When Kenric and I were in Gjirokaster, Albania in late September, 2019, we spent a few hours at the castle. Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire from the late 15th century until 1912. Gjirokaster, like Berat, is on the UNESCO list because of the treasured architecture from the Classical Ottoman period.

Humans started settling in the castle area during the 8th century. The area was later fortified, and when the citadel grew too crowded, people started living outside the wall on surrounding hillsides. Over the centuries, besides being home to Christians and later, Muslims, the castle area had also been used as a garrison and prison. Today, the entire castle is a museum.

One of the vendors outside the gate told us her son lives in New Jersey. She was hoping we would buy something, but we had no need for tablecloths or jam. It started drizzling, and she said she should hurry and close up.

The castle occupies a huge area. We were most in awe by how high the arches were. There is a museum with exhibits that we didn’t visit. There is a small tomb for two important local Muslim figures of the Bektashi Sufi Order. We encountered a few small tour groups including one from China, and quite a few non-group visitors, but it wasn’t crowded at all.

The American tourists were most interested in a stripped and rusty Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. Two days before Christmas in 1957, the US Air Force aircraft flown by Major Howard Curran was forced to land in Tirana, the capital of Albania. That was during the Cold War period and behind the Iron Curtain. The Albanian People’s Army was certain it was a spy plane. The US was certain it was equipment malfunction and lack of fuel that led Major Curran into the Albanian airspace on his way to Naples, Italy from France.

Initially, the Albanian government denied capturing Major Curran and the US presumed him dead. With the help of the French, he was released in January, 1958. Google says he retired from the Air Force the following year and worked for the United States Postal Service (USPS) until his second retirement. There is a street in Kansas named after him.

The view from the castle was perfect from any angle, especially that of the Old Bazaar at the foot of the hill. The new city on even lower ground is bigger than I expected. We spent a few wonderful hours at the castle.

It didn’t rain until we after we got back to the guesthouse after dinner. Then, it poured so very hard all night that the roof over the room next to ours leaked. The young couple staying in that room also left their laundry hanging outside overnight. They packed them up and moved on to their next destination. The host said they had not had such a storm in at least 10 years. It brought a beautiful clear day.

Map of Places Visited