~ Amazing Albania – Butrint Archeological Park ~

During our stay in Sarande, one of the places we visited was Butrint.

The bus stop was only a five minute walk from the hotel and it arrived shortly after us. We found seats and then promptly sat there for 20 minutes while the bus filled up and up until the doors could hardly close. Amongst the throng was the bus conductor who was issuing tickets, I’m not sure how he checked who had tickets or not. The journey takes around 30 minutes and for 3 Euros each I thought it wasn’t bad. There is only one restaurant there and we ate lunch here after our walk.

Butrint has been inhabited since prehistoric times and also home to many different nations, including Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. The last person who live here was Ali Pasha, an Albanian Ottoman ruler who controlled Butrint and the area until its final abandonment.

Above is the Venetian Triangular Castle sitting on the banks of the Vivari Canal

Butrint is now home to a vast array of flora and fauna. The excellent preservation of the remaining structures bear witness to the amazing building skills of all the previous inhabitants, especially the Romans.

We enjoyed our two hour walk around the site marvelling in turn and discussing the history as we walked.

Sitting by the Venetian Tower and soaking up the atmosphere.

I didn’t realise how vast Butrint actually is, it covers 9,000 hectares and there are steep hills and tracks around and across it. Looking at the map I’m not sure we covered everything there was to see.

Possibly a Roman civic house from the 5th century and the views across Lake Butrint.

Most of the monuments were discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission between the years 1928 – 1939. The team who worked here were guided by Luigi Maria Ugolini. Imagine the excitement on finding such historical structures.

6th Century Baptistery with mosaic floor

The mosaic has now been covered over again for preservation and apparently it is cleared every few years for viewing.

The Great Basilica, 6th century AD
The Lion’s Gate
The Venetian Castle,
reconstructed in the 1930’s
Finally at the top!

This was a fabulous place to spend an afternoon if you are interested in history. Because of the many factions living here it was all the more interesting trying to piece together the timeline. It was such a peaceful afternoon, we were lucky that we had managed to avoid the tour buses.

Linking to Jo’s Monday Walk

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Author: Alison

Hi A nanny of two and a mum of two adult children, mum to two fur babies and wife of one. I love to travel and up until recently travelled the world, now exploring Western Australia! I play bridge, board games, read dance and blog in my spare time.

23 thoughts on “~ Amazing Albania – Butrint Archeological Park ~”

  1. What an interesting place, and well done for avoiding the tour buses! As you say Imagine the excitement on finding such historical structures

  2. I’ve never really thought of Albania as a destination, but you’re making a good case for it. So much history and lovely scenery. Maggie

  6. Amazing the legacy the Romans left behind, Ali. Their empire building is still visible all over the Med. Albania does look like an interesting venue. Thanks a lot for sharing.

  7. Those ruins set against the blue water and the mountains are so beautiful. What a treasure to get to see so many of them still standing from the Roman Empire 🙂

    1. It was for us Meg, I think if you’re interested in history then it was amazing to stand among those ruins

  9. As I said earlier, we found so many great places in Albania, although this wasn’t one of them! A very decent destination which we obviously missed out on. Interested to read where else in Albania you travelled too.

    1. I have many planned posts ..in my head at the moment! We did visit so many interesting places though 😁

  10. What a beautiful archeological park to explore, Ali. Thank you for sharing some of the places that you visited Albania with us.

  11. What an interesting area to explore, and with so few other people around to spoil the atmosphere of these ruins!

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