Butrint

Butrint este un oraș grec vechi de 2.500 de ani din Albania, care se întinde pe o suprafață de
aproximativ 17 km2.
Situat într-o zonă deluroasă și împădurită, la sud de orașul Saranda, în apropiere de granița
cu Grecia, Butrint a fost primul sit excavat de italieni în anii 1920. Cu acea ocazie s-a descoperit un
amfiteatru și ziduri construite de greci.
Arheologii au descoperit ulterior bazilici paleocreștine, un baptisteriu și opt băi.
Situl arheologic a fost inclus pe lista patrimoniului cultural mondial UNESCO în anul 1992.

Archaeological evidence indicates that Corfiot traders founded Butrint in the eighth century B.C.
Situated along the Adriatic coast, the town functioned as a way station between Epirus and the
Italian territories to the south. The Greek historian Thucydides, writing in the fifth century B.C., refers
to a struggle for control of the narrow straits that separate Butrint from the island of Corfu. In Book III
of Virgil's Aeneid, the displaced hero arrives at the site and remarks: “I saw before me Troy in
miniature / A slender copy of our massive tower.” Butrint was colonized by the Romans under Julius
Caesar in 44 B.C., and later occupied by the Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman Empires. These
layers of civilization were rediscovered by Italian archaeologist Luigi Ugolini in the 1920's, who
unearthed an amphitheater dating from the fourth century B.C. Subsequent excavations have
yielded Roman villas with intact mosaic floors, shrines, a baptistery, and a Byzantine palace.
Communist dictator Enver Hoxha (1945-1985) closed Albania to foreign excavation and research,
which resumed after the fall of his government in 1991.
Intrarea costă 700 de leke de persoană, iar turul durează cam o oră și jumătate.

Ksamil
Beach in The Albanian Riviera

Ksamil, 17km south of Saranda, has three small, dreamy islands within swimming
distance of shore and dozens of beachside bars and restaurants that open in the
summer. The Saranda–Butrint bus has two stops in the town (100 lekë, 20 minutes,
leaves Saranda hourly from 8.30am); either stop will get you to the pristine waters.
 Plaja 3 Yshujt a restaurantului cu acelasi nume. Nisip foarte fin, peisaj
superb, apa foarte curata, mancarea foarte buna, preturile mici. Un mic
dezavantaj era faptul o parte din intrarea in apa era cu pietre, ai insa pe unde sa
 intri in apa. Se poate trece inotand pe alte doua insulite, de unde si numele plajei.
Ai mai jos niste poze cu plaja, dar si cu meniul restaurantului. Paritatea cursului
– 1 Euro = 132 lek. O cafea costa cam 1 Euro si o bere 1.5-2 Euro.

 Plaja restaurantului Abiori. Este situata in imediata apropiere a plajei 3 Yshujt, ceva mai
spectaculoasa, datorita platformei de lemn pe care se afla o parte din sezlonguri. Sezlongurile
si umbrelutele sunt de asemenea de lemn, insa sunt considerabil mai putine. Intrarea in apa e
ceva mai abrupta de pe plaja, avantajul este ca poti sari de pe platforma direct in apa. Apa este
la fel de curata, si mancarea la restaurant destul de buna. Preturile sunt ceva mai mari.
  Plaja restaurantului Guvat. Ceva mai micuta, dar cocheta, plaja restaurantului Guvat se afla
undeva la coborarea de pe terasa unde se afla resutaurantul. Pe aceasta plaja nu am fost, insa apa
este foarte curata, iar mancarea la restaurant este excelenta. Preturile sunt cam la fel cu cele de la
Abiori.

Blue Eye
The Blue Eye (Albanian: Syri i Kaltër) is a water spring and natural phenomenon occurring
near Muzinë in Vlorë County, southern Albania. A popular tourist attraction, the clear blue water of the
river bubbles forth from a more than fifty-metre-deep pool. Divers have descended to fifty metres, but it
is still unclear what the actual depth of the karst hole is.[3]This is the initial water source of Bistricë river ,
25 km long, which ends in the Ionian Sea south of Sarandë.[4] The source stands at an altitude of 152 m
and has a discharge rate of 18400 l/s.[5] The immediate area 1.8 km2 (0.69 sq mi) is a Nature
Monument and is characterized by oak and sycamore trees.[6] In summer 2004, the source was
temporarily dried up. It is a Vauclusian spring which basically means it originates from a cave, the word
originating from the Fontaine de Vaucluse in southern France. The spring water can be seen gushing
forth under huge pressure. The darkness of the opening of the cave resembles the iris whilst the darker
center looks like a pupil. Syri i kalter is one of those places where time seems to slow down giving you
ample opportunities of admiring the beauty of Mother Earth, the water here is so clear that you can see
algae and other wildlife on the bottom of the surrounding area. Local people would tell you that the
water changes colour throughout the day which may well be a part of its many legends. In 1984 the first
dive of the spring was made. The pool is said to be 50 m deep though its actual depth is yet to be
measured fully.
Alte plaje:

