Albania - a tasty morsel for tourists (the ending part 2) Actually, we arrived in Shkodra, to find some transport to the village of Teti. This village is situated in a valley in a remote part of the Albanian mountains. In Aunt has long tourists come to admire the beautiful nature. But there is another attraction in the village, which Aunt dressed against the background of many villages like her - "shut up" tower. Valley of the Aunts in the 18-19 centuries in Albania flourished custom of blood feud. It all started with the fact that members of one family or clan of the unjust act committed against members of another family or clan. Member of the offended clan had to return "the favor" by killing someone in the first clan. In response, members of the first clan killed someone from the second clan, and all this could drag on for decades. In all this habit involved only young men, and they alone risked their lives defending the honor of his clan. The custom of blood feuds was surprisingly very strict rules and well-controlled on both sides. If I may say so, to some extent, it was civilized. Revenge and murder were so predictable that after the murder of a member of the family members of rival branches, the rest of the men injured party had nothing to fear. Never was a "second murder for good measure," or "killing the entire clan, to finally take revenge." The members of the opposing family after committing murder, for which they were sent into a strange village, just got home and waited for revenge, which, as they knew, be sure to follow. "Trapped" in the tower Aunt Interestingly, members of the clan have always been aware of, will they kill someone from the rival clan, and now came their turn to be afraid to die. They either hunted or waiting for - the other could not be. Also, never had any confusion as to in what situation is now in the clan. Just for this purpose and need were "locked up" the tower. When the men of the clan gave her an awfully long time and kill someone from the clan enemies, they were transformed from the hunters to their prey. They hurried home and hid in the tower. These buildings were constructed so that the top opened up a good visibility in all directions, and it was impossible to ambush the inhabitants of the tower. The tower could easily protect and from bullets. In these towers the village men could live for months. Maybe they were safe, but most likely they were terribly boring. Probably, something it was like prison. While the men sit in his tower, children, women and old people should have been working in the field and wait for any help from men they do not have. So, even though all other family members and were not involved in this bloody tradition, he still had a strong influence on the course of their lives. Amphitheater in Durres custom of blood revenge was abolished in the mid XX century, and most of the "locked" the towers were destroyed. One of the few remaining towers just in my aunt. It seems that the Albanians have to re-erect their towers in the near future because the past two decades, some clans are once again revived the custom of blood feud. Venetian Tower in Durres After Aunt, we came back to Tirana, where we picked up a rental car and went to the six-day journey through different regions of Albania. The old town of Berat Our first stop was in the city of Durres, which is located on the coast. Of course, the main attraction is its beaches of Durres. Although the day of our arrival and it was hot, but the beaches we were interested not so much. We would like to see the Roman ruins. There's excavations, and have already been released from captivity remains of an earthen baths, a forum and a large amphitheater, which has its own interesting story. It was built in the second century AD and has long been used for legitimate purposes, until one day the city was not destroyed by the earthquake. Tremors damaged the amphitheater as strongly that it was impossible to restore the building, and abandoned. Later part of the ruins were used as a church, and even staged a cemetery here. In the end, the ancient Roman amphitheater all forgotten, and the locals began to build homes in its place. Once, in the mid 60's. the last century, the land under a house subsided, and some buildings collapsed in the formed hole. This was not expected, as all believed that house was built on a solid foundation. When they began to dig, to understand the reason for this failure, discovered an amphitheater. And to this day over the ruins are home, so that part of the amphitheater is still underground. However, the part that failed to unearth looks so impressive that it is really worth seeing. Fortress in Berat During a visit to Durres, we also walked along the shore. There we saw a fortified tower that was built in the XVI century. It was built when the Durres was a member of the Venetian Republic, the state that existed in southern Europe during VIII to XVIII centuries. The church in Durres Berat After we went into town Berat. It is a picturesque old town. Here, too, has its own castle, which rises on a hill above the town. Inside the fortress there are homes in which the still living people. Therefore, more appropriate to call the top of the fortified city of Berat, than a fortress. Despite the fact that this part of town is a tourist attraction, and the entrance fee is necessary to pay the money, and tourists walking through its streets, believing that it is a museum at the same time there are people who call it their home and in fact live there. This is not a single case in the world, but still unusual. Rue George W. Bush the way, we have not managed to find out why one of the main streets in Tirana is named after George W. Bush. Start material:
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