There is no road to go to Berat. It is a Muslim city, at the entrance of a mouth of the river Apsus (Osumi – my note) and it takes 15 hours by horse to get there from Vlora. There are almost no roads and the city is Muslim. Its minarets can be seen from far and wide, holding white houses with gardens. At the gates of the city, after leaving the old cemetery, in the center you will find the bazaar. There he meets the “pilgrim” in green clothes and the hodja with the turban on his head, as well as Turkish military and functionaries. There are also Gege and Vlachs, or merchants from this Byzantine area of the Belgrade of the Middle Ages. There I was received by Anthim Aleksudhi, metropolitan of a large diocese, an orthodox bishop and an excellent prelate, with a lot of culture. He was devoted to archeology and was a member of the Council of Constantinople. When they talk about him, they always mention the epithet “Friend of art” and he deserved it.
Anthimi also found a number of Jews in Berat who were spotted with black hoods on their heads. But the population, as well as the language, is Albanian. The town above is surrounded by a half-ruined Byzantine wall, where there are no shops or mosques. There is the house of the bishop and his holiness the metropolitan. All people are Orthodox. I went down to the Kala neighborhood and took..”
Uegen publishing house
Year 2019
Number of pages 281
