TIRANA, Sept. 29 – The Albanian-American Development Foundation is investing $3.2 million in two revitalization projects in Gjirokastra, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Albania.
The investment includes project design for the entire area, including “Cerciz Topulli” square and project implementation for “Qafa e Pazarit” project in the above blocks. The restoration phase of this investment is foreseen to be completed by June 2017.
The revitalization of Gjirokastra Pazar, will allow for the area to become one of the most important tourist destination in the region.
Culture Minister Mirela Kumbaro said the restoration would bring back pride to Gjirokastra which in 2013 were at risk of making it to the list of world heritage in danger.
The Albanian American Development Foundation, created in 2009 by the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund with the USAID support, has supported the creation of Tourism Improvement District (TID) and Business Improvement District (BID) areas in the cities of Tirana, Gjirokastra, Korca, Shkodra, Berat and Kruja.
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.
