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Published: January 27th 2024
Me
Mt Tomorr, BeratDear All
Greetings from the mountainous interior of lovely Albania. After a great start to my trip in Durrës, I did what I often find to be the more nerve-racking journey on a trip. While I still find the flight to a new country exciting and a little daunting, I actually often find the first journey I make within the country slightly more daunting, as you have to navigate a whole new transport system with all that is unique and quirky about it involved.
And thus it was so on a Saturday morning at the end of December, when the time came to leave my very comfortable and friendly hotel by the Adriatic Sea, and head off into the unknown Albanian interior. I first took a taxi to the Plepat Bus Terminal, located about four miles away from the city centre. I appreciated this, as the taxi took me through the long tourist strip stretching miles away to the south of the city, which I hadn't yet seen. I imagine the place must be seriously pumping in the summer, with brash and tacky hotels, pizzerias and souvenir shops all over the place, mostly closed out-of-season.
So in Albania,
the way to get around is either by roughly-scheduled bus, or by fill-up-and-go type minibuses, called "furgon". This is one of those things that just makes Albania so unique. While it is indeed European, with European people and a language which doesn't sound too dissimilar to any other East European language (although in fact it is a unique language, an oddity, descended directly from the ancient Illyrian tribes who once roamed these lands before the Romans, and not having any Slavic influence), they have these minibuses that are oh-so-typical of pretty much every developing country I've been to. Fair enough, they are slightly larger and roomier, and they don't fill them quite so much to the rafters as they do in certain other places, but it felt exotic to have this despite being in Europe.
I arrived at the Berat-bound minibus early. The advantage of this is that I got to choose my seat, a single one next to the window. The disadvantage is you have to wait ages for the other passengers. I'd rather be early any day though, to bags that good seat! Half-an-hour later it had filled up, with an extra seat added in the aisle
between my single seat and the double seat opposite me, and two guys standing. When we passed a police checkpoint along the way, the two standing guys were told to squat down to look as though they were seated. Gosh, this is certainly a far-cry from the constant "health and safety" concerns of much of the rest of the European nanny-continent!
It was on this journey, while listening to my MP3 player and watching the Albanian countryside go past, that I felt in my happy place again once more - travelling on the open road again, who knows where this road will lead to but I'm excited to find out, carrying all my possessions on my back. I just love this! I settled down for what I'd read was a two-hour journey, but one-and-a-half hours later we were there, which rather caught me by surprise! We'd arrived in the newly-built bus terminal on the outskirts of the beautiful, UNESCO-listed former Ottoman mountain town of Berat, perhaps Albania's tourism highlight! I was excited to be there!
Rather than try to negotiate with the rather mean-looking bus terminal taxi crew, my Maps.Me app told me it'd be a one-and-a-half mile
walk to my accommodation, bang in the heart of Berat's stunning mountaintop castle-town. I chose this accommodation especially to experience the Berat citadel from within. Unfortunately the walk did involve quite a climb, with the citadel standing a lofty 156 metres above the surrounding plain, but it was worth it for the views and I quite enjoyed getting to know the back streets of a small Albanian town. There were certainly not as many stray dogs as there were back in Durrës, which I was pleased about travelling this rather backwater mountainside road.
Once through the citadel gates at the top of the hill, it was even further uphill to my accommodation, which seemed to be the highest point in town. This was not so good considering I was pretty tired by then with a fairly heavy bag, but the place was seriously amazing once I'd settled in and I really appreciated my choice to stay there. I checked into a seriously cosy BnB run by a local elderly Albanian couple who spoke no English - my pre-arrival communication was via their son who did speak English, and during my stay via my trusty Google Translate app and a
few hand signals. This was a seriously Albanian experience, and I loved it! The room was quaint and cosy, with a private bathroom nextdoor, and with stunning views over the valley to the east of town and onto the beautiful snow-capped 2416m Mt Tomorr in the distance - what an amazing view to wake up to in the morning! The floorboards were creaky, and the floor was uneven, it was a classic! The host welcomed me with a home-brewed glass of raki (local brandy prolific throughout the Balkans) which he'd actually made with his own grapes grown onsite - I'd noticed that many rural homesteads grew their own olives, oranges and/or grapes within their properties. The hostess later prepared some lovely baklava for me for afternoon tea, after I'd finished my sightseeing - what lovely people!
