Albanian Cultural Heritage

VLORA COUNTY
The fortified settlement of Karos
is located near the village of Qeparo
along the Qeparo River. In a location
clearly chosen for its natural defenses,
the fortress is situated atop a hill.
Approaches from nearly all directions
would require a difficult climb up a rocky
slope. The original defense walls apparently
had only one entrance. The present status
of the walls is a mere shadow of what it
used to be, but still extending for 350 m
and is approximately 3 m thick. It varies
in height, but achieves a maximum of
1.5 m in its ruined state. Two structures
behind the entrance gate would have
provided additional barriers for attackers
and suggest just how heavily fortified
this location once was. Origins of the
settlement are unknown, but artifacts
unearthed during the archaeological dig
represent a wide range of inhabitants from
the Early Iron Age to the 4th century C.E.
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The towers of Dervish Aliu,
in Dukati
The county of Vlora is very rich with other
objects. We should mention a range of
orthodox churches alongside the Albanian
Riviera as are the Chuch of Saint Mary of
Mesodhia in Vuno (1783), the Church of
Saint Spiridhoni in Vuno (1778), the Chuch
of Ipapandia in Dhërmi, the Church of Saint
Mary of Athali in Himara. The traditional
houses of Odise Kasneci in Vuno and Lilo
LLazari in Himara.
The Church of Qeparoi