Berat Things to Do

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The entrance into Kala, with its double doorway, was protected by an imposing defense complex. It is partly destructed and it is not easy to understand how it should look.

The first photo shows the lowest part of the tower that stands over the inner doorway. Only the huge staircase remains.

The second photo was taken from the left of the first one and shows the doorway (and the parking lot). On the left, stand several remains of the defense complex that was mostly rebuilt by Michael II Comnenus Doukas, Despot of Epirus in the XIIIth.

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The entrance to the fortress is by the north. The Kala district, inside the fortress is strongly protected.

The first photo shows the first doorway. It leads to a paved, wide open space where it is possible and advised to park (second photo).

The third photo shows both doorways. The one on the left leads into the fortress. The basement is made of huge blocks and some of them might be from a previous Illyrian fort.

I have read that visitors should pay a fee to park at the entrance of the citadel and we actually saw a booth where tickets were to be sold. May be it was because we were off season (late May) but it was empty and we parked for free !

From Mangalem, you can walk to the castle by Rruga e Kalasë (Castle street) but it is quite a long way (almost 1.5 km), without any shade and not very interesting. The paved street is narrow and steep. It does not two allow two cars to cross everywhere but in late may 2007, there was not much traffic. I wonder how that will be in the future.

Not far from Margarita Tutulani who was killed at 19, stands the bust of Bab Dud Karbunara (1812-1817) who died at 105. At the turn of the XXth he has been a hero of the fight for the Albanian language. He was one of the first to teach (illegally) in Albanian and his name has been given to a High School in his hometown, Berat.

It seems that his bust was made in 1937 by Dhimiter Çani (1904 Korça – 1990, Tirana), a famous Albanian sculptor.

Teqe e Halvetije (Tekke of the Halveti) was built in 1790 by Ahmet Kurd Pasha. It is the most beautiful teqe of the country. The columns of the porch are carved and come from the ancient Roman’s city of Appolonia. Inside, the wooden ceiling of the prier room is delicately carved and painted.
What is a tekke?

While most Muslim Albanians are Sunni, a strong minority belongs to mystic and tolerant Sufi orders, namely Bektashism and Halvetism, only slightly different. Both sects are lead by dervishes and their religious centers are not mosque but “teqe” (tekke in Turk). Tekke can be found through out Albania, either in large cities or in remote areas, where they were built when these sects were chased. Bektashism was founded in the 13th century in Turkey, but its headquarters are now in Albania. There is a web page on Bektashism (click on “mesime” to get it in English).

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Xhami e Mbretit stands in an enclosure together with the building shown on the first photo. They are surrounded by a lawn. Who is the best to take care of a lawn, to have it tightly mowed if not a flock of sheep?

That is what the second photo shows better.

However, sheep is not enough and a man with a scythe is a need to finish the job (third photo).

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Xhami e Mbretit (Kings mosque) is one of the oldest mosque in Albania. It was built in 1492 under the reign of Sultan Bayazid II, who died in 1512. The prier room is decorated with wooden carvings and is worth a visit (sorry, no photo).

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Near the river Osum, at the bottom of Mangalem, the Moslem district, Xhami e Beqareve (Bachelor´s Mosque), built in 1827. The word "beqar", which literally means bachelor, and refers to the young shop assistants, most of the time bachelors, whom the merchants in Berat used to hire as their own private militia.