Guildford Travel Club Presents

Albania

21st October 2014

Oliver Gilkes

The Speaker
The polychrome pavement of the baptistery of Butrint, an exceptional 6th century AD pavement

Starting with an overview of the country, and challenging popular misconceptions, Oliver will discuss why this misunderstood country has so much of interest now that it has opened its doors.

We will visit Tirana, the World Heritage Site of Butrint, and the evocative medieval city of Gijrokastra and hear about travelling to Albania today.

Oliver is a widely respected archaeologist who has visited Albania many times to uncover its secrets. Oliver worked for over ten years as a field archaeologist in Italy, before moving across the Adriatic to Albania, where he worked at Butrint and Gijrokastra. He is still involved in a number of projects in Albania.


Butrint
Butrint Albania's first Unesco World Heritage Site
Painting
The walls of Durres, from a painting by Edward Lear
Gjirokastra
Street corner at the Ottoman city of Gjirokastra
Icon
A sixteenth century icon the life giving source combining both Christian and Muslim iconography
bunkers
Bunkers old and new in the Drinos Valley in southern Albania
Moscow conference
The Moscow Conference - Enver Hoxha denounces the Soviet revisionists
Archaeology
The Italian Archaeological Mission in the theatre at Butrint in 1931
Ethem Bey
The painted cupola of the mosque of Ethem Bey in Tirana
Berat
The walls of the Medieval citadel of Berat