Berat

Berat lies along both banks of the Osum River in central Albania, beneath the bulk of Mount Tomorr. Its old quarters are built up the steep hillsides on either side of the river in dense terraces of whitewashed Ottoman houses, each one with rows of large wooden-framed windows that, seen from a distance, give the city its enduring nickname: the City of a Thousand Windows. The historic centre was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2008.

The Castle Quarter

Unlike most castles in the region, Berat's fortress is not a ruin but a living neighbourhood. People still live inside the walls, in stone houses built up against the medieval ramparts, along the same lanes their families have occupied for generations. The fortress itself dates back to the 4th century BC, with successive layers added by Byzantines, Bulgarians, Ottomans and Venetians. Inside the walls are several small Byzantine churches with frescoed interiors, and the Onufri Museum ,housed in the Cathedral of the Dormition of St Mary ,which contains one of the most important collections of post-Byzantine religious art in the Balkans, centred on the 16th-century iconographer Onufri.

Mangalem and Gorica

The two old quarters of the lower town face each other across the river. Mangalem, on the northern bank below the castle, is the photograph everyone takes home: rows of identical white houses stacked up the hillside, their windows catching the afternoon light. Gorica, on the southern bank, is quieter and shaded, with its own dense cluster of Ottoman houses and the small St. Spyridon Church. The two are connected by the 18th-century Gorica Bridge, a graceful seven-arched stone span that remains one of the most photographed spots in the city.

Religious Coexistence

Berat is often cited as a model of Albania's long tradition of religious tolerance. Within a few minutes' walk of each other, the city contains the King Mosque (15th century), the Lead Mosque, the Halveti Tekke, the Cathedral of St Mary, Orthodox churches in the castle quarter, and the small Solomoni Synagogue Museum. None of this is presented for tourists ,these are simply working places of worship that have stood together for centuries.

Getting there

Berat is approximately 120 kilometres south of Tirana by road ,around two hours by car or bus. The old town is compact and best explored on foot, though the climb up to the castle quarter is steep. Berat also makes a convenient base for excursions to the wineries of the surrounding hills and to Mount Tomorr National Park.