university of nova gorica graduate school contested spaces and ...

to village’s uphill location. Like Kudhes, Pilur is also believed to be founded during the
Ottoman period.
1.2. Geomorphological Story
The southern coast is a part of Dinaric Alps mountain range that stretches from the north-west
to the south-east of Albania. The coast from Vlorë to Dhërmi/Drimades consists of rocky
wave-cut cliffs. The coast continues in narrow plains with gravel beaches that present one
third of the Himarë/Himara coastline. After the collapse of communism some of its beaches,
such as Livadhi and Potami of Himarë/Himara, Gjipe, Jaliskari and the central beach of
Dhërmi/Drimades, and Jala of Vuno became tourist centres.
Towards inland the gravel beaches change into the landscape of evergreen vegetation, filled
with olive terraces and citrus orchards. The terrain quickly elevates from the sea for about 50
to 80 metres inland, towards hilly plains where the villages of Himarë/Himara area reside.
The area relief is typical karst. The quality of the soil is relatively poor due to the presence of
the limestone rocks (see Kabo 2004: 21). This condition has resulted in fragmented
landholdings and limited agricultural productivity of the region. Therefore the area is more
suitable for sheep and goat breeding, cultivation of olives, oranges, vines and corn in addition
to the fishing by the coast.
The climate is Mediterranean. The average winter temperatures range from 10 to 12 degrees
with the coldest month in January. The average summer temperatures vary from about 25 to
37 degrees with the hottest month in August (from Pano, Thodorjani, Mustaqi, et.al. 2006:
108).
47