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Gjirokastra, Albania
Gjirokastra is known as the City of Stone for its distinctive Ottoman-era tower houses built from local grey stone, with slate roofs cascading down a steep hillside below a massive 13th-century castle. The houses follow a unique architectural style — part fortress, part residence — with ground-floor cisterns, defensive features, and ornate upper-floor living quarters. The birthplace of both Enver Hoxha and novelist Ismail Kadare, the city's modern history is as layered as its architecture. The castle houses a military museum with captured weaponry and a US Air Force plane from the Cold War era.
explore by interest
The town is extremely steep — wear sturdy shoes with grip on the polished cobblestones. Accommodation in restored tower houses is the best way to experience the architecture from inside.
April through October. The Gjirokastra National Folklore Festival, held every five years, fills the castle with traditional music and dance. Summer evenings are pleasant at altitude.