Inside Eastern Europe’s Hidden Medieval City

Inside Eastern Europe’s Hidden Medieval City

Barat, the city of a thousand windows. We’ve heard that this is often people’s favorite city in Albania, but we weren’t sure what to expect. Then we found ourselves walking through Barat’s long history. It really kind of feels like we’re on top of the world up here, coming face to face with the smiles of the friendliest locals and then finishing at a five-star dining experience that we’ll never forget. That was a whole 2-hour dinner experience and it was delicious. But not everything today goes smoothly as let’s just say Sarah has a moment when plans don’t exactly go her way. Is it closed? Oh no. So stick around until the end because we’re about to take you on a whirlwind journey through the beating heart of Albania. Welcome to Bat. And what better place to start our day out here than the castle, the main attraction in the city. [Music] So this is the map of the castle of Bart and there are like nine churches inside. So I guess we will spend a lot of time visiting it all. So it looks like most castles like we visited here in Albania. There is an old town inside the castle itself. It’s not just the ruins and people still live here and drive in. So now we’re inside the walls. Which way should we go? I feel like we should go right side. Right side first. Yes. I I we checked them up, but I’m not really sure what is what. Oh, maybe we can go. Let’s go there. Let’s go there. Let’s see the view. Do you think are we allowed to just walk? I mean, there’s a fence here. That leads me to believe that you can just walk on it. Oh my god, it looks so beautifully maintained. And actually, because we drove straight up to the castle, we didn’t stop anywhere else. We’re getting our first look over a view of Barat down there in the valley. We should go up onto this tower and see what it looks like up here from the top. There are people that are literally walking on the how do you call it? The wall. The wall of the castle. So, we’re going to try to do that, too. Oh, yeah. Can I do it, too? Why not? You can do anything you put your mind to. Okay. Oh my god, that’s so cool. It really kind of feels like we’re on top of the world up here. Like, you got a full 360° view. It’s really cool. A damn it. Sarah has reached an obstacle. It’s a big one. Come on. and 10 out of 10 gymnastics. Thank you. There are so many people living in this sport still and I believe that most of them they decided to transform their houses into guest house or bars or restaurants because I believe this is not only a bar but it’s also a house of someone. [Music] Why do they always build castles at the top of hills? It’s like they wanted a good vantage point or something. I think we’re going to head towards the mosques. The mosque, which it looks like a big chimney, but is the same type of mosques that we saw when we were in Korea. There are so many small roads that they all look so pretty because they are all made with these rocks, which I guess are rocks from the mountain here around. And they all look so picturesque. And there are so many accommodations up here as well. I had no idea there was so many places to stay inside the castle. I agree. And honestly, I was literally just thinking about it. Maybe we’re going to stay down in Barat because it’s the place to be kind of. But I wonder if it even makes sense to just stay inside the castle of Barat because it’s literally filled with guest houses. And also a ton of different restaurants and stuff that all look absolutely delicious. And some of them have like amazing views out over the city. Yeah, I think the view here is probably a 10 out of 10. Literally, look at that. Oh, baby. Look at this. What is it? It’s full of olives. It’s your happy place. Usually, I see olive trees when we pass with the car. You see a tons of them, but I think I never really saw them from this close and it’s literally full of them. Ryan doesn’t like olives. [Music] Show me. probably I just said very delicious, but that’s all I know how to say. Very good. We’ll find out in the comments. We’ve been in this castle now for about maybe 20 minutes exploring and we’ve come across our first information plaque. Ah, it’s a cathedral, I think. Is it? Or something. It said on the map there was a bunch of cathedrals here. Oh, it’s the church of St. George. It was built as a basilica type of church, but no, that’s it. That’s what it says. It was and it was transformed in 1981 to 1982 into a tourist spot. Yeah. But what type of tourist spot? Because right now it looks very abandoned. Still very very cool. I want you to go inside that door over there. This one? Yeah. Show us what’s inside. Okay. Oh, is it the toilet? No, but it might have been one of the other churches. It reminds me. It’s very tiny. I really don’t know. I believe that is a small chapel because the entrance is rounded and here it’s very chapel shaped. So it might be one of them. Maybe it was a fridge. Well, I could stay here to be prepared from the sun, honestly. Yes. What is your name? S. Uh John John S. Bravo. Prison prison. No church. Not prison. Church. A church. Church. Oh, okay. Okay. John. So, we just followed John’s direction and went down these like set of steps that are very slippery, so be