Fier Things to Do

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Along the small road that leads from Appolonia to Dërmenas (and after to Fier)we saw several flocks of geese grazing (photo 1) and crossing the road (photo 2). The flocks or geese were mixed with flocks of sheeps of several colors, ranging from whitish to brown and even black (photo 3). Photo 4 is an enlargement of the later that shows in the background a few of the Enver Hoxha bunkers, now completely integrated in the landscape!

Leaving the site of Appolonia, the industrial outskirts of Vier appear after only a couple of kilometers. There is obviously a power station with its characteristics spool shaped chimney, a water tank on top of a tower (extreme right). The power station does not seem to be working, like most of the plants that were abandoned by their workers when the Enver Hoxha regime fell.

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I do not know if it is the main entrance into the monastery but the wooden door seems very old with its wrought iron nails. On the sides of the entrance, I have notice two carvings.

The carving on the second photo is not easy to decipher. It shows several figures that seem to carry the body of a crowned king while a lion’s head figure is riding one of the three donkeys.

The carving on the third photo is not very cleverly drawn. In the center, a pole (or a mosque ?) is topped by a moon crescent. On the right, a very excited male animal (boar, wolf ?) (enlargement on photo 4). On the left, two female animals with a full row of *** hanging. One could be a she wolf, the other a weasel (enlargement on photo 4). I have no idea of what does that mean! Help wanted!

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The monastery is surrounded by high walls and it was not open for visits. The bell tower stands out of the walls but was closed too.

Several lion’s head have been unearthed from the site. The one on photo 4 has been included in the wall of the monastery.

This photo shows the landscape in the direction of the sea. The shore is about 10 km away. The land between Apollonia and the sea is absolutely flat and the ancient city stands on the first hill available when coming from the sea. This is what made the place so important : it was enough away from the sea to be protected from most pirates but at the same time, it had a harbor on the river.

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Olive trees have been grown around Appolonia since the ancient Greeks. There is a lot of old olive trees on the Apollonia hills. Obviously, they were not planted by the ancient Greeks, but from the look of the trunk, I bet that they are several centuries old (especially on the second photo).

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Eastwards, Apollonia has a series of small hills with rich agricultural lands. It is at the same time a strategically situated location. This is why the ancient Greek built the city here but in modern times, Enver Hoxha took advantage of this situation to build a series of large bunkers (enlargement on the second photo). These were not the usual small bunkers that dot the country but “family bunkers”!

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The acropolis has not been yet dug but according from what I have read, it is supposed to be on the flat area shown on this photo, on top of a small hill. There has not been any complete digging of the place. When we were there, a group of feral dogs felt at home !