultural heritage directorate in Gjirokastra, says the municipality and the central government are also planning to restore the houses of two other renowned personalities from Gjirokastra. They include the house of Musine Kokalari, the first female Albanian writer and the first dissident to challenge the communist regime which imprisoned her, and the house of Eqrem à‡abej, the most distinguished Albanian scholar and historical linguist.
The historic house of Ismail Kadare which dates back to the 17th century and has also been portrayed by the writer in his writings is one of the most significant landmarks in the southern Albanian city of Gjirokastra, a UNESCO World Heritage site which attracts thousands of tourists each year.
Inscribed on UNESCO as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period, Gjirokastra, situated 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.
An internationally renowned poet, novelist and essayist, Ismail Kadare has been perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize for literature. His international acclaim for his works peaked in 2005 when he won the Man Booker International Prize.
Kadare, known for writing about Albania’s totalitarian government, has had his works translated into over 30 languages, the most famous of which is “The General of the Dead Army.”
Last May, Kadare was honored with a flag ceremony at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
Earlier this year, Kadare, 79, was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for his works which best express and promote the idea of the “freedom of the individual in society.”
