Exploring Gjirokastër, the Silver Castle!

Jul 03, 2023

Having heard so much about the Soup Kitchen in Gjirokastër - one of the most successful projects of Nehemiah Gateway Albania - I decided to pay a visit and explore the town to bring you the values of the city and its people.

The first historical records that mention the city date back under the medieval era. The name of Argyrókastron (Medieval Greek: Αργυρόκαστρον), as mentioned by John VI Kantakouzenos in 1336; the name comes from argyrón (“silver“), and kástron (“castle“). The archaeological evidences show that the inhabitants of the area around Gjirokastër were the ancient Greek tribe of the Chaonians, that belonged to the Epirote.

According to historians the city dates around 1150 BCE to around 850 BCE. In antiquity the inhabited zone was located in Antigonia, 5 kilometres from modern day Gjirokastër on the opposite bank of the river Drino.

The castle of Argjiro dates the 4th century. The inhabitants are eager to show you the stony cliffs from which, during the 14th century, the princess Argjiro of Gjirokastër, refused to be captured by the Ottomans by throwing herself together with her infant son from the heights of the castle. She and the castle became a symbol of the resistance towards the Ottomans and other invaders in Albania.

Antigonea archaeological park.

Roman-era site of Hadrianopolis, located about 13 km south-east of Gjirokastër.

To me, it is an exceptional town transmitting positive energy not only from the point of view of its amazing architecture but also from its generous people; some struggling for their daily life, some for their eternal life. Like the rest of the Balkans, Girokaster was invaded in 1417 and remained under the Ottoman Empire for 5 centuries. Evliya Çelebi, the famous Ottoman traveller and historiographer, claimed that in 1670 the city had 200 houses within the castle, and in total 2000 houses extending on eight hills around the castle. It had eight mosques, three churches, 280 shops, 5 fountains, and 5 inns.

From being a predominantly Christian city in the 16th century, Gjirokastër became a Muslim majority due to the forced Islamic conversion and a flux of converts from the countryside until the early 19th century. The communist regime registered 120 churches and 50 monasteries in the Gjirokastër Metropolis in the year 1967; the year when dictatorship closed and destroyed the churches, forbidding religion. The Gjirokastër old people proudly showed me the foundations and sites where important churches used to be in town, and how they preserved the religion during Ottoman and communist epoques.

The Old City or “the castle quarter” is a UNESCO World Heritage sites. You can meet so many tourists and hear all the languages of the world when you walk on the narrow, stone paved streets that lead to the old bazaar and the castle museum. I struggled a bit on the slope of the stony streets. Nice bars and restaurants with traditional food invite you throughout the year.

The first school in the city was in the Greek language, erected in 1663 sponsored by local merchants. Nowadays, it has a state university and several state and private primary and secondary schools in the Albanian and Greek languages. You can easily get by if you speak the Greek language as the main Greek minority lives there, but the kind people can be found everywhere to support the tourists in English, Italian, French, and Romanian.

The famous stony streets of Gjirokastër!

“The Metamorphosis” church built in 1776 right below the Castle in the Old Town and its famous iconostasis which survived through centuries.

Embroidered with treasures of culture, tradition and faith supported by foundations unbroken by the storms of centuries, Gjirokastër deserves to be visited.

Written by Engjellushe Icka.