#travel to Albania

[alenasbdesign]

Happy Independence Day, Albania!

[allthingseurope]

Berat, Albania (by Vladan)

[licze]

Syri i Kaltër, Albania

[visitheworld]

Gjipe Beach / Albania (by James Leithart).

[useless-catalanfacts]

Did you know that there is a European republic that bans entry to women and female animals, and until 2005 also banned entry to Catalan people?

This place is the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos, a theocratic autonomic republic in Greece. It's an Orthodox Christian religious centre that covers about 33,000 hectares and is inhabited by around 1,400 monks in 20 monasteries. In the 16th century, it had reached 30,000 monks in population, and right before the First World War it still had 9,000.

It was founded in the Early Middles Ages, and has been given autonomy since the times of the Byzantine Empire. Since the very beginning, in the year 1046, their laws have forbidden entry to any woman, child, and female animal with the only exception of egg-laying chicken, because they consider that women and female animals must be kept out to preserve the holiness of the site and to keep the male inhabitants away from temptation.

The reason for banning Catalans dates back to the Middle Ages, too. In 1303, the Byzantine Empire was being invaded by the Ottoman Turks. They needed help to fight against them, so the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II asked the Sicilian king for help. The Sicilian king sent him the Great Catalan Company, an army of 4,000 Catalan and Aragonese mercenaries (almogàvers) and 39 ships, led by the commander Roger de Flor. The Byzantine emperor already knew Roger de Flor, because Roger had served him when he was a Templar knight. Roger was a very respected and admired fighter with an impressive career, and he also spoke Greek. The emperor and Roger reached an agreement, Roger was nominated Megaduke and married to the emperor's niece, Mary of Bulgaria.

The Great Catalan Company was successful in their job: they fought off the Turks and gave all the land the Turks had recently taken back to the Byzantine Empire. But not everything went well: the Byzantine emperor did not pay the mercenaries what they were promised, and the mercenaries were cruel to the population. In 1305, the emperor's son Michael (co-regent of the empire) called all the mercenaries to Adrianopolis, bringing together 9,000 men of different origins. Even though last year Michael had refused to meet him, Roger de Flor went to pay homage to him again. This time, Michael welcomed him and invited him to a banquet with the leaders of the two other mercenary groups. During the banquet, following Michael's orders, the leader of the Alan mercenaries assassinated Roger de Flor and all the men who accompanied him, and dismembered Roger de Flor's body. It is said that Michael ordered exterminating all the members of the Catalan Company.

Obviously, this caused a scandal among the surviving Catalan-Aragonese troops. They answered this betrayal by declaring war against the Byzantine Empire, and sacked many parts of Greece, murdering and setting fire to many places they found on their way to Constantinoble. This terrible event became known as The Catalan Revenge. The revenge was particularly cruel against the rich monk communities, who the mercenaries brutally attacked to steal their riches and then set the monasteries on fire. The monks of Mount Athos say that the Catalan mercenaries burned 26 monks alive. The horrible revenge left a mark in the memory of Greek and Albanian people. In Albania, the word for "Catalan" became the word for "monster". Meanwhile, the theocratic government of Mount Athos banned any Catalan person from entering their territory.

Albanian book titled "Catalan", based on an Albanian folk story that depicts Catalans as monsters.

The mercenaries' cruelty only stopped when the influential Catalan doctor and intellectual Arnau de Vilanova and the Catalan king James II begged them to stop.

Mount Athos' law prohibiting Catalan people lasted for 700 years, until 2005. That year, the Government of Catalonia apologized for the events that their fellow countrymen did 700 years ago. The Catalan government paid 240,000€ for the reparation of a Mount Athos monument that had been destroyed by the mercenaries' revenge, and sent an embassy to Greece to have a reparation ceremony, which was welcomed by the Greek government, too. This way, the law was abolished.

Sources: UNESCO, National Geographic, newspapers from 2005.

[2seeitall]

The Roman Forum, Butrint - Albania

Butrint (ancient Bouthrotos/ Buthrotum) was a port in western Epirus, present-day Albania. Julius Ceasar made Butrint a Roman colony in the 1st century BC and allowed his soldiers that fought against Pompey to settle there as a reward. An earthquake destroyed the forum and its adjacent buildings in the late 4th century AD.

[crochetclaire]

Albania part 2 🇦🇱

[viloocan]

•Arnavutluk🇦🇱

[x-heesy]

𝙴𝚡-𝚈𝚞𝚐𝚘𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚊 🇲🇰

𝚂𝚔𝚘𝚙𝚓𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚡 𝚋𝚢 𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚘 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 1963 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊 *𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚇 @sabine-eee

#Travelingwithoutmoving

#architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #architectureporn #architecturedesign #architecturelover #architecturephoto #architecturedaily #architecture_hunter #architecturedetail #architecturephotos #architecturedose #architectureanddesign #architecturelife #architecturegram #architecturelove #architecturephotograpy #architectures #architectureinspiration #architecture_view #architektur #architekturfotografie #architekturfotograf #architektur_erleben #architekturliebe #architekturporn #architekturelovers

[travelopels]

Take a journey to Northern Albania’s rolling hills🐴🌿

This breathtaking scenery showcases the natural beauty and serenity that Albania has to offer. 🇦🇱 From the lush green hills to the majestic horses, it’s the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. ☀️ Who needs a relaxing getaway to Albania? 😌

[johbeil]

Peaceful evening

Ksamil, Albania. View towards the islands in the bay, which include Corfu, Greece. Olympus XA on Lomography CN 100 film.

[dailystreetsnapshots]

Theth, Albania

[allthingseurope]

Rozafa Castle, Albania (by Fabian)

[licze]

Vjosa river bend, Albania

[cozy-morning-begins-with-coffee]

these are the mornings I like the most ⛰️

🌍 Theth, Albania

[tumbling-dyce]

Zvërnec monastery

off the coast of Albania, reachable via an S-shaped wooden pedestrian bridge. Leica R4 with 50 mm Summilux on Ilford FP4+ film.