With its cascades of whitewashed houses fitted with perfectly uniform arrays of Ottoman windows, Berat may be the most visually-stunning town in the Southern Balkans and certainly my favorite destination in Albania.
Note to fellow travelers -- here we found our favorite cheap restaurant of the six countries we visited, a family-run Albanian grill house that does simple peasant dishes exceptionally well. Scroll down to the food photos if you're craving for a barbecue.
Fittingly nicknamed the City of Overlayed Windows (or Thousand Windows, depending on the translation), Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-see in any Albania guidebook. Situated 3 hours north of the equally picturesque Gjirokaster and 2.5 hours from the capital city of Tirana, this made a perfect stop on our south-north bus trip across Albania.
Founded by ancient Greeks and fortified by Byzantines as the Eastern Roman Empire's frontier against its Slavic neighbours, Berat eventually fell to the Ottomans in the Middle Ages and remained under Turkish rule for 500 years. Exceptional perhaps compared with the rest of the Balkans, but Orthodox Christians and Muslims have peacefully coexisted here for centuries.
This is the best-preserved town from Albania's Ottoman past with two historical quarters -- one traditionally Muslim and one Orthodox -- flanking the Osum River and a secluded third concealed within its massive 13th century Byzantine citadel atop a treacherously steep cliff.
Our furgon from Gjirokaster unexpectedly dumped us on the side of a dusty highway roundabout at Lushnje -- welcome to public transport in Albania -- where we had to cover the final 35 km to Berat by other means. A taxi driver was already hovering like a vulture at the roundabout, offering to save us from the scorching sun and the uncertainty of infrequent passing buses for 20 euros. We took up the offer, and within 30 minutes we were in Berat.
We rented a centuries-old Ottoman stone house in Berat's Orthodox Christian quarter known as Gorica, a short but steep walk up a rutted village path of medieval cobblestones. Our host Elisa led us past a heavy wooden gate into a pebbled courtyard that would be entirely ours, complete with its own breakfast table under a persimmon tree.
This simple bedroom was the most memorable out of the 13 properties that we rented along our journey -- not because it was the most spacious or decorative, and certainly not the best in material comfort without an air conditioner. It was the breathtaking view from the row of 18th century Ottoman windows that we most enjoyed.
Outside our window was a panorama of the Ottoman town of stone houses with mysterious dark windows, sheltered by the legendary fortress that graces the back of Albania's 10 Leke coin. Half-metre-thick stone walls kept the bedroom reasonably cool in the absence of air conditioning, and the rest of the house was well-equipped with a second bedroom, functional kitchen and even a washing machine.
German- and Italian-speaking groups occasionally toured through the neighbourhood's cobblestone paths, thankfully saved by the edict of the Communist dictator from the sprawl of hideous 1960s concrete blocks. With its increasing number of cheap hostels and guesthouses, this former quarter of tanners and craft guilds seemed ready to become the next hotspot for backpackers.
Across a graceful 7-arched bridge on the northern bank of River Osum, the predominantly Muslim quarter of Mangalemi -- home to many of Berat's historical mosques and Sufi shrines -- was undergoing major restorations in a government-funded revitalization programme. With the whole neighbourhood reduced to an open construction zone, we had no choice but to bypass the mosques and continue towards the hill top castle.
It took an ankle-twisting 30 minute hike through a steep obstacle course of half-exposed sewer pipes along a potholed dirt path, but it was all worth it. Awaiting at the top was not your typical castle ruins, but a living fossil of a medieval hill town, an 800-year-old isolated community of Byzantine houses with a disproportionate abundance of 15th century Orthodox churches.
The Castle Quarter's unmissible highlight is the National Iconographic Museum, housed inside an Orthodox church and showcasing dazzling gold and silver leaf icons by the great Onufri, leading icon painter of the 16th century and Berat's favorite son. Photos were not allowed, but no visitor would soon forget the golden magnificence of the centuries-old altarpieces.
The best reward for a strenuous hike is always the panorama at the top, in this case a bird's eye view of the Mangalemi Quarter directly below as well as the Gorica Quarter across the river. Getting here though was quite a story in itself.
For the first time in our years of traveling, the locals purposely misguided us as we asked for direction. And yes, I'm sure it was deliberate when the middle-aged hawker pointed me to the dodgy castle rampart above his fruit stand with a partially obstructed view and called it "Panorama." The official Panorama spot, as we stumbled upon later, was actually a minute's walk below his stand.
