TIRANA, May 7 /ATA/ – The Ethnographic Museum, the orthodox church and museum of icons in the landmark castle of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Berat, south central Albania, have attracted a large number of visitors.
The head of the National Centre of Museums in Berat, Agron Polovina told Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) on Sunday that around 8000 local and international tourists, almost twice as much compared to the same period of the previous year, visited the Iconography Onufri Museum since beginning of 2023.
“Around 1000 visitors, mainly Spanish, Germans, French and Slovenians, visited the site in the first days of May alone,” Polovin said.
Foreign tourists make up the largest share of the number of visitors to Berat’s museums and cultural heritage sites as history monuments and the cultural heritage sites are becoming top tourist destinations in Albania.
Berat, the museum city in south-central Albania also known as the city of one above another windows because of the with tiered houses on the slopes that are predominantly horizontal in layout, remains an important tourist destination that attracts local visitors and international tourists from all over the world interested in history, ancient and medieval architecture.
Berat, located in south-central Albania, around 70 km from Tirana, is one of the most beautiful towns in Albania and the Balkan Peninsula. Included on UNESCO’s world heritage list, Berat is the best well-preserved Ottoman-era city in Eastern Europe.
The city bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417.
Some of the most visited sites in Berat are the Berat Castle, the Ethnographic Musum, the Iconography Onufri Museum, Mangalem and Gorice neighbourhoods, the Halveti Tekke etc.
Berat also boasts Mount Tomorr, a site of pilgrimage for Bektashi believers that is also becoming popular for religious tourism.
/u.sh/
