Spread the love

Post Views: 51

A country on the rise in the world of tourism, Albania is still a mystery to travellers from the Asia-Pacific region. Europeans have long been visiting Albania’s beautiful Adriatic beaches in droves, and culture travellers have explored this unique country for a few years. One of the most impressive sights in Albania is an Ancient Greek and later Roman archaeological site called Butrint. The Butrint National Archaeological Park is located in the country’s far south, almost on the border with Greece. While many people are aware of the historical Venetian influences in Slovenia and Croatia, few people think of countries on the eastern shore of the Adriatic as part of the Roman Empire, let alone the Ottoman Empire later, both of which succeeded Greek control of the city until Albania gained independence in 1912. Due to their relative anonymity, the ruins here are less trodden than more famous sites elsewhere in the Mediterranean region.

: A mosaic floor at Butrint

: Butrint’s theatre is still used for performances to this day.

: Unusually, the ruins of Butrint are set in nature.

The modest entrance to Butrint National Archaeological Park belies the impressive structural relics further into the scenic parkland. Rising from a pretty estuary to a bluff covered in a fragrant forest of pine and other trees that create an expanse of green against a very blue sky. The vestiges of a small theatre are the introduction to the site, which extends around a promontory and upward to the highest point. The small but fascinating Archaeological Museum of Butrint is housed in a former Venetian castle fortress, showcasing various items from the site. In between the theatre and the museum’s hill is the basilica, whose stone columns bear witness to Butrint’s architectural legacy, so impressive that Butrint was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

: Butrint inscriptions in stone

: What remains of the basilica at Butrint

In a country with a language that is very foreign to English speakers, Butrint is not easy for individual travellers to reach. The best way to visit is on a cruise aboard a small ship that can access the nearby port of Saranda, from where the short ride to Butrint will have cruisers among the stones in about half an hour. Sea Cloud Cruises is one of the few cruise companies with Saranda as a port of call and Butrint as an excursion. This makes sense; Sea Cloud’s low number of passengers aboard its sailing ships makes visiting smaller places more enjoyable for the generally sophisticated travellers looking for insight into places visited. Sea Cloud’s ships are small enough to see small ports of call where crowds are minimal, if they exist at all. That’s the way to go.