The region and beyond

North of Butrint, the ancient cities of Onchesmos (modern Saranda) and Phoenicê dominate respectively the coast and the inland plain. Despite being visually separated by the hills ringing Saranda, the inextricable connection between the ancient cities of this region is nowhere better exemplified than in the spectacular views from Likurs and from the Church of the Forty Martyrs above Saranda, where panoramas of Phoenicê, Lake Butrint, the Ksamili Peninsula and Corfu is laid out before the viewer’s eyes.

Further inland, along the course of the River Bistrice, is the jewel-like Byzantine monastery at Mesopotam and the near-by natural spring suggestively named Blue Eye – on of Albania’s ‘monument of nature.’ Beyond, in the Drinos Valley the modern city of Gjirokastra with its Ottoman architecture, winding network of cobbled streets and crowded bazaar is the latest UNESCO World Heritage Site in Albania.

Together these sites and monuments exemplify the richness and diversity of the cultural heritage of this region as well as the spectacular beauty of its environment.

 

• The region and beyond
• Saranda
• Church of the Forty Martyrs
• QTVR: View from Forty Martyrs
• Phoenicê
• Mesopotam
• QTVR: Mesopotam
• Gjirokastra
• QTVR: Zekate House
• The Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Office