![]() TOUR IN THE CITY OF BERAT |
Hotel Castle Park offers the guide into the city of Berat ( in the castle, in the quarters Gorica and Mangalem, in the museum Onufri and the ethnographic museum ) This guide is in Albanian, English and Italian and costs 12 € / person.
The City Of Berat![]() “I am Onufri, coming from the multi, shiny city of Berat.”--Onufri, 16th century painter “Berati is beautiful, to be everlasting beautiful.”--Johann Strauss, composer “These values, this museum and the city of Berat does not belong just to you but to the whole humankind.” --Perez de Cuellar, Peruvian diplomat “Beautiful Castle as heavenly gardens – genial and opened city of Berat.” --Evlia Çelebiu, writer and historian. The Castle![]() Evlia Çelebiu wrote, at the end of the seventeenth century, "The castle of Berat is built on a rocky ravine, which stretches south from the star wind… has three doors, 100 steps by an 'other, and each is a great port itself. Two of them look towards the north, another east. The stones of the foundations of this castle are large as the body of an elephant. Stones of this size are only in Jerusalem.” ![]() Through a series of tunnels and cisterns, the castle is also able to supply fresh water for its inhabitants. The castle’s proximity to the river undoubtedly helped in this regard. The highest part of the castle is located at the acropolis, which is also surrounded by walls, and contains the remains of homes in the military garrison and the white mosque of the Ottoman period. The castle has of course been modified over time to take advantage of changing technologies and advances in weaponry. Specifically, one can observe that some towers have been retrofitted with cannon capabilities and small slits to accommodate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mangalemi And Gorica![]() The Mangalem district is a marvel of architecture and engineering—even by today’s standards. The neighborhood itself if nearly pyramidal in shape, and echoes the silhouette of the nearby hill, atop which sits Berat Castle. Berat is sometimes known as the “City of Windows,” and one can see why when looking at Mangalem, where all windows look down toward the river. Its delicate, narrow streets follow the contour of the hill and allow for sweeping vistas of the city and surrounding countryside. Gorica
Gorica lies at the foot of the mountain and faces Mangalem. While it has its own distinct charm, the mountain prevents it from getting much direct sun during the winter. Other districts and neighborhoods surround central Berat and create an environment similar to a large amphitheatre.
The Bridge of Gorica Gorica Bridge![]() ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Legend
This area is rich in folklore, and accounts of the geographical formations of the region are no exception. According to the legend of the history of the area, Tomor Mountain was personified by a giant who fought his brother Shpirag (also the personification of a nearby mountain) for the love of a young woman. Although both were armed and fought valiantly, they both died in the end. The legend continues to explain that the sorrow-filled tears of the woman whose love they sought flowed deep and created the Osum River. The girl is said to have turned into the large stone, upon which the castle was built.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Codes Of Berat![]() Code Purple, known also by its Latin name, Codex Purpureus Beratinus, was written in an ink of distinctive color, from which its name is derived. It contains songs originating from the biblical Gospels of Matthew and Mark and is written in Greek. Discovered in 1868, the code was extensively examined by historian Pierre Battifol in 1884. He determined that it represents a rare expression of a Greek text and, at the time it was written in the 6th century, was among only a handful of manuscripts of this type. ![]() Historical evidence indicates that Berat and surrounding areas have a lengthy history of producing these types of manuscripts. From the 6th to the 19th century, scholars came to the area to write and study. This activity continues today as modern historians peer into the past through the many codes and original documents found here. Indeed, the fact that 76 of the 100 codes protected in the National Archive are from Berat, indicates the importance of the area in the production of such important historical documents. |
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