Gjirokaster

I see now that almost all of my post titles are the same. Trying to change it up here.

Gjirokaster is a city in southern Albania that has UNESCO World Heritage Site status. A large part of Albania's history was under the rule of the Ottoman sultans out of Istanbul. Across Albania, there are remnants of that history in the architecture -- in particular this style of house:

This is a single house, separated into two sides -- one for the men and the other for the women -- to comply with Ottoman Islamic custom. Gjirokaster is known for these houses, and this picture shows a few on the hillside (click on it to see a larger version):

Several of the houses are being renovated.

Gjirokaster also has a large castle overlooking a broad valley.

The south of Albania is rich agricultural land, so the castle has a very strategic location. The clock tower is the most recognizable feature:

The castle has lots of nooks and crannies to explore and some impressive views of the land around it:

The castle also houses an armaments museum:

Visit to Kiev

I had the good fortune to participate in some training in Kiev a few weeks ago, so I got to see some of the city and see some old friends.

The first thing I saw was this guy driving down the highway...

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Hopefully, it's possible to see that the car has protective (I assume) metal tubing wrapping all the way around it. I asked our driver if cars like this were common in Ukraine. He said no.

On our way to the hotel from the airport, the driver took us to see this impressive statue. The Soviet Union sure knew how to do monumental statuary.

The training didn't allow for much time to see the city, but during a walk, we came across the funicular that saved people from having heart attacks climbing a hill.

Kiev also has many Orthodox churches, painted in beautiful bright colors and usually gold trim. This one was really nice.

Visit to Berat

Actually, I've been to Berat one time before, but I guess I never got around to posting any photos. I wasn't all that happy with how they looked. Taking advantage of the long weekend, I went back. Berat is one of the oldest cities in Albania, and it's fascinating design and architecture enabled it to become a UNESCO World Heritage site. The main attractions of the city are its whitewashed houses built onto the side of two hills on opposite sides of the river, and the castle at the top which is still home to dozens of families.

Return to Tetovo

After seeing how Struga has changed since I left Macedonia in 2007, I wanted to see if Tetovo had changed in the intervening years. I didn't notice too much change -- a few more buildings between where my apartment used to be and the university, and more coffee bars along the river, but not much.

This is an old Turkish bath that was converted into a museum not long after I left. There were only a few items hanging on the walls on the day that I went.

The Painted Mosque has defied my many attempts to take a good picture of it. At least the sun was cooperative this time, and you can get a sense of the colors.

Trip to Armenia

Over Christmas, I visited a friend in Yerevan, Armenia. One of the benefits of this job is having friends in interesting places all over the world. The city of Yerevan was typical Soviet-style architecture, but outside the city were two amazing historical locations. The Geghard Monastery was originally established in the 4th century, and you can easily feel the history of the place. Even newer construction is still hundreds of years old. We arrived at a time when the lighting was great for taking photos, and the incense from a service was still hanging in the air when we were able to go inside the main chapel. Simply beautiful.

On the road up to Geghard is another fantastic piece of ancient history. This Greek temple is the only one I've seen that is still completely intact. This is the back side of the temple, and it was too dark to photograph the other side, but it is so well-preserved that it was possible to imagine that it could still be in use today.

Overlooking the city of Yerevan is the massive statue of Mother Armenia. The way she holds the sword is meant to make the statue resemble a cross. A bit of a poke in the eye to the Soviets from the oldest Christian country in the world.

Trip to London

Over Thanksgiving, I went to visit a friend in London. The trip was short, but I did get to see some interesting things. Like Big Ben...

Buckingham Palace...

And Trajan's Column in the Victoria and Albert Museum. I'm not sure this photograph really captures how enormous this thing is. It's a reproduction of the original, split into two parts to fit inside the building. Carved into the column are pictograms showing Trajan's victory over Dacian tribes.

Last Road Trip in Timor-Leste

After two years and many road trips for work, there was one spot that I hadn't seen, despite being relatively close to Dili and on the way to other places I'd been. Maubara is home to an old Portuguese fort that is now a tourist site. There is also a nice handicraft market across the street from the fort. On this last trip before departing Timor, I realized why I had never seen the fort -- I had always been looking for the handicraft market. Since they are directly opposite each other, I didn't see it until my colleagues pointed it out. I was glad to have a chance to take some photos before leaving Timor.

The purpose of this last road trip was the launch of a project in Oecusse. I had posted some photos from an earlier trip, but I had a chance to take a few more.

This marker shows the historic spot where the Portuguese landed in Timor. The 500th anniversary was in 2015, and the government was making a big effort to create a nice tourist area around the spot.