Day 2, our group of three with guide Florent, two from Quebec et moi, plus another guide with two more from Spain and two from Italy took off in the van towards the coast of the
Adriatic Sea to Durrės. It is the second largest city in the country at just over 150,000, the largest port, and construction activity is booming along the shortline.
It is considered the oldest continuously populated city in Albania at over 2,600 years.
The Illyrians came to the area round 2500 BC and inhabited areas along the sea coast. The Greeks, mainly from Corinth, arrived peacefully and were invited by the Illyrians to
stay, and they settled in Durrės. The Greeks and Illyrians traded together and basically lived peacefully. The problems started with the Romans, who defeated the Illyrians in
229 BC and took over Albania (and most of Europe). When the Roman Empire fell, the eastern portion headquartered in Constantinople, and the Byzantine Empire took over.
Since then the Venetians, local Albanians, then the Ottomans took over until Albanian Independence in 1912. The city features Roman ruins of a Forum, bath houses and a close
to 20,000 seat Amphitheatre.
After Durrės, the group headed towards Berat, a city by the Osumi River. It lies between the mountains Mount Tomorr (east) and Mount Shpirag
(west, by the river). Legend has it Tomorr and Shpirag were brothers, and both wanted to marry the beautiful Osumi. They fought to the death to have her, and when Osumi died,
the brothers were made into mountains and Osumi was put in between them, but neither could have her, for eternity. So, love is futile, and results in misery for all. True story.
Berat Castle is built on a rocky hill on the right bank of the Osumi River.
After being burned down by the Romans in 200 BC, the walls were strengthened in the 5th century, and then 6th century, and again in the 13th century. There were 20 churches,
including the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae and the Church of St. Nicholas, and the Red Mosque. The Ottomans took over in the early 1500's and they completed the White Mosque.
A Pasha at the time was paranoid and built a 3rd set of walls forming the Citadel in the interior of the fortress, which had it's own cistern. The restaurant we visited was stellar,
featuring Albanian food such as Tavė, a really good cheese and mushroom casserole, and Fėrgesė with tomatoes, peppers and feta. The Albanian house white wine wasn't bad at all.
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