careful. But they brought us to a point that’s pinned on the map as Barat viewing platform. So, I assume this is going to be one of the better viewpoints in the city. You can stay here some side tracks. Oh, wow. So cool. That is one hell of a view over the city. Oh my god. I hear there is that down here. This thing is the new bridge. And we’re staying in a hotel somewhere here. And then across that side is the Geritza neighborhood. And then this side where we’re staying is the Mangalm neighborhood. And then over there, all of that is like nubat. And you can see all the small restaurants with the terrace where we can have dinner or lunch or breakfast. It’s so pretty. I don’t know why. I think we should have stay here longer than one day. I wonder if this telescope works. Oh, it’s a nah. You going to just put in there some sense? No, not it’s empty. [Music] We’re coming up to that chimney that Sarah saw earlier. So, we’re going to find out if it’s a mosque because I have my doubts. Oh, you’re right. Right. It’s the red mosque of Barat Castle. It’s very unique looking though because it literally looks like a chimney. It was built immediately after the Ottoman invasion in 1417. We are heading into what’s called the Acropoly which I believe means city in Greek. Yeah, it includes so many things including the Waten Sister, the Trinity Church, the White Mosque, old bazaar, the 360 panorama, and the fortress. Like is not all of this the fortress already. [Music] Welcome to the water system. Where is it? Yeah, I was wondering the same. I think is here. There’s got to be a system around here somewhere. Oh, it’s this one. It’s kind of behind a fence. Well, it doesn’t look like a system either. No, it looks like a house or something. But there are some wall some holes on the top. So, maybe they were pouring water from there. I don’t know. I don’t know. Definitely not going to be able to pick it up on the mic, but we can hear bats in system. Oh, actually, if you watch it from here, it looks super deep. It’s supposed to hold a lot of rain water. Wow. But I think I can’t see the end. I think it’s about like 20 30 m probably. I wonder what this building was used for back in the day. It was probably one of the 10 churches here around cuz on the other side of this wall there is the Holy Trinity Church. So I don’t know if this was the destroyed part and in front of it there is the not destroyed part. Oh wow. Oh, that’s so cool. Views all around. Okay. Oh, there’s the church. We’re walking down to the church and like every other castle or fortress we’ve visited in Albania so far, the cobblestones are so slippery. The church’s signed triada represent the perfect construction of the inscribed cross church of the provincial type in Birati preserved the only fresco of the Bizantine period. So probably it’s inside. Ah, unfortunately it’s locked. Yeah. Uh but I think it’s open from 5 to 6. So maybe people can come here at sunset and watch it inside. I have to say though, I think so far Barat Castle is the place where I saw the most group tours. Yeah, out of all the castles we’ve been to in Albania, this is definitely the busiest. And to finish our tour to Barat Castle, this is the White Mosque. It was building in the middle of 15th century. And it’s amazing that this fort has so many churches and mosque. Like they were mixing religion without any problem. Oh, this is so narrow. She’s right. This is a very tight staircase. Oh, hello. Oh, almost fell. I don’t know if this kind of feels wrong, but we are standing currently on top of the mosque. This is where the minouette would have been right here. There are still the stairs. I’m not sure if you can go up, but there are the stairs up. Nah, I’m good. I’m good, babe. Thanks. So, we finished our time in the castle. We have made it back to the car now. And the plan is to go and see if we can check into the hotel. Hopefully, we can check in a little bit early. And we’re going to ask the hotel owner what restaurant we should book for dinner to see if we can find something like locally recommended. I’m super excited. Is it this one? I think so. What? I think press the bell. What is even the name that one? Benan Bedani [Music] booking. It’s nice and cool in here. Tea coffee. Do you want your coffee? I’m okay. It’s a bit hot. Yeah. Yeah. We one question. Is is for us. Pop is pop. Okay. Okay. [Music] [Music] Oh, 70 years old. Wow. Ah, you’re young. You’re young. And in Italy and sa. Yeah, because Okay. Okay. Okay. We have a restaurant here behind. Okay. Honestly, you see guys, this is what I mean. Like every time we come and we meet local people, they’re just the best. They come and they hug you and they give you kisses and they grab your hand to show you something. They give us multivitamin drinks. I can do one of those. I can do what? Let’s get one of them. We forgot to drink to eat. So, just a slight change of plan. Instead of going to the recommended restaurant for dinner, we’re going to go there for lunch instead. And she recommended Zopia. Hello. Can we get one uh brusqueta for starter? The shish kebab with garnish. And you want And can I have please the chicken ga? Oh, amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Uh YouTube. So the first we have is brusqueta. And the brand is still