Berati
Berat
lies on the right bank of the river Osum, a short distance from
the point where it is joined by the Molisht river. It is remarkable
Ottoman town, with a wealth of beautiful buildings of the highest
architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above
the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomori mountains, provide
a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut a
915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side
of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which
the town was built on several river terraces.
According
to legjend, the Tomorr mountain was originally a giant, who fought
with another giant, called Shpirag over a young woman. They killed
each other and the girl drowned in her tears, which then became
the Osum river.
Mount
Shpirag, named after the second giant, is on the left bank of
the gorge, above the district of Gorica. Berati is known to Albanians
as 'The City of a Thousand Windows'
a similar epithet to that sometimes applied to
Gjirokastra,
The City of Two Thousand Steps, and
has a mixture of Orthodox, Muslim and Vlach inhabitants. It was
proclaimed a 'Museum City' by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June
1961, and is a UNESCO World Heritage City.
During
the second century B.C. the town was called Antipatrea. it was
a strategic fortress of the Illyrian Dasaretes tribe. In the ninth
century the town was captured by the Bulgarians, who held it until
the eleventh century and renamed it, Beligrad (White City), from
which the name Berat is derived. During the thirteenth century,
it fell to Michael Angelus Comnenus, the despot of Epirus; in
1345 to the Serbs; and in 1450 to the Turks. After the Ottoman
conquest it fell into decline, and at the end of the sixteenth
century had only 710 houses.
The city began to revive in the seventeenth century, especially
after an earthquake in 1851, becoming a craft centre, noted particularly
for its artistic wood carving. In 1809, it was seized by Ali Pasha
Tepelena. The town is composed of three parts: Gorica, on the
far side of the river; Mangalem, on the fortress side of the river;
and the residential quarter within the fortress (known as Kalaja).
The houses on the fortress side which date from the seventeenth
century, have typically two storeys, with the upper storey slightly
overhanging and rich wood carving within. With their wide facades
and large windows, they seem to be built almost on top of one
another. The hills and the mountain slopes around Berat, are planted
with fig trees olive trees and other fruits.
What to
visit :
The Fortress,
is built on a rocky hill on the left bank of the river Osum and
is accessible only from the south. After being burned down by
the Romans in 200 B.C. the walls were strengthened in the fifth
century under Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, and were rebuilt
during the 6th century under the Emperor Justinian and again in
the 13th century under the Despot of Epirus, Michael Angelus Comnenus,
cousin of the Byzantine Emperor. The main entrance, on the north
side, is defended by a fortified courtyard and there are three
smaller entrances. The fortress of Berat in its present state,
even though considerably damaged, remains a magnificent sight.
The surface that it encompasses made it possible to house a considerable
portion of the cities inhabitants. The buildings inside the fortress
were built during the 13th century and because of their characteristic
architecture are preserved as cultural monuments. The population
of the fortress was Christian, and it had about 20 churches (most
built during the 13th century) and only one mosque, for the use
of the Turkish garrison, (of which there survives only a few ruins
and the base of the minaret). The churches of the fortress were
damaged through years and only some have remained.
The Church
of St. Mary of Vllaherna dating from the 13th century, has 16th
century mural paintings by Nikolla, son of the Albania's most
famous medieval painter, Onufri. In a small tree - planted square,
on a hillside inside the walls of the fortress, stands the fourteenth
century Church of the Holy Trinity. It is built in the form of
a Greek cross and has Byzantine murals. Outside the ramparts is
the Church of St. Michael (Shen Mehill), Built in the thirteenth
century. This church is reached by a steep but perfectly safe
path. Near the entrance, after a guardhouse, is the little Church
of St. Theodore (Shen Todher), which have wall paintings by Onufri
himself. The most interesting is the cathedral of St. Nicholas,
which has been well restored and is now a museum dedicated to
Onufri. Onufri was the greatest of the 16th century painters in
Albania. Not only was he a master of the techniques of fresco
and icons, but he was the first to introduce a new colour in painting,
pink, which the French called "Onufri's Red". In addition, Onufri
introduced a certain realism and a degree of individuality in
facial expression.
The first
inscription recording Onufri's name was found in 1951, in the
Shelqan church. The Kastoria church has a date 23 July 1547 and
a reference to Onufri's origin : Une jam Onufri, dhe vij nga qyteti
i shkelqyer i Beratit (I am Onufri, and come from the town of
Berat). Onufri's style in painting was inherited by his son, Nikolla
(Nicholas), though not so successful as his father. In Onufri's
museum are to be found works of Onufri, his son, Nikolla and other
painters'. There are also numbers of icons and some fine examples
of religious silversmith's work (sacred vessels, icon casings,
covers of Gospel books, etc). Berat Gospels, which date from the
forth century, are copies (the originals are preserved in the
National Archives in Tirana). The church itself has a magnificent
iconostasis of carved wood, with two very fine icons of Christ
and the Virgin Mary. The bishop's throne and the pulpit are also
of considerable quality. Near the street running down from the
fortress is the Bachelors' Mosque (Xhami e Beqareve), built in
1827. This has a handsome portico and an interesting external
decoration of flowers, plants, houses, etc. The 'Bachelors' were
the young shop-assistants (in practice generally unmarried), whom
the merchants in Berat used as their own private militia. The
Sultan's Mosque (Xhamia e Mbretit), the oldest in the town built
in the reign of Bayazid II (1481 - 1512), is notable for its fine
ceiling.
The Leaden Mosque
(Xhamia e Plumbit), built in 1555 and so called from the covering
of its cupola. This mosque is the centre of the town. The Tekke
of the Helveti (Teqe e Helvetive), of 1790, with a handsome porch
and a carved and gilded ceiling. Near of tekke was the grave of
Shabbatai Zvi, a Turkish jew living in Berat who in the 1660 declared
himself to be the Messiah and began a movement that led to hundreds
of thousands of impoverished European Jews trying to follow him
in an attempted emigration to the Holy Land. The Ottoman authorities
put him on trial for disrupting the Imperial Peace and imprisoned
for a time in Costantinopole. He was forced to conver to Islam
and exiled him back to Albania . After his death his tomb was
taken over as a
Bektashi shrine
and remained that until 1967
More
views:
top
of page