After a short rest, I set out to explore the surrounding citadel, and enjoyed a whimsical few hours wandering its highly atmospheric cobbled alleyways, dilapidated churches, ruined mosques, and some serious views all around. The mountaintop in Berat was first settled by the ancient Illyrians in the 7th century BC, and over the years became a cosmopolitan melting pot where the local Christian
population welcomed exiled Jews from the 16th century Spanish Inquisition, and later the Ottomans brought their religion of Islam to the place during the 18th century. It is in fact the Ottoman-era houses, typically filled with lots of windows, that gave the place its nickname "Town of a Thousand Windows". There at the top of the mountain, the citadel is surrounded on all sides by steep valley sides, the western side of which leads down to a flat-bottomed valley with a meandering river photogenically running through it. On the other sides of the valleys all around are yet more hills, with the afore-mentioned snowcapped Mt Tomorro rising majestically in the far distance overlooking everything. It really is a stunning setting for a citadel, and exploring the place was a delight.
You can scramble over many of the ruined buildings, and up worn stairways to higher towers with even more commanding views over everything. And there was not a barrier or safety warning in sight! This place really is "Europe without the rules", and I enjoyed very much the freedom of being without a nanny state there - yay! Sunset and evening came rather quickly, due to the steep hills
to the west of town, but I'd fortunately just about finished my circuit tour of the citadel by this time. A bar near the top of town started playing some funky Albanian music which just added to the atmosphere, and I felt at peace, living and loving the travelling dream again once more! The bar owner told me the singer was called Sherif Merdani, and after a bit of research I learned that he was arrested by The Dictator for singing at a banned music festival in 1972, and served 16 years in prison. His story is one of many in Albania, people who were ruthlessly and paranoically persecuted by the communist state. He has since became a bit of a national hero in standing up to the brutal regime, and after his music took on a bit of resurgence during the 1990s, he passed away at the age of 81 in 2021.
Unfortunately my time in town didn't allow me to explore the Ottoman-era Old Town of Mangalemi at the foot of the citadel, the place which earned the city its nickname of a thousand windows, and appears on many tourist photos of Berat with the citadel rising
high in the background. I was also darned if I was going to walk down there, only to have to make the steep climb back up into town again. I did take some good photos of some of the houses from above though, and felt satisfied with that.
That evening I grabbed a beer and a takeaway from a local Albanian food restaurant located in the Hotel Klea, which saw in my evening in Berat for me, at the close of another wonderful day of explorations and adventures in lovely Albania. My food was served by a very friendly local with excellent English who gave me some good travel advice for the next few days. My initial plan was to take a bus to Gjirokaster, explore there, and then take a bus to Sarandë the next day, followed by a full day's exploration of Butrint and Sarandë itself. He advised me to switch these plans around as Butrint was going to be closed on New Year's Day, and I'm so glad I heard his advice and followed it as not being able to visit Butrint would have been very disappointing. My new plan really turned out wonderful in every
way, but of course I will write up about these adventures in Sarandë and around in my next one.
For now, thank you for reading, and all the best for now.
Alex
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The Interior of Albania
A half hour or more of waiting to gain an ideal seat is certainly worth it. I guess I can say that as I'm a morning person and can read while waiting. I've fallen in love with Berat. What was on your play list for Albania? You are so good with languages. I would have taken a taxi to the hotel. I'm always eager to get settled in. I am glad you are embracing Europe without Rules. This country sounds fabulous. My heart goes out to Sharif Merdani and his story. I am always amazed by people like him who can take a stand. I do not know if I could do that. I'm glad he is remembered. Thanks for taking us along on your Town of a Thousand Windows. Happy and safe travels.