With You, Gjirokastër!

Every person who comes and lives in this life has a name; has two parents, has a date of birth, but also has a place of birth. These things are mentioned and written in the passport or other documents that concern them, such as their name, the names of their parents, their date of birth, and their place of birth. For all these reasons, we have the right to say that the place where each one is born is very dear and valuable.

Naim Frashëri, our distinguished poet and renaissance figure, though he spent almost his entire life far from his homeland, never forgot it. When he sang so beautifully about the fields and mountains, forests, and groves, he had Frashër, his birthplace, in mind. Andon Zako Cajupi, a passionate poet and patriot who, fortunately, hails from the same region—from the village of Sheper in Zagoria, says: "In the motherland, in the place where you were born, even the soil seems sweeter than honey." Not only for them but for each of us, the birthplace is very dear.

In these years, emigration has increased. Our forefathers used to call it "kurbet." Those who left took the long road and carried within them the longing for the place they left, for their home, for their birthplace. To love the place where you were born, you need to know it, to know what it is, its history, its values, who are the distinguished people it has produced, what customs and rites it has. This book acquaints you with them and will urge you to delve deeper into your birthplace and be proud of it. Enjoy reading, with hope and desire that you will learn more about your birthplace!

The Author

Gjirokastër Buildings

 The old buildings of Gjirokastër are all made of stone, but each has unique characteristics that distinguish them from one another, as well as common features. We can say that Gjirokastër has at least 44 characteristic houses. The houses in Gjirokastër are mainly three-story buildings built on hilly terrain. The mountain slope is excavated, and the house is supported on the open side. On the first floor, or as it is called "katoi," there is an exit to the yard and it may have one, two, or even three rooms. One room is used for storing food for the winter, which the housewives of Gjirokastër prepare in the autumn. The katoi, especially the first-floor space, is cool, with little light or none at all. The second room is for firewood, tools, or other rarely used items. There may also be a third room for pack animals.

The winter room is a warm room, mainly used during the winter. It is usually placed in the intermediate floors, i.e., between the first and third floors. It is a room with a fireplace, small windows, and a low ceiling. All these characteristics help to keep the environment warm. The connecting space for the whole house is called "nëndivani" or "nëntdivani" as the people of Gjirokastër call it. The guest room or "odaja" is one of the most interesting parts of the houses in Gjirokastër. It is generally large, full of space and light, with a high ceiling, with one wall entirely covered with windows overlooking the city. The room is decorated with colorful carpets; the "nimet" around the room are covered with white cloth trimmed with lace, made by the lady of the house with a crochet hook. The ceiling is also intricately carved by the woodcarvers of Gjirokastër. The doors of the musendra (large wall cabinets) are also generally carved. Musendra are large cabinets built into the wall, primarily used to store bedding for guests such as mattresses, quilts, sheets, pillows, etc. The guest room may also have a fireplace. The fireplace, often carved in stone, is highly decorative and truly a work of art. There are houses in Gjirokastër that, in addition to the guest room, have another room with many windows, called the "oda e sehirit" from where the city, its streets, and people passing by can be seen.

Water and Cisterns

Water and cisterns in Gjirokastër are a legend in themselves. The people of Gjirokastër have always had problems with drinking water and water for washing. However, their ingenuity has always found an original solution. When Ali Pasha of Tepelena became the ruler of the area, besides expanding the castle with new structures, he also built an aqueduct. It served to supply water only to the castle. The people of Gjirokastër found another solution. In the lower part of the city, there were several wells, while in the upper neighborhoods, especially in the old houses, cisterns were built. The cistern is very characteristic and rare, if not unique, in other parts of Albania. As such, we thought to treat it separately.

What are cisterns? They are large, deep spaces within houses, excavated together with the house foundations. They were carefully insulated and plastered well to prevent water leakage. Each of them could hold from 10,000 to 100,000 liters of water. They were filled throughout the year with rainwater and snowmelt. Gutters were placed under the eaves of the roofs, connected to pipes where the water flow ended in the cisterns. The first rains, until the roofs were washed of dust, were drained outside through a simple mechanism. Only when the snow was melting, and the water was ready to fill the cisterns, was it considered clean, using a metal sheet at the corner of the gutter to direct it into the funnel leading to the cistern. When it was noticed that the cistern was full, the same action was taken to drain the water outside. To use the cistern water, it was drawn with a special faucet or "muslluk." In the Manalat neighborhood, there still exists a communal cistern that many residents used at that time. The Babocat Cistern, as it was called, helped supply water to the residents who could not build cisterns later. Nowadays, cisterns no longer exist as such. Some have been left as they were, unused, while others have been adapted and converted into rooms, cellars, according to the needs, interests, and possibilities.

RELIGIOUS BELIEF Before the 15th century, it is known that Albanians were Christians. The Ottoman conquest forced a good part of them to convert to Islam. This fact is also confirmed by the existence of religious cult objects. According to Çelebi, Gjirokastër had 8 shrines. There were and still are the mosque of Meçit and two others in the market. There is the church of St. Sotir, built in 1874, and the church of St. Michael in Varosh, built in 1776. It was burned in 1828 but was rebuilt after 5 years, in 1833. Researchers say that even in the castle, there existed a church and a mosque, the remains of which have not yet been discovered. The church of Labova. The mosque in the center of the city with the dome built with stone. In the 14th-15th century, within the Muslim faith, the Bektashi sect appeared, which being more liberal than their predecessors, separated. There were also such people in Gjirokastër, and they even built their cult objects, the tekkes. In Gjirokastër, there are two large tekkes: that of Zall and that of Melan in Nepravishta. In 1967, the communist regime in Albania began a fierce struggle against religion and religious belief, as a result, the cult objects no longer functioned as such. They were damaged, but fortunately not completely destroyed. Only after the 90s, these cult objects and cultural monuments were restored and now continue to be as they were before.

