Korca-More Than Birre

A road trip to Korca cannot be measured in kilometers(181)/miles(108); rather one must view it as an adventure in time. And, it does take time to get there through the mountains to Elbasan; up the Shkumbinit river road past Librazhd; climbing again through mountains to reach the Macedonian border, turning sharply to the right in the direction to Lin and then down the mountains (on a newly completed road!!) past the turn off to Lin; driving Southeast along Lake Ohrid towards Pogradec; through the mountains again to reach the plain where Korca is situated. This is a picturesque drive with many opportunities to stop along the way and shoot, yep, the bunkers; and the mountains,valleys and farmlands traveled to arrive in Korca. Lake Ohrid is absolutely flat today with a mist/fog hanging over the length and breadth of the lake; sometimes you can see the fishermen, sometimes they drift in and out of sight; the surrounding mountains are snow capped and it is gorgeous today.

We are searching for the perfect restaurant along Lake Ohrid for Madlyn to try Koran; this a large lake trout indigenous to Lake Ohrid and said to be similar in taste to sea trout. We find a restaurant beautifully located on the shore of Lake Ohrid and Madlyn orders her fish for lunch. The fish is expertly grilled (smells wonderful) and lightly seasoned; Madlyn gives it a thumbs up...however, my lunch never arrives; somehow we lost something in the translation!

Back in the rental car and off in the direction of Pogradec and then Korca. The drive through Pogradec is somewhat confusing with all of the mini-buses parked in the streets and at one of the major intersections a sort of "bus station" is working; this is first-hand as we had to drive through the lot to get to our through street (SH3) to Korca.

Madlyn has booked us a room at a bed and breakfast in Korca called Sidheri, located on "Mbledhja e Beratit" just off of Republika Boulevard in Korca. It is a small B&B with only four guest rooms and as it turns out, we are the only guests for the night...we have the whole place to ourselves! Sidheri is located in a very nice neighborhood in Korca; formerly the family home of the owners who are distant cousins to the Belushi family and from the same village of Qyteza. Manja is our hostess and is warm in her welcome to her home. Our room is large and comfortable; fresh fruit on the side table; a small bathroom/shower and Sidheri has wifi available.

The dining room/kitchen is in the basement of the home and is filled with the aromas of the cooking breakfast; overwhelming us as we enter to enjoy a "traditional" Albanian breakfast that includes a wheat and milk cereal; plum jam; sausages; Korca cheese and bread; fresh juice; and coffee and tea. We definitely give a thumbs up to the Sidheri and will recommend a stay to all friends who visit Korca.
Our first night in Korca takes us along the Republika Boulevard to the intersection with Shen Gjergji Boulevard and the Christ's Revival Cathedral(1992) overlooking the large area surrounding the statue of Monument To National Fighter. The Orthodox Cathedral is the largest Orthodox Cathedral/Church in Albania.

A walk around the plaza and then we are off to locate the mosque constructed in 1496under the generosity of Iijaz Bey Mirahori; who would reside in Korca for nearly seventy (70) years of his life. Under his direction, the Bazaar in Korca was constructed and still flourishes in the city.
The mosque is still a functioning religous facility and is in good repair; although the Minaret had been damaged by an earthquake. We observed scaffolding and obvious repair work to the mosque in progress; the neighborhood is in disrepair and detracts from the beauty and the historical importance of the mosque.

We are trying to make it to the National Medieval Art Museum between the hours of 1700-1900 to see one of the largest(6500 icons) iconographic collections in the world. However, as my directional capacity would have it, we cannot find the museum. Fortunately, we meet a doctor whose nieces and nephews reside in Nashville and he guides us to the closed museum near the Orthodox Church Administrative Building. The good doctor informs us that most of the museums in Korca are not open for weekend hours...important safety tip to remember for future visits. So, off to Vasili's Restaurant for a great traditional evening meal of beef, vegetables, and cheese,and a beer too!

We are standing next to the Monument to Partisan created in 1969. This monument is located in the Martyrs'Cemetery on a hill( a long climb up the hill on the same street as Sidheri; on marble steps; then rock and concrete steps) overlooking Korca...below spreads out the city of Korca across the high mountain valley.