warm. Cheers. Cheers. Yeah, pretty good. I had my doubt before because I saw the piece of cheese in it, but it tastes delicious. Thank you so much. Thank you. Is this a family restaurant? Really? My grandparents house. Oh, really? So, you take over the Yeah, it was uh No, it was just at home and they clip it and make the restaurant. That’s amazing. I love it. Shishka. Brilliant. Thank you. Fantastic. Thank you so much. Oh, that looks yum. That looks good as well, doesn’t it? Oh my god. Kind of looks like a battered sausage from the UK. Really? I never had one. This Oh my god. Yes. Look at that. Oh my god. The cheese. Okay, let me I’m kind of jealous now. Yeah. Wait, let me look at that push [Applause] and have a little bit of meat with a little bit of satsiki that Sarah’s been demolishing. M I mean I think this restaurant was a 10 out of 10 recommendation from the lady at the hotel for sure. I’m going to try the potato. And I mean from the UK I am a bit of a potato snob, especially when it comes to roasty potatoes like this. It tastes like home. Try a potato. Try a potato. You know, like they look like they’ve been made from home. I didn’t know if the flavor was the same thing, but let’s see. That’s mama’s potatoes. potatoes. Yeah, that really was a 10 out of 10 restaurant option. If you are in Barat, you have to go and have lunch or dinner there. It’s delicious. Now, let’s go explore a little bit more of the town. [Music] So, Barat is generally split into two separate neighborhoods across the river. One side is Magdalm, which traditionally in the past was the more Muslim Ottoman side, and the other side is Goritza, which is more traditionally the Christian side. So, what we’re going to do is explore both. And we’re thinking about starting with Magdalm and then crossing over the Goritza bridge into Geritza, exploring Geritza, and then coming back across into Magdalm via the new bridge and just checking out everything in between. [Music] Welcome to the Mangalm area which is the Ottoman part of Berat and uh here we’re going to explore it. So this neighborhood is like characterized by Ottoman architecture as I mentioned earlier and it’s these narrow streets with these tall stone buildings and cobblestone pavements and it’s so pretty. It’s like stepping back in time into a completely different era. And this place is protected by a UNESCO and has been since 2008 specifically for that architecture. So, it’s really cool to come and just like wander around and really experience it. [Music] Oh, hello Kitty. Oh, Belly’s Gins. Should we go up this way? It looks very interesting. It’s full of different levels of the road. It’s beautiful. It really looks like being into a mountain town or something to build it all. Be careful of the very Asian style electrical electric. [Music] Yeah, you found it. I found it. There is one thing in Barat that Sarah really wanted to do. Is it closed? Oh no. I don’t even have words to describe my sadness for this moment. Your disappointment. It’s a very huge disappointment because we waited almost 3 months to come here and the time that we arrived here they are not only closed for vacation here. They also close for vacation in a restaurant where they also have a experience. So that’s it. Well, welcome guys to this amazing restaurant wine window where they serve you the wine throughout a window that of course is closed because it’s holiday for them now and so we won’t have the opportunity to experience it. But let’s put a big smile and let’s go to find another place that serve wine because I need one. Tomorrow is my birthday. For context that Sarah didn’t give, this here is Albania’s first ever wine window. And for just €3 for a red or a white, you can usually ring the bell and then they’ll give you a wine through the window. It’s a shame because like Sarah said, there are two things that we really wanted to do in Barat that are closed for vacation. But it just gives us another reason to once again come back another time and drink a goddamn glass of wine out of that goddamn window. I feel defeated. I really This is the type of experience that I love. the secret spot, the hidden gems, and spending all this time in a country and arriving here and not being able to experience is like is heartbreaking. I’m sure tomorrow’s going to be open because they tomorrow. So, can we come here in the morning? I suppose the silver lining though is this neighborhood is severely pretty. It is something to behold. It’s super interesting because this morning when we were in Barat Castle, it was full of people, but right now here there is no one. We’ve come across a few other people, but generally very quiet, but then again, I don’t think there’s like loads to do here. I think you just sort of walk through it and admire it. Maybe stop for a drink or one of the restaurants. But yeah, we made it out of Mangalm and it’s incredible how much noise there is here compared to out there. [Music] Welcome to the Garita Bridge which is also the most famous or one of the most famous Ottoman bridges in all Albania. It was built for the first time in boots in 1780s and then of course they had to renew it in proper bricks in 1920s and then they decided to refurbish in 2015 and nowadays we are working on it. And the Gerita Bridge is a famous