Berati, the most picturesque town of Albania: Mangalem District

Berati (or Berat when in a sentence with a preposition as in "to", "in" or "from Berati") is probably the most picturesque town in Albania. The old town was already proclaimed a "Museum City" by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June 1961 and was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in July 2008. It is often referred to as "The City of a one Window over another" on account of the appearance of its beautifully preserved Ottoman houses with its many windows. Berati now has a population of around 50,000 people.

Berati is one of the oldest towns in Albania; it was already a fortress-settlement of the Greek Dassaretae tribe on the old border between Illyria and Epirus in the 6th century BCE. It fell to the Romans in the 2nd century BCE and was part of the Byzantine Empire, when it was known as Pulcheriopolis. It was captured by the Bulgarians in the 9th Century and renamed "Beligrad" (White City) which may be the origin of the name "Berati". After subsequent rule by Epirotes, Byzantines, Sicilians and Serbs it was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1450; it remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912. Ali Pasha of Tepelena however seized it in 1809 and ruled it for many years as his own fiefdom. Berati played an important role in Albanian national revival in the 19th Century.

Below the 14th century Kalaja (Kala or citadel) on the left bank of the Osumi river is Mangalem, the traditionally Muslim district with its fine decorated houses with large windows overlooking the town. Although sometimes called "The City of a Thousand Windows", this is actually a mistranslation from the description by the famous Albanian write Ismail Kadare; he called Berati "Qyteti i një mbi një dritarevë", "The City of a one Window over another". The "një mbi një" (one over another) was confused with "një mijë" (one thousand); but the correct meaning is obvious when seeing Mangalem District which is built on a steep hill and the windows seem to be placed one over another when seen from a distance. There are a number of fine mosques, the King's Mosque (Xhamia e Mbretit, 1512), the Leaden Mosque (Xhamia e Plumbit, 1555) and Batchelor's Mosque (Xhamia e Beqareve, 1827), the latter with wonderful paintings on the outside walls. Right in Mangalem is the Hotel Mangalemi, in a wonderful Ottoman villa, the first hotel to be opened here after the fall of communism. Another 18th century Ottoman villa houses the Ethnographic Museum, along the narrow cobbled street leading up towards the citadel.

	Shops and mosque, Berati	Mosque wall paintings	Wall paintings, Berati	Mosque of the Bachelors
	Leaded Mosque	The Monastery	The King's Mosque	Mangalem District
	Street to the citadel	Ethnographic Museum	In the Museum	View of Mangalem District

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