Kor衠bazaar to become tourist destination

TIRANA, July 23 – After undergoing rehabilitation under an EU-funded project last year, the landmark bazaar in the southeastern city of Kor衬 is expected to undergo further restoration to turn it into a tourist attraction this time under a project by the local municipality.
The bazaar, an ensemble of trade, craft, and residential buildings with urban-architectural and artistic values that dates back to the second half of the 19th, is expected to bring a new tourist element with its key function as a market and accommodation establishment for tourists.
The local buildings will undergo restoration, with their indoor facilities being adjusted to modern infrastructure while the exterior will be preserved as close to its original architecture, architects told Prime Minister Edi Rama during a recent visit to Kor衠last Sunday.
“After restoration, this could practically become a reference point for Kor衠and young tourists who will come to touch and taste this,” said Rama.
“This is not the typical bazaar we inherited from the Ottoman period, but it’s kind of other bazaar, built as a merchant street, inspired by the experience of migrants,” he added. Deputy Prime Minister Niko Peleshi, a former Kor衠mayor, said the revitalization of the bazaar would have a positive impact even economically by strengthening local businesses.
In 2013, a Euro 700,000 EU-funded project rehabilitated the Kor衠bazaar by paving the streets and the main square and improving most the entire infrastructure (potable water, sewerage, power and telecom) and the supply and installation of a new street lighting, adding value to this quarter.
The complex of buildings is a testimony to the existence of the craftsmen and tradesmen who at that time had a deep influence on the economic and social life of the town. The total surface of the plot of the Bazaar is around 20 000 mҮ The total surface of 138 shops is 5 186 m2, inns 2 154 mҬ and surface of roads and squares 12 660 mҮ The Bazaar was restored between 1975 and 1988. The restoration work was undertaken to preserve the fabric and, also, the architectural elements.