“Albania 🇦🇱 ~We Love Krujë!”
After our busy, busy day, checking out the castle and other ancient sites, we ate dinner, then went for a romantic walk; hand in hand through the Medieval Baazar.
It is so charming and peaceful, here in Kruje, and it will be hard to leave in the morning. Lots and lots of character, in this genuine location, and the locals are lovely and friendly. But, go we will, because we are having such a fantastic time, and desire to see more Albania!
At first glance, as we rose from the lower elevation, up towards Kruje, we could see, right away the medieval castle and the museum of Skanderbeg, built during Enver Hoxha’s regime in memory of the Albanian national hero, 500 years after his death.
Skanderbeg was in fact from these parts and Kruja was a strategic point in the anti-Ottoman resistance. Little is left of the Skanderbeg castle, but the fact that it is tied to the legend of the hero who fought against the Turks for about 25 years, has meant that the town gained the attention of those in power from the early 60s. The castle and the Ottoman Bazaar, which connects it with the busy, modern part of the town, has become some of the most highly regarded places in the country’s heritage.
The Bazaar has a truly unique look; multi-coloured and overflowing with goods of every description. A typical Ottoman market right before our eyes. But, it is only a small part of what it once was, but still a fascinating, piece of Istanbul, which is close to the Adriatic Sea.
Early on in the 1900s, various sources testify to the fact, that the Kruja Bazaar had about 150 shops of different kinds, including craftsmen and producers of all the goods needed in the town. The inhabitants called it the Bazaar of Derexhik (Pazari i Derexhikut), which is the “Bazaar of the stream,” in Turkish; owing to the many streams in the area, so many that even the name of the town itself is said by qualified linguists derived from the term krua, which means “stream.” in Albanian.
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
Absolutely stunning!! So glad you got past the rough start and on to the flurries of Albania!
We are too! We are glad we stayed and found good times!
That dinner looks delicious!!! Beautiful roads too!!!
So, so delicious!