Elbasani travel guide

Elbasan (Albanian: Elbasan or Elbasani) is a city in central Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin River in the District of Elbasan and the County of Elbasan, at It is one of the largest cities in Albania, with a population of around 100,000 (2003 estimate) and an area of 1,290 km².
Elbasan was - until the beginning of the Second World War - one of the most pleasant and unspoilt Ottoman cities in Albania, with a mixture of eastern and medieval buildings, narrow cobbled streets and a large bazaar where Turkish could still be heard. There was a clearly defined Christian settlement within the castle walls, a Vlach district on the outskirts of the city and several fine mosques and Islamic buildings. At the time the population was about 15,000 people.
The distinguished English journalist J.D. Bourchier, then the Balkan correspondent of The Times, records that on a visit in 1911 he saw:
"The population celebrating Bairam in central space: wonderful primitive merry-go round with gypsy minstrels (flute and drum), pushed round by the men with poles; also a cartwheel poised on a tree top; pekhilvans(clowns) wrestling, mostly refugees from Dibra, thus gaining a precarious livelihood." (...) more....

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