Ottoman bridge that connects both neighborhoods of Barat. So, the Mangalm neighborhood over to the Gerita neighborhood. And this was the original bridge before the newer bridge was built, which we’re going to go have a look at later. So, we’re going to do one big circuit all the way around. But in the meantime, this bridge is it could put some of the ones in London to shame. Fun that you say that because it looks like the British flag, the Union Jack. And the views from this bridge are pretty cool as well. You can see all of Gerita neighborhood to one side to your right as you’re coming across. And then you can also see the castle that we were at earlier up on the top of the mountain which is really cool and makes me very happy that we have a car so we didn’t have to walk up and down to get there. And also quite often at the right time of year this river when it’s higher can be kayed along or rafted along. And there’s a man down there fishing in it at the moment. Oh yeah sure. I see like a naked man in the middle of the grass. But now I’m super excited because all this area it’s quite big but it’s also very easy to go from one side to the other. And we are heading up there, but it’s only five minutes walk. And we’re going to look for some wine. [Music] And now we’re walking into the grits quarter, which historically was where all the Christians were pushed when the Ottoman Empire invaded and occupied here. So we’re on the other side of the river now. And from what I’ve read, this side generally seems to be in more disrepair with more abandoned houses and less hotels and less restaurants, but apparently still very beautiful. The first thing I notice is generally the streets here are wider than they are over in Mangalm. At least it doesn’t feel as cramped. But then there’s something magical about the narrow streets over there. For sure. He’s a kitty. Sometimes you forget that you’re allergic to cats. I know, but I call them and then I ask you to pet them for me. Okay. No, not that one. You should let them come to you first. like to ginness beer and snacks €16. €16 or to Albanian pie snacks €8 to Abro snack 15. But I think I don’t know what I want. I’m just excited. Let’s go. Cheers. Cheers. It’s appar time. Oh, I need to give it. It looks like a good glass. I wonder if it’s a good apperol. Oh, that’s that’s pretty good. That’s like a 6.8 out of 10. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. What’s this place called? Oh my god. I’m sorry for my pronunciation, but it’s beer and wine by Traita and Barati. Yeah, but it’s a lovely little spot. It’s like on tears on the way down the side of the mountain. It’s also got an amazing view over the mountain with ruins halfway up. It’s really cool. It’s beautiful. It’s really Oh, yeah. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. Yeah, just whatever. And it’s a really nice time of the afternoon to just kick back and relax and indulge in some alcohol. I agree. What do you think so far about Birat? I think Barat is a cute little village. There’s not a whole ton of stuff to do outside of the castle and the two neighborhoods. I don’t know what it’s like down in the new town so much because if you Google like things to do in Barat or a lot of YouTube videos like we watched, no one really went that way. So, I’m unsure if there’s anything to do over there as well. So, I think like you can come and do Barat in a day. I totally agree with this. The only reason why I will stay a little bit longer is simply because there are so many nice restaurants super well rated around. You can sit in your hotel all day and just eat really or get a wine, get a drink. Plus, the viewpoints are thousand and thousand. You can literally go everywhere and have a beautiful view. Anyway, cheers guys and then we’ll catch up after we’ve indulged in an apperal. This is for you. We found the church of Sansperion. This is like one of the only things to do like attractions in Gorita neighborhood. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It has been built between the 18th and 19th centuries and is still standing here. So, like I mentioned before, this is traditionally the Christian neighborhood of the city as opposed to the more Ottoman Muslim neighborhood the other side of the river. So, it kind of makes sense that there’s a church here to go and visit. For some reason, I left the DJI pocket with Sarah to film me walking. But, she’s not coming in because she doesn’t feel comfortable coming into churches dressed in just shorts. But this place is actually beautiful. It’s €1 donation to come in. Oh, she came in. You let me go inside. But anyway, like the inside of this is beautiful. They got murals all along the side of the walls. These beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I wonder if they still do mass here. This was built during the Ottoman rule. They allowed the church to be built. It really was a Christian neighborhood. Yeah, it’s a pretty cool place to stop though if you’re in the area. Refreshing and cooler. Yeah. Get out the sun. Light up candle. And we pray for whoever is up there to watch over us, to watch over our family, to pray for our beloved that are not in their court anymore. So here we go. Come with me. Make a prayer. Oh, it’s going to go out. [Music] Do