Albanian Adventure of a Russian Tourist - Blue Eye & Gjirokastra -

A special guest blog, of a visit to Blue Eye & Gjirokastra.

The National Park of Blue Eye is so beautiful to me. It is composed of eighteen springs of crystal-clear drinking water and among them the King-Spring – “Blue Eye”. Sparkling with all shades of blue, it is shaped like a human eye – and the reason as to how it received the name. The blue color of the water is complemented by a green palette of vegetation around the spring. And, on dense bushes near the water, sit many dragonflies. This dragon fly species is unique to this place.

During the tour, the natural beauty of the “Blue Eye” was also harmonized with the architectural beauty of the city of Gjirokastra, which was next on my visit. Envision half of a thousand stone houses with white walls and beautiful roofs! Houses as if grown from the slopes of a steep hill framed by narrow cobbled streets. I also liked the house-museum of Enver Hoxha, the former Albanian leader, dictator. It was a large house with several floors, spacious rooms and a pretty garden – it was so pretty I wished I had one just like it. But, the crown of the city, is a half-ruined fortress, set a top of one of the hills, from which a beautiful view of the whole Gjirokastra opens! A truly special place to explore.

Satisfied with this day of touring, I did not expect that the next day’s tour, would be equally impressive.