Albania´s fourth largest city (pop. 96,000) was our next stop, just under two hours´ drive north from Krujë. With origins dating back to the Illyrian tribes of the 4th century BCE (and known for its arts and culture), the architecture of its historical downtown is mostly from the Ottoman late 19th and early 20th centuries (the early years of Albanian independence), with a few buildings dating as far back as the 18th. It´s not exactly dense with "sights" to see, but is more about strolling and taking it all in, especially along downtown´s main pedestrian hub, reddish/yellowish-marble-paved Rruga Kolë Idromeno, lined with cafés, restaurants, and shops housed behind pastel façades, balconies, and arcades reflecting an appealing mix of Ottoman and Central European influences, as well as a handful from the period when the Republic of Venice across the Adriatic extended its influence to the city then known as Scutari, from 1396 to 1479. The main landmark, the Ebu Bekr Mosque (Great Mosque), looks traditional but was actually built in the 1990s relatively soon after the fall of the dictatorship. and it´s certainly worth a peek. Even more worth a visit, on Bulevardi Skënderbeu is several blocks off the main drag, is Vendi i Dëshmisë dhe Kujtesës (the Site of Witness and Memory Museum); this former Franciscan college was turned by the régime into a bleak and grim prison and interrogration center, and you can see the prison cells and rooms documenting more than 40 years of repression The other two are a short drive out of town: the 18th-century Ottoman Ura e Mesit (Mesi Bridge), and especially Kalaja e Rozafës (Rozafa Castle), a hilltop fortress with ancient origins and medieval fortifications. Its ramparts offer panoramic views over the city, the surrounding mountains, and the confluence of the Buna and Drin rivers.

Read more in my post Our Eye-opening Exploration of Albania.

David Paul Appell