Tirana Times
TIRANA, Jan. 27 – Visitors to the citadel of the southern Albanian UNESCO town of Gjirokastra can now have a self-guided audio tour. The audio guides, available in English, Albanian, and Greek, provide information about the main objects found in the fortress such as the Clock Tower, the military museum and the former prison.
A map and some leaflets have also been made available to tourists.
The 13th century Gjirokastra castle dominates the town and overlooks the strategically important route along the river valley. It is open to visitors and contains a military museum featuring captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist resistance against German occupation, as well as a captured United States Air Force plane to commemorate the Communist regime’s struggle against the “imperialist” western powers. The citadel has existed in various forms since before the 12 century. Extensive renovations and a westward addition was added by Ali Pasha of Tepelene after 1812. The government of King Zog expanded the castle prison in 1932. Today it possesses five towers and houses a clock tower, a church, a cistern, the stage of the National Folk Festival, and many other points of interest. The castle’s prison was used extensively by Zog’s government and housed political prisoners during the communist regime.
The historic town of Gjirokastra, in the Drinos river valley in southern Albania, is a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate. The 13th-century citadel provides the focal point of the town with its typical tower houses (Turkish kule). Characteristic of the Balkan region, Gjirokastra contains a series of outstanding examples of kulle, a type of building which crystallized in the 17th century. But Gjirokastra also features some more elaborate examples from the early 19th century. The kulle has a tall basement, a first floor for use in the cold season, and a second floor for the warm season. Interiors feature rich decorative details and painted floral patterns, particularly in the zones reserved for the reception of visitors. The town also retains a bazaar, an 18th-century mosque and two churches of the same period.
Both Gjirokastra and the other southern town of Berat are inscribed as UNSECO World Heritage sites as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period.