Mirror Beach

Pulebardha Beach

Dhermi
Lëkurësi Castle
The castle of Lëkurës was built in 1537 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who had
attacked Corfu and needed to control the harbor of Saranda and the road that connected it
with Butrint.
The region traditionally belonged to the southern part of the region of Himara. At the end of the 18th
century the castle was attacked by Ali Pasha of Ioannina and the surrounding habitation raided.[2]
The castle used to withhold the old Lëkurës village. It has a square shape with two round towers on
its north-western and south-eastern corners. To climb up to the castle, visitors need to leave the
main road on Qafë Gjashtë and go up the town hill from the other side of the town.
Today tourist facilities are built next to the castle (restaurant etc.) in similar architectural style.

KAVALA

Kamares aqueduct

It is thought that an aqueduct was first built here during the late Roman or Byzantine period and destroyed in
the 14th century. During the mid 16th century it was either restored or completely rebuilt, probably by Pargali
Ibrahim Pasha (Pargalı İbrahim Paşa, 1523-1536), Grand Vizier of Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent
(1494-1566), who also built the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque in Kavala (see below).
The exact date of the Ottoman construction is unknown, with various theories ranging from the 1520s to the
1550s, although, if Ibrahim Pasha was responsible, around 1530 seems more likely.
The construction of the aqueduct, mosque and other buildings, as well as the refortification of Kavala (then still
known as Christoupolis) appear to have been part of concentrated efforts to revive the city following its
destruction and depopulation during battles for the control of the area between the Venetians and Turks in the
previous century
The aqueduct was well maintained, with only one major repair required in 1818. It remained in use until the
early 20th century. Recent restoration work was undertaken in 1997-1998.
Built of local granite, with Ottoman style brickwork used in some of the arches, the aqueduct is 280 metres
long, has a maximum height of 25 metres and a total of 60 arches (some sources say 270 metres long and 26
metres maximum height).

The structure comprises of two tiers of arches supporting the water channel. The bottom tier is thicker and the
11 arches are wider and higher (5.60 metres wide, 12 metres high) than the main arches of the upper tier (5
metres wide, 8 metres high), which are set directly above them. Between the upper tier's main arches each of
the stone piers are pierced by two smaller arches, one directly on top of the other, the lower arch being wider
and higher than the upper. Metal staves have been used to support some of these smaller arches.

The Kamares spans the lower ground between the foot of Mount Lekani (at the south end of Odos Lahana) and
the old city walls on the northeast slope of the hill of the Panagia peninsula.

It was the last stage of a well-planned network of ceramic pipes and four other aqueducts which carried water
to the city from the 400 metre high source, known as the "Mother of Water" (η μάνα του νερού, i Mana tou
Nero; also known as ή Τρία Καραγάτσια, i tria Kragatsia, the Three Elms; and ή Σούμπαση, i Soumpasi, after
the Turkish word for source), 6 km to the north. Water was also chanelled from other smaller sources nearby.

Some of the water was diverted to drinking fountains and troughs in the countryside along the way for
travellers, farmers and their animals.

Within the citadel of Kavala, water was distributed by pipes to storage tanks, public fountains (of which the
remains of three are still extant), baths and important buildings. The first house in Kavala to have running
water was the House of Mehmet Ali, built around 1780-90
Odos Pal. Idragogiou, Kavala 65201.

Just east of Plateia Nikotsara.

Around 300 metres east of the Church of Saint Nicholas along Odos Konutoriotou.

Panagia district

Panoramic view of the Panagia dsitrict, Kavala, Macedonia, Greece at My Favourite Planet. The
Byzantine Castle (Kastro) and old houses of the Panagia dsitrict, viewed from the modern city centre.

