Gjirokaster was the last part of the bus trip we did, but it really deserves its own post. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site of preserved old Ottoman buildings, and is topped by the magnificent Gjirokaster Fortress.
We started with lunch in the old town, where we were able to sample a mix of traditional Albanian dishes, like mutton pie, an arancine-like mint rice ball, and different spinach and cornmeal pies, as well as sarma – stuffed grape leaves.
Unfortunately we didn’t have much time left, so we headed straight for the fortress. This place is huge. To walk around the perimeter alone takes an hour. We didn’t even have time to peek into the two museums inside.
It’s served as a fortress, castle, and prison since the second century.
After our race through the castle, we headed back down through the old bazaar, passing old women tatting lace, and other artisans as work.
We could have taken a whole extra day there, but we settled for ice cream and made our way back to the bus.
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