04/17/2026

We did a day trip about an hour northeast of Sarande to the town of Gjirokastër which is known as the "City of Stone" for its well-preserved Ottoman-era architecture, including very steep, limestone-paved streets and houses with slate roofs. The town was founded around the 5th-6th centuries.

It is the birthplace of dictator Enver Hoxha (who you learned about under the Sarande info) and some supposedly world-renowned author, Ismail Kadare.

It was an incredibly cute little town nestled in the beautiful mountains!

Like the rest of Albania, Gjirokaster had bunkers and even a tunnel system for the elite to hide in the event of an attack during the communist era. And like all the other bunkers and tunnels throughout the country, these were never used.

We saw the Bazaar Mosque (or Memi Bey Mosque) which wasn’t really anything special as far as mosques go, but this particular one is actually old (17th century) because it was one of the few that was saved from destruction during the communist era due to its status as a protected cultural monument. Of course, it couldn’t be used as a mosque, so it was repurposed as a training facility for circus acrobats! The high domed ceiling was used to hang trapezes, allowing performers to practice.

The highlight of the town is the Fortress of Gjirokastër which is one of the largest in the Balkans. It was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, and expanded after 1812 to house up to 5,000 soldiers.

It features five towers, a clock tower, a church, and a prison. King Zog expanded the prison in 1932, and it was used for political prisoners during the communist regime until the 1970s, featuring dark, arched underground galleries. It was pretty creepy.

On the grounds is a 1957 US Air Force T-33 Shooting Star plane. It was landed by a pilot at Rinas Airport, but Communist leader Enver Hoxha framed it as a "captured" American spy plane to encourage paranoia of a Western invasion. Like all good communist dictators, he needed to make good use of propaganda opportunities!

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