Sarande & Butrint, Albania
Today we docked in the port of Sarande and headed for the ancient site of Butrint. As we drove through the southern Albanian countryside, we passed through agricultural land, vineyards and sheep grazing in open fields. For kilometers on either side the white shoots of sea squills (a form of lily) carpeted the rocky hillsides. We disembarked from the buses to take a cable ferry across the narrow channel that separates Butrint from the triangular Venetian fortress that guards its entrance. Our guides Shpressa and Loreta then took us back through the centuries to Greek, Roman, and Byzantine times as we wandered amongst the ruins of Butrint. This is an amazing site which was a major trading port as well as spa destination complete with a Greek theater, Roman baths, and a Byzantine basilica with an intact mosaic floor covered with sand to protect it against the elements.
Although Butrint is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, funding has not been available for a full excavation, so the ruins are situated amongst a virtual jungle of nature: laurel trees in fruit, several varieties of oak, rosemary in bloom with some areas partially submerged in water. In the nearby lake, which is a mix of fresh water and salt water from the Ionian Sea, some fisherman were harvesting mussels, one of the region's main products. We passed through the Lion's Gate and climbed up to the acropolis which has undergone several transformations from a Venetian to an Ottoman fort. The archaeological museum there is a gem and traces the history of this site as far back as Illyrian times with meticulous reconstructions of the sites at different points in time. There is even a small atrium with marble statues displaying an incredible skill for rendering the folds of linen garments.
We returned to Panorama for lunch, after which there was the option of taking a siesta or a postprandial walk through Sarande with a stop at the farmers’ market, which was packing up for the day. Several ventured further to view the ruins of a 15th century Jewish synagogue discovered when digging the foundations for a new high-rise building. Later that afternoon, Auron Tare from the Albanian Center for Marine Research (and one of the founders of the Butrint National Park) presented recent, yet-to-be-published findings from underwater archaeological work being done in the Corfu straits. Using the latest in multi-beam technology on their ship Herkules, the team has made a number of discoveries that shed light on the history of these waters, including shipwrecks from as early as the third century B.C. up to WWII. We ended the day up at Lekuris Castle, a renovated Ottoman fortress with panoramic views of the Ionian Sea and inland plains. As we enjoyed refreshments and watched the sun set, we were treated to a concert of traditional Albanian flute music.
