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#125 In the City of 1,000 Windows

Argitaratu: 19.05.2022

May 12, 2022: Berat, Kuçova, Belsh


F. Berat, the city of a thousand windows, which was officially appointed a museum city in 1961 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, is a must-see on any trip to Albania. At least that's what the travel guide suggests. And indeed, the old town of Berat is beautiful. It is divided by the river Osumit and the many small, old houses, with their famous large windows, are located on the two slopes on either side of the river banks. Another part of the old town is located on top of the hill inside the Berat Castle. We walked through all three parts of the old town and were convinced of the beauty of this city. As is the case almost everywhere in Albania, a lot of construction and renovation is currently taking place here. But that didn't bother us.

Old ruins of the castle in Berat
Old ruins of the castle in Berat
The houses inside the castle are still inhabited.
1,000 windows on the north side...
1,000 windows on the north side...
... and the south side
... and the south side
The new part of Berat
The new part of Berat (taken from the castle, not from a drone. ;) )
Colorful village on the way to Berat

After these incredibly beautiful impressions from Berat, we went in the afternoon to the darker sides of Albania. We drove through Kuçova to Belsh. Kuçova is the center of Albania's oil industry. Oil has been extracted here since the 1930s using very primitive methods. With the end of communism in the 1990s, most of the oil wells were shut down, but many facilities still leak oil from old pipelines. The environmental pollution is devastating. It is quite surreal to see the many drilling towers from the past everywhere and it seems that the environmentally friendly dismantling is progressing very slowly. The smell of oil in the air was sometimes really unpleasant and I wonder how people can still live here.

A little overflowed, or what is the black?
A little overflowed, or what is the black?
Oil pump in front of greenhouses
Oil pump in front of greenhouses
Old oil drilling tower
Old oil drilling tower
It
It's almost a forest of oil drilling towers.
And again 5 drilling towers
And again 5 drilling towers
Scenic idyll
Belsh by the lake
Belsh by the lake
Belsh by the lake
Belsh by the lake
Old Mercedes next to old donkey cart on new road
Old Mercedes next to old donkey cart on new road


Day 209 - Total Tour 15,844 km


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