World Country Guide

The Interior

Known as the ’city of a thousand windows’, owing to the plethora of windows in the city’s red-roofed houses, Berat has been declared a 'Museum City’. Built on the slopes of a mountain, the old Turkish part of the town is very picturesque, being largely encompassed by the medieval fortress. To house the growing population, a new town has been built further down the valley beside the largest textile combine in the country. The Onufri Museum, dedicated to the 16th-century painter and his contemporaries, houses restored icons in an orthodox church. There is also a magnificent castle near here.
Gjirokastra, in the far south, has also been designated a ’Museum City’ as so many of the houses retain their traditional wood- and stonework. The narrow and winding cobbled streets ensure the virtual exclusion of motor traffic. The town is dominated by the 13th-century Fortress which was extended by Ali Pasha in 1811. It now contains the National Museum of Weapons; the collection ranges from medieval armour to a shot-down US reconnaissance aircraft (the museum was looted in 1997 but most of the collection is still there) and the view is not to be missed. The surrounding area is renowned for its many mineral springs.
Kora was the seat of government during Turkish rule. In the 18th century, the city was able to exploit its location at the crossroads of several caravan routes and became a major trading point. Standing at the foot of the dramatic Morava mountain near the Greek border, Kora is home to the Mirahor Mosque, dating back to 1466, the Museum for Medieval Art, the Museum of Education (where the first Albanian school was opened in 1887) and a listed, though decaying, bazaar quarter.
The charming resort of Pogradec near the Macedonian border stands beside Lake Ohrid, renowned for its clear water and rich in trout and carp. About 5km (3 miles) to the east is the tourist centre of Drilon, surrounded by extensive ornamental gardens.
Visible for miles around, Kruja is an attractive medieval town perched on top of a mountain north of Tirana. It was the centre of Albanian resistance to the Ottoman Turks under Skanderbeg, the national hero, and the Skanderbeg Museum is to be found inside the recently restored castle. The street leading up to the castle is built in the style of a medieval Turkish bazaar.
Situated on Lake Scutari, which divides Albania from Montenegro, Shkodra is dominated by the ruins of the Fortress of Rozafa, one of the ancient Ilyrian castles, built on a rock hill from which a spectacular panorama of the surrounding countryside, the lake and the Lead Mosque can be enjoyed. A museum is dedicated to one of the greatest Albanian writers, Migjeni. The Mesi Bridge, 8km (5 miles) from Shkodra, is also well worth a visit, as is the Monument to Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg at his burial ground in Lezha.