While we have the girls with us this fall/winter/spring we want them to see and understand as much of Albanian culture as we can squeeze in. We are fortunate that it's a small country and a lot of places can be seen in day trips, so we don't have the expense of overnighting. Last month during Ryan's visit (and before the time change) seemed like a good time to visit the city of Berat so he (as well as Abby and Anna) could get a view of a different part of Albania (albeit less than 65 miles from Tirana). Nathan and I last visited in 2004 so we were looking forward to returning, armed with a better understanding of what made this city unique.
I thought some of you might also enjoy a glimpse of this pretty little corner of Albania that, according to Reni, is usually filled with "broken stuff." :-) That little boy is pretty wise for his 52 months of life.
To give you a little context, Berat is nestled between two great mountains (Shpirag and Tomorr) and divided by a river (Osum). There is a fantastic legend about two brothers named Shpirag and Tomorr who fought each other over a woman named Osumi, to the point where both died and Osumi drowned in her tears. The story captivated Ellie's imagination -- and cemented the names of these geographical landmarks in my memory!
But Berat is primarily known for its dense concentration of Turkish architecture. In a country brimming with partially built concrete houses and crumbling communist-style apartment buildings, this city holds a rustic charm that is a refreshing change from our typical views.
Also known as the city of a thousand windows, both sides of the river are lined with homes that literally appear stacked upon each other leaving many to joke, "If you fall out the window, don't worry, you'll just land on the roof."
Above all these homes sits an immense castle/fortress that was built before 200 BC. It was here where we spent most of our afternoon.
We drove partway up to the castle, then parked and climbed the remainder of the immense hill to reach the little town within the castle walls. Upon reaching the top, we discovered there was ample parking. Oops. There is now a nominal admission charge (about $1 per person) to pass through the gate, but once inside, there are lots and lots of little stone alley ways to explore. We wandered around looking for something to eat, but only found one place.
The restaurant was empty of customers but open for business in the early afternoon. The owner dropped some menus in our laps then just as quickly picked them back up again. In Albanian he said something to the effect of, "Forget this. You should eat traditional Albanian food."
Then he started bringing plate after plate from the kitchen. Thankfully, these Asburians are adventurous eaters and relished the opportunity to eat an authentic meal. And thankfully, the bill was pretty reasonable, considering we didn't ask for a single item we were served (aside from our beverages) and we had no idea the prices for any of the dishes he brought out!
We found it quite ironic to be sitting under a needlepoint of what appear to be George and Martha Washington by Mount Vernon? Or maybe it's Schonbrunn Palace? Who knows, it just didn't appear to fit our surroundings!
I don't even know where to begin to describe the dishes we ate... they included beans with parsley (lower left), some sort of cooked spinach and egg (far upper left), cooked green and red peppers and ground beef (mid right), greek salad with white cheese (center), byrek with cheese and spinach (lower center), and egg plant (lower right). The peppers and beef dish was our favorite.
Byrek (burr-eck) -- the unofficial national dish of Albania -- is basically a savory layered pastry (filo dough) that depending upon where you are geographically holds cheese and some other filling like spinach, tomatoes, or chicken or ground beef. It's best fresh out of the oven, but usually it's been made ahead of time and reheated (albeit not always thoroughly). The best byrek I've ever eaten was at the Greek restaurant in Elbasan and was served on a hot iron skillet as a hot pocket of filo filled with chicken, cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms.
I'm a sucker for taking photos of arched wooden doors and stone walls...
Sadly, haze and dust clouded our view of the normally majestic mountain vistas.
Visiting places like this leaves me in awe of the heritage Ellie and Reni have running through their Albanian veins. Such a hard place to live, wracked with centuries upon centuries of wars from invading armies in this crossroads between greater Europe and the middle east. At times like this their very existence seems miraculous to me.
An obligatory 'cannon shot'
Yes, this ancient stone road is just as slippery as it appears. I can only imagine how horses and donkeys made it up in years gone by, pulling heavy loads.
Okay, I couldn't resist including this photo below.
No, this isn't our vehicle, but it does seem like it's calling our name...
A small billboard outside of town confirmed the rumor we heard earlier that a whitewater rafting company had opened outside of Berat. Adventure sports are still relatively new in this country (day-to-day life has enough excitement to meet most folks' need for adrenaline surges), so we are really curious about this possible activity. Combined with the beauty of the city, I found myself wondering why this wasn't a tourist destination yet ... then we left the city limits and the road literally fell apart. Our poor Caddy. Maybe we won't be returning again for a while after all.
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