So, we have walked to the top; next stop the bottom and the Korca Bazaar. The bazaar apparently has every item known to mankind available in some shape or form. We wander the labrynth that contributes to the "mystic" of the bazaar; one minute we are in the "jeans/pants" section and then shoes as far as you can see and suddenly we turn a corner and we are in the nuts and bolts section!!

Across the street in the medium of the boulevard is the "banana" section with vendor upon vendor hawking bananas. I am a lover(at least one a day) of bananas and to tell the truth, I could not tell the difference from one vendor's stock compared to the next one...very little price difference. Located next to the banana sales people were the cut tobacco merchants. This was a first for Madlyn and me; we have not seen finely cut tobacco in the shape of "bread" loaves for sale on the street. You could get papers to roll your own and some really "ronco-esque" tools to stuff tobacco into your pre-rolled paper cigarette...too much fun here!

Madlyn gets me back on the the itinerary and off to find Mborja and The Ristozi Church (Christ's Resurrection Church) constructed around 898. It is about five (5) kilometers from Korca and today Mborja could be called a neighborhood of Korca. We arrive at the church after a misplaced (I really need GPS) turn or two resulting in a complete vist of the roads that comprise Mborja.It is a tiny church that sits atop a hill overlooking Mborja and the countryside. A key must be sought from the local caretakers who quickly establish no photos inside the church; too bad and I do understand. The ancient interior walls were plastered and then painted black and subsequently covered in biblical scenes and iconography...I had to duck in order to enter the very low opening into the church. The interior walls and dome were supported by trusses that in future construction were not needed to support the roof over the church. In the photograph attached you can see the original church and the addition that was later added.

I need a break after the "Where's Waldo" routine looking for The Ristozi Church; a quick stop at the famous Korca Brewery is in order for us. We walk into the brewery tavern only to discover it is apparently a "boys" club with no women, except for Madlyn(she is smiling over this one) in the bar! So we sit ourselves down and order a beer; now I happen to like Korca Dark (really cold mug), what better time than at the brewery right, no such luck, the "dark" is not available at the brewery; not enough people order it!!! Good news for beer drinkers, Korca has signed a ten (10) export agreement to the United States; soon in your area Korca Birre (including dark).

The next task in front of me is to find the road to Erseka so that we can find Boboshtica, home of famous yellow-green mulberry raki and home made rugs. We are in search of the bell tower over looking the town of Boboshtica and the valley below. We drive past ancient mulberry(which only grow here, no where else in Albania is this particular tree found) groves and modern villas side by side as we work our way to the eastern side of the city, the bell tower and St. Nicholas' Monastery.

Little did I know that Madlyn had saved the best for last...we were going to Dardha! A quick look at our map reveals that the road literally ends in Dardha; I have driven for a year in Albania and experience has taught me that if anything, maps tends to be overly generous in designating roads in Albania. I am prepared for the worst as we follow the signs (actually one sign and it is bent) from Boboshtica to Dardha. So over hill and dale we travel into the mountains past ski slopes and an ever increasing amount of snow off to the side of the road; even past a shivering man selling honey by the side of the road(middle of nowhere). We do reach Dardha and what a surprise; an excellent restaurant in the Dradha Hotel, with a view of Greece out the large picture windows. We enjoy a very fine meal accompanied by a delightful dessert of sliced apples and kiwi sprinkled with honey and walnuts.

I think we could have lingered here a little longer, however we have a mission to fulfill; we must find Korca apples and potatoes for Martha on our trip home. So you might ask, did we come to Korca for the sights or to shop for produce for Martha; I did get a shopping list after all from Martha. It doesn't matter, as we talk about our latest adventure in Albania and the incredible weather we experienced in January; the sights we saw; the people we met; and the great food and drink we thoroughly enjoyed in Korca. If anyone is wondering, we did stop and get Martha her red and gold Korca apples and her Korca potatoes. Madlyn purchased red, green, and red and yellow apples for us; and I had the opportunity to commiserate with one of the locals for a few up close and personal moments.
I highly recommend visiting Korca if you make it to this part of the world; and please if you do, ask for the "dark" Korca beer at the brewery, maybe if enough people ask we can get it on tap at the BREWERY!