Butrint

Stay home today, travel tomorrow! The ancient ruins will still be out there!

  For those of you who are intrigued by the ancient times and their proof of existence, I assure you that all archaeological parks, amphitheatres, UNESCO heritage and old towns will be waiting for your visit after this pandemic of modern times comes to an end. Promise!
They have survived hundreds and thousands of years only for us to be amazed by their history and design and we are proud to have them part of our national heritage. 
Visit Albania and its town of 1000 windows (Berat), our largest archaeological park of Apollonia and its relics, Buthrotum (UNESCO Heritage), Gjirokastra’s traditional house architecture and its citadel and of course, so many more historical sites.

© Armela Qafoku, Ecotour Albania

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National Geographic :Albania, one of 10 Places That Deserve More Travelers

The 9th of June, National Geographic, published an article about the 10 places that deserved to be visited the most. Albania was one of them, but also our neighbor Kosovo.

In the article is also mentioned the recent opening of the country towards the tourism compared to the other countries in the Balkan.

In the south coast there can still be found some ruins from the past. In particular Butrint, which is located only 20 min from the city of Saranda. Butrint is an archaeological site that is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage in 1992. Today it is an ancient city, under the open sky, which used to be inhabited for many centuries. The cities of Berat and Gjirokastra and the Ohrid Lake are also listed in the UNESCO. Albania is a country whose diverse aspects will know how to amaze you!

 

Autor Estelle Thomas ©Ecotour Albania

Source : http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/ten-places-that-deserve-more-travelers/

Gjirokaster

 

Butrint Amphithetre

EXPLORATION OF ALBANIA BY SUISSE MOI - Part 2

That is how Albania is described by the famous Swiss blogger.

“Suisse moi” is a famous Swiss travel blog. Recently they have published a video about Albania.

In this video is described the journey of Sylvain Nicolier, a nomad traveller, who has travelled around the world for lots of years promoting beautiful landscapes sometimes in a humoristic way. Before starting this new adventure he asked online for suggestions or challenges about what to do in Albania. And finally the day to come to Albania has arrived…

He is a freestyler, as it is also shown by the way he starts his video, on the top of a car in Tirana. He visits the city of Tirana, meeting people down the street, playing like a child in the park, climbing up the Pyramid of the ex – dictator or bunkers of the communist regime. According to him, Tirana is the city that best represents the country, with a mix of architectural styles and religions.

His journey continues to Elbasan. He focuses on the little morning customs of the city, children playing in the park, youngsters enjoying a coffee outdoor and elderlies playing domino. For lunch Sylvain decides to taste the famous byrek.

His next stop is in Tushemisht, besides the lake of Ohrid and after that in Korca, where he manages to find folk dancers performing in the city center. He also tastes the local cuisine such as qofte and beer “Korca”.

He continues his trip inVoskopoja, Rehova, thermal water in Benja, a magical and quite place where Sylvain also decides to take a bath. He didn’t miss the city of the flowers, Permet, the Blue Eye, where he had to jump in the cold water as part of a challenge, Saranda and the Albanian Riviera. One of the challenges proposed was to roller skate down to Dhermi. And the challenge was of course accepted and accomplished.

The blogger promises to return in Albania, once again to visit the north of the country.

Sylvain arrived to Albania the 6th of May, and he has spent 10 days in this amazing country.

The one thing that made Sylvain doubtful about his journey was the language. He thought before departure, that it would be hard for him to find English or French speaking people everywhere. He knew for sure that his sister, Anouk, his producer, Geoffroy Dubrueil, and one car would be in Albania waiting for him.

It has been almost two years that Sylvain travels through the unusual concept of Suisse moi (Swiss me).

He has already been to Marok, Togo, Quebec, Mexico etc.

He has developed an entirely new concept or way of traveling. He follows neither touristic travel guides, nor group tours organized by touristic agencies. He organizes the steps of his trip on his own and through suggestions or challenges proposed by others. He aims to discover the world in different aspects such as food, traditions and sports. Then he shares his adventure online by the videos he takes while traveling.

On his second video of Albania you can see how he challenges himself to eat the head of a lamb, eye included and “playing” the cifteli a traditional Albanian music instrument.

As for the name he confesses that he wanted to play with words such as “Swiss me in Mexico” or “Swiss me in Corsica”.   

Source : http://www.suissemoi.com/2016/05/15/cote-albanaise/

 

La face cachée de l'Albanie