Berat, an historic Ottoman town, was added to the list of World Heritage sites by UNESCO, Tuesday. The addition is an extension by the UN heritage committee, which added the city centre of Berat to the site of Gjirokastra, which was put on the heritage list in 2005.
"Berat was added as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town," UNESCO said. Located in central Albania, "Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries."
"The town of 64,000 inhabitants features a castle locally known as the Kala most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back some 2,400 years. The area includes many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, several of which contain valuable wall paintings and icons.
The town also has several mosques built under Turkish occupation which started in 1417 and several houses for religious communities, notably some used by Sufi brotherhoods in the 18th century.
Source: The Earth Times
All photos taken by Kim H.
7 comments:
it's interesting how they have explained it all the time as Ottoman and turkish.
great photos by the way..
cheers Kim
Oh wow! What a beautiful little spot!
Sometimes, albanian people seem so reluctant about admitting their ottoman past, but that's a 500-year history!
I'm happy this town was added to the world heritage. Let's hope this will help to preserve it as it is in the future. Thanks for the pictures, Kim.
Now THAT is a city I want to see, Kim! Seriously!!!
Berat is truly special and if you want to visit it come stay with me and I'll happily take you there!!
Seriously :)
This looks like a lovely town and you've certainly taken some beautiful photos there. I always love door/gateway pictures like this one which seem to offer a tantalizing glimpse into another world. And I love the light you've captured in the picture of the grassy ruin - I can almost feel the sun on my brow.
Thanks for linking to my blog!
Thanks for the lovely comments on my photos Simon :) It is indeed an enchanted city!
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