Archaeological Site of Butrint and Sarande, Albania
Just 15 km south of Saranda, along a narrow and winding road with an incredible view of Lake Saranda, lies the ancient city of Buthron (Butrint). It was a fortified city of the Kaonian Ilyrians. But the site dates back to the Paleolithic. In the 6th century BC, Greeks from the adjacent island of Corfu settled amongst the Ilyrians, and the colony prospered and grew as the result of trade, especially in cattle. Years went by, and by the fifth century, Buthron became a fortified city. But a century later, it fell to Epirus, and finally in 167 BC, it was taken by Rome. Years passed and it became, in the 10th century, a Byzantine city. Then it was captured by the Normans in the 11th century and the next conquerors were the Venetians, who dominated for 107 years. Under the Ottomans, the land around Butrint was ruled by Ali Pasha Tepelena, and remained under Turkish rule until 1913. As you can see, this area has a terrible history of continuous warfare.
The interesting part of history for us began in 1927, and lasted till 1940, when an Italian archaeological mission began work there, and after the Liberation at the end of WWII, the Albanians continued with that work. To be seen were the temple of Asclepios, the Theatre, the Baptistry, the big Thermal Baths, and the Lion's Gate. After this visit, we traveled by bus to Saranda, where we saw the Castle of Lekursit, surrounded by Ilyrian walls, and had a small repast and some local music, with incredible sights of the coast and adjacent valleys. This castle is situated at the highest point of the mountain that dominates the city. Here it was that we saw the numerous yellow crocus, Crocus flavus, calling the attention of a good number of pollinating insects! Later in the afternoon, we had repositioned to Port Palermo, where the attraction was a lovely bay, incredible transparent water, and Ali Pasha's Castle, where we had Zodiac tours, kayacked and swam, and later had another repast on the roof of this lovely castle, watching the sunset.
Just 15 km south of Saranda, along a narrow and winding road with an incredible view of Lake Saranda, lies the ancient city of Buthron (Butrint). It was a fortified city of the Kaonian Ilyrians. But the site dates back to the Paleolithic. In the 6th century BC, Greeks from the adjacent island of Corfu settled amongst the Ilyrians, and the colony prospered and grew as the result of trade, especially in cattle. Years went by, and by the fifth century, Buthron became a fortified city. But a century later, it fell to Epirus, and finally in 167 BC, it was taken by Rome. Years passed and it became, in the 10th century, a Byzantine city. Then it was captured by the Normans in the 11th century and the next conquerors were the Venetians, who dominated for 107 years. Under the Ottomans, the land around Butrint was ruled by Ali Pasha Tepelena, and remained under Turkish rule until 1913. As you can see, this area has a terrible history of continuous warfare.
The interesting part of history for us began in 1927, and lasted till 1940, when an Italian archaeological mission began work there, and after the Liberation at the end of WWII, the Albanians continued with that work. To be seen were the temple of Asclepios, the Theatre, the Baptistry, the big Thermal Baths, and the Lion's Gate. After this visit, we traveled by bus to Saranda, where we saw the Castle of Lekursit, surrounded by Ilyrian walls, and had a small repast and some local music, with incredible sights of the coast and adjacent valleys. This castle is situated at the highest point of the mountain that dominates the city. Here it was that we saw the numerous yellow crocus, Crocus flavus, calling the attention of a good number of pollinating insects! Later in the afternoon, we had repositioned to Port Palermo, where the attraction was a lovely bay, incredible transparent water, and Ali Pasha's Castle, where we had Zodiac tours, kayacked and swam, and later had another repast on the roof of this lovely castle, watching the sunset.
