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.