A beautiful day to visit Gjirokaster Castle

The car fired right up, so it seems that my battery terminal repair fixed the problem. We tried to get an early start, but it was still almost 10am by the time we got on the road. It's only a 10 kms (6 mile) drive, and we got ourselves parked up at the lower section of Gjirokaster. The city was already pretty busy on a Sunday morning with a lot of people out enjoying the beautiful day, after having had three days without sunshine.

We notice that people in Albania tend to do their business and running around in the morning. Afternoons are quite a bit quieter.

It sure is nice to see the sunshine and blue sky again.

Driving into the city.

You can see Gjirokaster located on the lower side of the hills on the left.

We are headed up to Gjirokaster Castle.

The bazaar section of old town. 

This section of old town is mostly tourists trinket shops and restaurants.

Views as we climb up to the castle.

One of the national landmark homes.

We got to the castle entrance expecting free admission because that's what the Gjirokaster city tourism website says. But unfortunately it's for Albania residents only. So we had to pay the 400 lek ($4.90 CAD, $4.00 USD) per person entrance fee. They should be a little more clear on that.

The entrance hall at Gjirokaster Castle.

Me, with a statue of one of the partisan resistance fighters that opposed the Fascist Italian and Nazi German occupation of Albania during WW II.

An Italian Fiat Tank (1940)

One of only three known to exist in the world.

Ottoman era oven.

Gjirokaster Castle has existed in some form since the 12th century. But archeologists say that people have been living here since the 4th or 5th centuries. As with many castles and fortresses, it was expanded and changed by various administrations over the years.

Views of Gjirokaster from the castle.

I took a video for you... turn up your volume...

U.S. Air Force Lockheed Shooting Star.

Two sides to every story.

Of course a story like this sounds odd nowadays since Albania and the U.S. currently have a good relationship. Did you know that U.S. citizens can visit and stay in Albania for up to one year visa free? Canadians are only allowed three months in, three months out.

The Clock Tower.

The Clock Tower is the more recent addition to the castle.

Built by the Ottomans in the early 1800's.

Ruth, exploring near the top.

Despite the free entrance for Albanian citizens, there were very few people.

Lots of wildflowers!

Ruth, at Gjyrokaster Castle.

The Clock Tower.

Looking back at the upper part of the castle.

Some parts of the interior are huge!

They sure were good at building things out of rocks.

The exterior wall.

View looking south.

Ruth and the big arches.

We spent exactly two hours exploring what there is to see. There is also a museum located on the property that costs an extra 200 lek. I hate when attractions do this. No, it's not a lot of money, but you kind of expect that when you pay the entrance fee, you will get to see everything there is to see. Then they hit you for more money once inside. I would rather they set a fee at the start that includes everything. We passed on the museum.

Outside the castle, we walked up to the Obelisk, built in 1908. 

View looking back at the castle.

On the way back to the villa, we wanted to show you the drive we have to do to get there through the village of Nokova. Turn up your volume...

Back at the villa, we enjoyed a late lunch and did some computer work. We had every intention of going out for a walk, but I decided to have a 20 minute nap that extended itself to an hour and a half! By that time, we decided to just hang out on the front porch and enjoy the sunshine and the view.

Ruth, enjoying the sunshine with one of the cats.

But, we are overdue for a long hike! So we are setting off up the mountain to see what there is to see. It's another beautiful day.

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