After a few days of rolling on the beach we went on another interesting trip around Albania. This time we used the services of a travel agency and chose from the offer of optional trips. We set out early in the morning with a local travel bus and an Albanian chauffeur. Since we have already had experience with local road transport, we were happy to be brought by someone who knows how to travel on these roads.
Here we are! Our first goal today is the extinct ancient city of Apollonia. Like Durres, Apollonia was founded by Greek settlers from Cork and Corinth. The city prospered in the time of the Greeks and Romans, and the decline occurred only after an earthquake that changed the flow of the river and turned the soil around into marshes and a paradise for epidemics such as malaria. The former famous and wealthy city gradually abandoned all residents and fell into oblivion.
It is estimated that 3 to 4% of the city is currently uncovered and that the rest is still underground and hides many monuments and archaeological finds. We could of course admire only what is above the surface of the earth and the dominant of the whole k
The omplex is clearly the Agonothetes Memorial.
Beautifully decorated columns with stone blocks on top with inscriptions on them and if you add a little imagination, then you can see in front of you built a memorial in its full beauty. And who does not have imagination, so can look at the photo, which shows the reconstruction, as it originally looked.
In addition to this we can see the Odeon - theater, the obelisk of Apollo or this turtle.
Archaeological excavations were made here by French archaeologists. However, due to lack of finances, excavations have almost stopped.
Right next to the archaeological site, in the complex of the Pollinský monastery from the 13th century, there is a museum in which are located objects found during excavations from Apollonia.
In the courtyard of the monastery is the Byzantine Church of St. Mary (Shёn Mёri), which also held a wedding. The Old Church is a popular place for wedding ceremonies, one wedding is over, we walked in, looked at each other and he was preparing another ceremony.
At the museum we admired Greek, Roman statues, ceramics in good condition, even weapons.
Appolonia is a place which is worth the attention. We went through everything we could and rushed to explore the beauty of Albania further.
Place: Albania 🇦🇱
Apollonia
Camera: Samsung wb350
My hiking trips from the High Tatras from 2019 you can see:
[https://youtu.be/0xwIuhNwyxE](https://youtu.be/0xwIuhNwyxE)
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