Gjirokastre

Gjirokastre (or Gjirokastër in Albanian) is a city of the south of Albania.
Elle is the chief town of the prefecture of very the nom.
Elle is registered since 2005 with the World heritage of UNESCO.

Toponymy

in Albanian Greek Gjirokastër ,
in Αργυρόκαστρο , Argirókastro ,
in Italian Turkish Argirocastro
in Ergiri

Geography

Located by at 215 km in the south of Tirana and at 36 km of the border with the Greece, Gjirokastra extends from the slopes of Mali I Gjerë (" large Montagne") for the old part to banks of the Drin for the districts modernes.

History

On the site of Gjirokastre, one found traces of dwelling with on the slopes of current Mali I Gjerë (" large Montagne"). The city was probably built around a castle about the 12th century. At the time of the Byzantine Empire, it was commercially known like being called Argyropolis (" town of argent" , in Greek Αργυρόπολις ) or Argyrokastron (" castle of argent" , in Greek Αργυρόκαστρον ). The city belonged to the Despotat d' Épire at the 14th century before passing under domination Othoman E in 1417. At the 17th century Gjirokastre radiated with its bazaar where one traded embroideries, silk trade and his famous yoghourt. It was conquered in 1811 by Ali Pasha, Albanian governor equipped with a great capacity which developed defenses of the city and made build a 10 kilometers length aqueduct to supply out of drinking water the citadel. But this aqueduct was destroyed in 1932.
At the end of the 19th century it became a center of resistance to the Turkish domination. Inhabited by a population mainly Albanian, but with a Greek important minority, Gjirokastre in first half of the 20th century first of all by the Greeks during the first war of Balkans was largely asserted (1912 - 1913). In 1914 Giorgos Christakis Zografos, then Foreign Minister of Greece, declared Gjirokastre like capital of the autonomous state of the Épire of north. But this one disappeared as of the First World War. Then Gjirokastre was occupied by French troops during this period before returning to Albania. During the Second world war the city passed under Italian control in 1939 then Greek in December 1940 and German, but became again definitively Albanian in 1944 The Communist regime of the post-war period developed the city with the industrial sphere and commercial. It was raised by the mode with the row of “city-museum” in relation to its state of conservation but also because it is the birthplace of the dictator Enver Hoxha who was born to with it in 1908. The native house of Enver Hoxha transformed into museum, then became one of the principal centers of the worship of the personality of the dictateur.
Gjirokastre suffered from many economic problems to the fall of the Communist regime in 1991. There be first of all important movements of emigration (mainly towards Greece and Italy). The point of organ was in March 1997 with the collapse of the speculative pyramids or Chaîne of Ponzi, under the presidency of Sali Berisha. A great insecurity and a beginning of civil war followed. Violent antigovernment demonstrations especially in Albania of the south and particularly with Gjirokastre caused the resignation of the president. December 16th, 1997 an attack destroyed the native house of Hoxha without the authors being found. For this period, one has attended a new economic takeoff. Because of presence of a strong Greek minority, bilateral agreement private individuals exist between Albania and Greece based on the “Pact of friendship, co-operation, good neighborhood and safety” signed in 1996. It is about an economic cooperation agreement, industrial, technical and scientific. As example, the agreement in 2004 on construction and the startup of the Military hospital of Gjirokastre.

Culture

She had been proposed with the inscription with the World heritage since 1988 but she had wiped a refusal taking into account a too significant number of modern constructions close to the historical quarters. She fills criteria III and iv of UNESCO: on the one hand “the old city of Gjirokastre is the exceptional testimony of a company and of a lifestyle perennial and almost disappeared, influenced by the culture and the tradition of Islam at the time Othoman” and on the other hand “the historical city of Gjirokastre is a rare example of well preserved Othoman city, built by farmers owners of great fields, around the citadel of the 13th century”. Architecture is characterized by the construction of a type of houses with turret, the Turkish “kule”, which are staged inclined in the old workings of " Mali I Gjerë" : the houses which make think of small grouped fortresses, generally comprise a raised ground floor, a first stage used at the cold season and a second stage being useful for the hot season. The interior is decorated painted rich person decorative details and floral reasons, in particular in reserved spaces with the reception of the visitors. The roof is covered with roofing stone S grises.
In Gjirokastre is held since 1968, the traditional festival of folk music, gathering the instrumental and folk musical formations artistic of all the country but also of the areas bordering on Albanian stock to perpetuate the Albanian culture.

Famous men

Enver Hoxha, Head of State, founder of the Communist Part Albanian
Ismail Kadare, writer exiled in France since 1990
Mumtas Dhrami, sculptor
Eqrem Çabej, ethnologist
Andon Zako Çajupi, writer
Omer Nishani, the 1st President of the Presidium of the Popular Assembly of Albania
Adil Çarçani, ex Prime Minister in the Communist regime
Saim Kokona, cinematograph
Musine Kokalari, fighting resistance
Avni Rustemi, politician
Zihni Sako, writer,
Çerçiz Topulli, combatant for the independence (1912)
Bajo Topulli, combatant for the independence (1912)
Haki Toska, politician of the Communist regime.
Asim Zeneli, combatant antifascist
Fatos Nano, ex chief of the Socialist Part, ex Prime Minister.

Economy

Girokastre is an industrial and commercial center centered around the Agro-alimentaire, leather and the textiles.

Inheritance

Citadel dating from the 18th century altered by Ali Pasha then the king Zog Ier; the northern part having been used as prison under its reign then during the Communist regime.
military Museum inside the citadel exposing of the old weapons, recalling communist resistance vis-a-vis the invasion Nazi lasting the second world war, as well as a plane of the US Air Force captured during the Cold war.
the bazaar dating from the 17th century but rebuilt 2 centuries later following a fire and still damaged in 1997 at the time of the antigovernment riots.
the Ethnographic Museum,
the mosque of the 18th century and two churches of the same time.
the university where certain disciplines are taught in Greek language.
the Church of Mesopotamon which goes up with Constantin IX (1042 - 1054),
the Church of Labovë E Kryqit (10th century), in the village éponyme,
the archeological site of Antigonea, in the village of Saraqinisht,
ruins of the archeological sites of Adrianapol,
the village of Sofratike.

Photographs

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