The Imaret • Halil Bey Mosque • Mehmet Ali House

Kimisi Theotokou Church • Lighthouse • Kavala Castle (Kastro)

The Panagia district (Παναγία) is Kavala's old town, and the location of the ancient fortified city of
Neapolis.m Nothing remains of ancient Greek or Roman periods, but there are plenty of reminders of
Byzantine and Ottoman times, as well as houses and other buildings from the early years of the modern
Greek state. Since 2001 many of the old buildings, such as the Imaret and the Halil Bey Mosque have
been renovated. The district also has a couple of good, small tavernas (on Odos Theodorou Poulidou,
opposite the Imaret), a few bars and small shops.

Places to see are:

 The white City Hall (Dimarchio) on Kipos Iroon Park in the town center. In close proximity is
the Tobacco Museum (Philippou Odos Str)

 Ag. Nikolas church with Paul Mosaic ( Kontouriotou Str) . Around the church there is an old,
somewhat run-down neighborhood with many great cafeterias, Ouzo drinking places (Ouzerias),
restaurants and small shops. Especially in the evening it is very attractive and crowded by young
people.
The castle and the old town are at a hill above the center. To get there it will take a 15-20 minutes
walk from the harbour.
In the Old Town you should visit:

Old Town

 The Castle, built in 1425 by the Turks. You will have a wonderful sea view from there and also a
great view over the old town, the port and the new parts of the city of Kavala . Occasionally
music events are held there.The entrance fee is about 2€. A simple romantic cafeteria invites
you to linger.

 The City walls, the main part of which was build in the 14th century

 Halil Bey Complex: contains the mosque of Halil Bey dated at the beginning of the 20th
century, an older minaret on the side probably of the 16th century and a medresse. The mosque
is build over the foundation of an early Christian basilica.

 House and Museum (built in 1720) and monument of Mohamed Ali. He is the founder of the
last Egyptian dynasty

 The Imaret, a former Koranic school, built in 1718, now a hotel. Although worth seeing, it is
unfortunately difficult to get in if you are not a guest of the hotel.

 The Panagia Church

The circular route around the city wall is a worthwhile walk. Beneath the Mohammed Ali
equestrian statue starts a path around the city wall. The path leads down to the sea, around the
headland of the the old town and then branches to the port or back uphill to the old town near
Panagia Church.
It is worthwhile to go in back alleys in old town to visit the typical Byzantine houses in the narrow
streets. Along the main street of the old town (Poulidou) restaurants and bars are lined up.
Especially in the evening its a romantic place to sit and enjoy Retsina, Ouzo and Souvlaki.
The Aqueduct. 25m high, built in 1550 to supply the town with drinking water, was restored a few
years ago.

Beaches
The quality of the beaches and the sea water quality increases going from the east to the west in the
Kavala area.

Periali Beach

The city beaches on the east end of Kavala (Kara Orman, Perigiali) and on the western periphery
(Kalamitsa) are flat and suitable for children. In the summer months, sun loungers, parasols and
chairs are available for free but in limited numbers. The beaches are all easily accessible by city
buses. Close to the west end of Kavala are the campsite "Batis” and the Bungalow Hotel "Tosca
Beach”, offering all comfort for a relaxed day at the beach. They can be reached by public bus from
the main bus terminal.
West of Kavala are the localities Palio (10km) , Iraklitsa (15km) and Nea Peramos (20km), all with
nice beaches and beach bars. The latter two are typical holiday places with a lot of beach bars,
restaurants, cafeterias, etc. Especially younger people prefer the beaches of Amolofos (at the west
side of Nea Peramos). At the beach bars there parking, sun loungers, parasols, chairs and loud
music are available for free. Of course a drink must be taken from the bar. The crystal clear waters
and fine sand provides a relaxed holiday atmosphere for those who love more action than repose.
The further you drive from Nea Permaos along the expressway towards Saloniki, the more "lonely"
the beaches get, with crystal clear water and beautiful surroundings. The best known beaches there
are “Sarakina” (near Hotel Ocean View) and the Pirgos beach (at the ancient tower 50 km from
Kavala) . Further to the west, about 2 km after the turn of “Loutra Elefteron” (hot springs) is the
only nudist beach (unofficially, www.capnbarefoot.info/mainland:macedonia).
East of Kavala, in the Nestos Delta area of Chrysoupolis, near the villages
of Eratino and Agiasma there are spacious shallow beaches where a lot of camping is done
(although wild camping is banned there, but so far tolerated). These beaches are often not so clean
with a lot of algae. Especially recommended are the clean and superb beaches at Keramoti which
belong to the best of the area.