Perhaps it's a strategy to keep visitors going in circles and maximize their time (and money) spent at this secluded hill town, but this is not how you should build your tourism brand.
As I was busy photographing this 500-year-old Byzantine chapel precariously hugging the near-vertical cliff, a cigarette-wielding child of barely 10 years stood beside me and, while I was least suspecting, pulled the most bewildering stunt.
No, he didn't grab my wallet -- which would have been at least logical -- but reached into the depth of his pants and produced his own penis.
For the next minute or so, the kid simply stood next to me and did two things:
1) exposing his genitals
2) uttering the word money
I can't fathom what gave him the idea that exposing his penis would result in visitors paying him for his antics, but I quickly finished my photography, grabbed my wife (who fortunately didn't witness the above episode) and headed back to Mangalemi Quarter for dinner. As enchanting as the Castle Quarter may be, I much preferred the sincerity of the people we met in the lower town.
Restaurant Review: ZGARA KAON (Berat) (Location Map)
At the Mangalemi Quarter we came across one of our best discoveries of this 23-day journey, a traditional barbecue house with a specialized repertroire of charbroiled Albanian favorites. We knew this place was legit when a bunch of local construction workers came for lunch with their helmets on. Enough said.
Albania's answer to the American BBQ shack or Southern Chinese Siu Mei joint, the Zgara is a family-friendly institution serving hearty portions of expertly grilled meat at blue collar prices. The two of us shared a spicy Suxhuk, a crispy Virshle sausage and the Albanian national dish of Qofte meatballs -- the best Qofte/Cevapi of our entire Balkan trip -- all for 460 Leke (CAD$5.4).
Now this may be blasphemy for an Albanian Zgara, but here we found something even better than the meat.
This was one of my most memorable dishes of the trip, a divine plate of grilled zucchini, bell peppers and aubergine, drizzled with a vinegar reduction and best of all, a sublime olive oil worthy of an upmarket ristorante in Milan ... and for just 300 Leke (2.2 Euros)! I kept wondering as I savoured each slice of aubergine ... where did they source this amazing olive oil?
What I didn't know was that Berat is apparently known for Albania's best olives. I learned this only after leaving Albania.
Lunch for Two Persons
| Qofte x 4 | 160 Leke |
| Suxhuk and Virshle Sausages | 300 Leke |
| Grilled Zucchini and Aubergine | 300 Leke |
| Korca Beer | 150 Leke |
| Raki | 60 Leke |
| Water | 50 Leke |
| TOTAL | 1020 Leke (CAD$12.0) |
We rarely visit the same restaurant twice in our travels, which says how much we loved this little zgara. Our dinner started with another Albanian national dish known as Fergese, a thick gravy of roasted peppers and cottage cheese in an earthen dish.
And even better, a meticulously grilled spring chicken that turned out to be one of my wife's favorite dishes of the trip. Underneath the perfectly crispy skin was the firm flesh of the free-range bird, pint-sized but packed with flavorsome juices.
We couldn't resist reordering another plate of their signature grilled vegetables with the heavenly olive oil. After the meal we went up to the open kitchen to give our compliments to the chef-owner and his staff, and while I couldn't quite explain olive oil in Albanian, I don't think the universal love of food needed any translation.
Dinner for Two Persons
| Whole Grilled Chicken | 600 Leke |
| Fergese | 200 Leke |
| Grilled Vegetables | 300 Leke |
| Korca Beer | 150 Leke |
| Kaon Beer | 150 Leke |
| Water | 50 Leke |
| TOTAL | 1450 Leke (CAD$17.1) |
With an entire block of cafes and bars on Bulevardi Republika we had plenty of options for a Friday night, though at the end we chose to wander across the pedestrian bridge for a nighttime panorama of the Mangalemi Quarter. The next morning we would check out in the early morning, hop on a local bus to the long distance bus station then a highway coach to the Albanian capital of Tirana.
IF YOU GO
Berat is 2.5 hours by highway buses departing from Tirana's South Bus Station (see map), located near the Eagle Roundabout as of 2018. If you're planning a cross-Albania trip and need to connect from Gjirokaster, currently the safest bet would be to take an early morning bus to Fier, then transfer to an onward bus to Gjirokaster.
