Phoenice was an ancient city, capital of the Chaonians. It is located on your right hand when you travel from Gjirokaster to Saranda, or on your left when you travel from Vlore to Saranda via the sea side.
Saranda Skyline[/caption]
Future pilot perhaps?[/caption]
Illegal building[/caption]There was a time not many years ago (it continues even today but not in such scale) where everyone could build without permission. The bigger the building, the lesser the possibility of getting caught. However, from time to time, even the building inspectorate has to prove why it exists. Hence the half demolished building left scorching under the sun. The funny thing is that the inspectorate does this always before summer season. Like trying to show to as many people as possible what they are supposed to do. You might think it's logical from their point of view but, what if I told you that this building (and quite a lot others) has been laying just like this since 10 years ago?
10 years ago it looked like a war zone, like we were under a blitzkrieg or smth. Slowly people started cleaning the land but as you can see, it may take many years to do so...
My name is Bond, James Bond[/caption]
Oh Hai[/caption]
Anchor[/caption]
Saranda By Night[/caption]Saranda is located inside a bay, hence the beautiful view of the lights from the promenade. The lights on the far left are from Hotel Butrinti, the first 5* hotel in Albania. Don't count too much on the stars since the classification is made by the Ministry of Tourism of Albania. As you may know, in countries like ours, the stars show how rich is the owner of the hotel, not how good the hotel itself is. Nevertheless it has a quite good reputation regarding quality. I can't say the same regarding price unfortunately, it is one of the most expensive in Albania. We stayed on the far right, opposite Grand Hotel, at a new apartment with a private beach. We paid like 25$ per night for quite a large apartment, with all the necessities and free parking. If you need any phone numbers, let me know :) The best thing was the view from the balcony, it felt like being on an airplane.
Pancakes[/caption]This is Saranda's promenade, slightly off season. During July/August is impossible to walk without bumping into people. It was also kinda late when I took this photo, around midnight I think. The stand there sells petulla, the Albanian version of fried dough. There is a recipe here if you want to know how it looks like and how it tastes.
Ereikoussa[/caption]After a long and tiring day, we finally got back to Saranda to enjoy the sunset from the Castle of Lekures. It's not a castle any more, there is a restaurant on top of the ruins. At least it doesn't look like a cheesy one, it resembles a medieval villa or smth. The view from there is fantastic and everything from Butrinti Lake to Ksamil, Corfu, the bay and Saranda itself, lie on your palm.
The Message[/caption]
Southern Albania[/caption]The river-like body of water is the Vivari channel. It surrounds Buthrotum and is passable only via raft. You may have seen it on the BBC's 5th Gear episode where they visited Albania to test the Rolls-Royce Ghost, Mercedes S65 AMG & Bentley Mulsanne. Seeing such cars on the raft there seemed like playing with fire.
The village in the close distance is Shendelli and the one on the far left is Xare. The pyramid shaped small mountain is the Cuka e Aitoit (Eagle's Peak) and it has been settled since ancient times. There lies the village of Ciflig which in Turkish translates as Property. After that is the village of Konispol, the shouthernmost village of Albania. Most of those villages are inhabited by Greek minorities. To cross to Greece you have to go through Qafebote's Customs. In English it means World's Neck. :) This is the last photo from the top of Buthrotum's Fortress.
Mussels Factory[/caption]This is the view from Butrinti's fortress toward east. Butrinti lake is very famous for its mussels because it is a salty lake, connected to the sea. If you visit Saranda, mussels is a must taste dish. It should be cheaper than it is, due to proximity with this large scale cultivation but hey, this is a tourist destination, why not exploit them (the tourists) while it lasts?
End of the walls[/caption]
Apollo's Head[/caption]
I know we are almost mid-fall right now but fall seems kinda late this year. I hope it continues like this until late October since we intend to visit Brussels in a couple of weeks. We intend to drive up to Amsterdam and back, visiting Bruges, Rotterdam, The Hague and whatever comes up in between. Any tips on budget accommodation are most welcome. :)
Stairs[/caption]
Lion Gate[/caption]
Surrounding Walls[/caption]