DISTINGUISHED FIGURES The ancient population of Gjirokastër has produced distinguished men and women, both of intellect and of arms, who have contributed over the centuries to the freedom and defense of the country; to the education and civilization of people. These include: Pandeli Sotiri, Koto Hoxhi, Urani Rumbo, Çerçiz Bajrami, Bajo Topulli, Eqrem Çabej, Musine Kokalari, Ismail Kadare, and others. Some with the pen and some with the rifle, have fought and worked with various means and forms, with one aim and one idea: to see their country free and advanced. They have desired that children grow up knowledgeable to serve their families and country as best as possible.

Çerçiz Topulli, together with his brother Bajo, was born in Dunavat, whose house became a museum. Çerçiz, with his small band, fought with rare bravery, particularly in Mashkullorë adjacent to Gjirokastër, against numerous Ottoman soldiers, whom he successfully faced. The famous saying of Çerçiz has remained in song: "Mylazim, move away the troops or I'll paint you red. They call me Çerçiz Topulli." Çerçiz’s deeds and patriotism are numerous. His brave men were the ones who laid the Turkish commander to rest right in the middle of Gjirokastër. Çerçiz's name and his fight remain alive in the people's songs.

Gjirokastër has also produced distinguished figures in the fields of science, literature, and art. Eqrem Çabej, born to a distinguished and renowned family in Gjirokastër, was born in 1908. In linguistic sciences, an important branch is Albanology. Its origin dates back, but strangely, its birthplace is outside Albania, mainly in Austria. It was precisely Eqrem Çabej who brought this science to his own country, Albania.

Ismail Kadare, born in Gjirokastër in the Palorto neighborhood in 1936. He received his early education in his hometown, while he finished high school at "Asim Zeneli" Gymnasium. From a young age, he wrote the poem "Princess Argjiro." After graduating from the University of Tirana in Albanian language and literature, he completed his studies at the "Gorki" Literature Institute in Moscow. The works written by Ismail Kadare are numerous, and a major work for Gjirokastër is the novel "Chronicle in Stone." In Kadare's creative fund, we mention works like "Tales from the South," "Youthful Inspirations," "The General of the Dead Army," "The Great Winter," "The Dynasty of the Ghosts," "Concert at the End of Winter," "The Palace of Dreams," and others. Kadare brought a modern style to Albanian literature with his way of writing, touching on themes that had not been previously addressed in literature. With originality and fantasy, Kadare holds an important place in Albanian literature.

Musine Kokalari, another distinguished Gjirokastrite, spent her life amidst suffering and persecution. She ranks among those who dedicated their lives to their homeland and people, fighting for the freedom of their homeland, birthplace, and for a democratic Albania. She raised her voice, and therefore was imprisoned and interned. She was a fighter and a politician; an emancipated woman, but also a worthy writer. Her literary works, essays, and pamphlets could not be published during her lifetime. Only after the 1990s did some of Musine’s manuscripts see the light of publication.

In the field of art, we also mention the son of Gjirokastër, Muntas Dhrami, "People's Sculptor." He is the co-author of the monumental independence work placed in "Flag Square" in Vlora, "Ali Pasha Tepelena" in Tepelenë, "Adem Jashari" in Kosovo, and many other works, even in France. Enver Hoxha, born in Gjirokastër in 1908 and died in 1985, leader of the Albanian Communist Party, later the Party of Labour, who remained at the head of this party-state and the monist Albanian system for almost 50 years. After the 1990s, students and intellectuals were the first to rise, understanding the necessity of overthrowing the totalitarian system and, supported by the people, established pluralism in Albania.

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW

Geographic Position Gjirokastër is an ancient city, among the oldest in Albania. Its origin dates back to the 14th-15th century, based on archaeological discoveries, as written documents are still absent. Centuries later, learned and scholarly foreign travelers passed through these parts and wrote about Gjirokastër and its history. A well-known one is Evliya Çelebi, a Turkish traveler who visited the city in 1670 and wrote about his impressions. Similarly, George Han, a German scholar, helps us with data collected from his own travels. The city of Gjirokastër is situated on the slope of Mount Gjerë, on its northeastern slopes, and on the left side of the Drino River valley. The base and slope of the mountain where it is located are almost bare, without vegetation. Being like this, in winter, rainfall is abundant, with torrents pouring down the slopes bringing abundant waters. These come down to the city itself. The city has many streams, and each neighborhood is separated from the other by one. Gjirokastër has been and continues to remain one of the main centers of Southern Albania. It had road connections with Vlora and the Delvina basin. Through the Këlcyrë Gorge, it is connected with other centers of southern Albania. It is also connected with Upper and Lower Kurvelesh, Lunxhëria, Lower Dropull, Pogon, Zagoria, and others. Mount Gjerë, at whose base Gjirokastër is situated, separates the city from the coast. The city is called "The Stone City" and is 232 km away from Tirana. To the north of the city is Tepelena, to the northeast Përmet, to the southeast Libohova, and to the south Saranda. It also borders Greece. Within it, Gjirokastër is divided into neighborhoods, but the division is about the gathering of houses and administrative determination; all together form one city, and very good relations exist among them. Among the old neighborhoods of Gjirokastër, we mention: Plaka, Çfaka, Teqe, Meçite, Hazmurat, Varosh, Palorto, Manalat, Old Bazaar, and two new neighborhoods "September 18th" and "Worker."