Gjirokastra, World Heritage listed town in southern Albania

Gjirokastra was named after the Illyrian Argyres Tribe which inhabited these parts of Europe although its Greek name Argyrokastron ("Silver Castle") is also mentioned as its origin. It is now a town with a population of around 40,000, remarkable for its great natural beauty, as well as its harmonious intercultural mix of Albanian, Byzantine and Ottoman heritage and tradition, which is obvious looking at the many historical buildings and sites. Its old town is inscribed on the World Heritage List as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate". Most striking in Gjirokastra are its typical and characteristic houses which resemble little fortresses, clustered one above the other. Their exterior combines roughness with the beauty of windows, small rooms and light pillars supporting the roofs protruding from the walls.

The cobbled streets in the old town bazaar are a delight to wander around, with the brooding Kalaja or castle perched over it. This "city of a thousand steps" comprises hundreds of Ottoman-style tower houses with distinctive stone roofs, wooden balconies and whitewashed stone walls. There is also a monument dedicated to literacy in the Albanian language and a statue of Çerçiz Topulli, one of the leaders of Gjirokastra's resistance to the Ottoman Turks, on the central square of the town.

Thirty km to the north of Gjirokastra is the small town of Tepelena (Tepelenë) with its statue of Ali Pashë Tepelena, the "Lion of Yannina" (1741 - 24 January 1822), who was the Albanian ruler (pasha) of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory. His court was in Ioannina, now part of Greece. He was a semi-independent despot and allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. He had a splendid court but was infamous for his cruelty to anyone crossing his path. He was assassinated by Ottoman agents in 1822 and his head sent to the Sultan. He was buried with full honors and despite his, at times, brutal rule, villagers paid their last respect to Ali: "Never was seen greater mourning than that of the warlike Epirotes" (the people from the region where Ali came from and lived).

	Ethnographic Museum	Upper town of Gjirokastra	Martyr's memorial	Zekate House
	Cobbled street, Gjirokastra	Old town of Gjirokastra	Bazaar area in Gjirokastra	Albanian literacy monument
	The old town, Gjirokastra	Bazaar and Citadel	Statue of Çerçiz Topulli	Ali Pashë Tepelena

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