a little prayer. [Music] You can’t go. [Music] There’s a another church here in the Gita neighborhood, but I don’t I don’t think we need to go in another one. Do you want to go in another one? We already saw like 15 churches today. I think I’m good. I’m good to go to the next spot. So, we’ve just spent like probably like 30 minutes trying to take photos and thumbnails here, but we’re at an amazing viewpoint over Barat and Sarah’s going to show it to you. Do I even need to explain why is this city called the city of the thousand window? Look at it. It’s incredible. Apart from the obvious reason, all these houses has multiple window that are separated on a specific amount of centimeters. So, they have literally window window. And when you look at from this perspective, it looks like they literally have 10 window per house. But as we saw in our guest house, only in our room, we have four window. We can actually see them from here. And it’s stunning. Oh my god, there is an ugly teddy bear up there hanging out the window. And I just Googled why. And basically here, they use it to chase away the evil and bring good luck into your house and push out the bad luck apparently. And to finish off our circuit of the neighborhoods of Barat today, this is Ura Veru Bridge. It was built in 2002, so way before the Gerita Bridge was renovated to give another connection between the Gerita and the Mangal neighborhood. It’s not quite as nice as a Gerita bridge though, let’s be honest. It’s very new. Anyway, should we uh hurry up? I think we have a dinner appointment. Yeah, it’s a little while later. It’s dinner time. We’re back in a Gita quarter. Just walking into the restaurant. We have put some nice clothes on. Sarah looks very sexy in her dress. Ready for dinner. I took a shower and in true Sarah fashion, we are running late for our reservation. So, we’re trying to get there. But it’s so cool actually. Once the sun’s gone down, it gets really cool here and the lights start coming on. People are out. It’s very lively. I kind of like the vibe. Very holiday vibe. I would say there are a lot of families around the people and also group that probably did the group tour here and now they’re going out to eat in the evening and it’s it’s so cool. Hi. Hello. Um, I book a table for two people. You are? Yes. Yes. I don’t have a name. I just text. Oh, that’s perfect. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. Thank you so much. Oh my god. Is with all the fairy lights in the background. It’s so beautiful. It’s so pretty. So, they have this descation menu. Descation station. Deation. They have this station menu, which is essentially like a set meal for €28 for two people. And it comes with starters, like a mix of traditional starters, a mix of traditional mains, and then a dessert and some raki. And we’re going to get that along with some white wine. Cheers, sexy princess. Cheers, babe. Pre-birth white wine for you. Thank you, babe. Love you. I love you, too. It’s a good white wine. That is a good white wine. Okay, so our starter has come. Along with our white wine, we have a five vegetable salad. The fagessa, which is ricotta cheese baked, and then this is goats cheese baked with yogurt sauce, a nice bit of cheddar cheese, olives, and some peppers. And this is what all the starter looks like on one plate. Looks like a good amount of food for a starter. Starters has been absolutely demolished. Approve. Yeah, same. Same. Ready for main. The first half of the mains has arrived. We have a stuffed eggplant, a stuffed pepper with rice, and traditional berk. We love berk. We’re already trying so many different sauces and so good. Main cause part one approved. So main course part two has turned up. We got two traditional meatballs. Shish chicken kebab done in the oven and viona steak which is basically battered steak. This one is basically the same that I had for lunch but instead of chicken it’s going to be beef and I’m very excited for it. What an alcoholic. It’s good wine. Main’s part two also approved. I think Sarah’s struggling a bit though. She got some left on her plate. Which one do you like more? Cinnamon paper. That one. You try the other one. What was the other one? Roses. Roses. I’ll try that one. Why not? We did get different rackies, so we’re going to try half and half. Ready? Let’s go. Cheers. Yes. [Music] Oh, I like mine. It’s good. It’s really nice. [Music] [Laughter] I think I need a new girlfriend. I need one that can handle her shots. It is now 9:00. That was a whole 2-hour dinner experience. And it was delicious. The food was superb. The atmosphere was superb. The alcohol was amazing. And my belly is so full right now. If you’re ever in Barat, then you definitely need to go check out that restaurant. But you do have to book in advance because there was people waiting for tables while we were sitting there eating. They were literally still waiting right now, which was 9:00. And it kind of like makes sense because we were there for so long, I feel like, for like a dinner experience. But anyway, it’s night time. Barat is lit up. If you enjoyed this video, like. If you want to see more travel adventures, subscribe. And we will catch you next week in Per, the adventure capital of the world, and Sarah’s birthday. Woo! See you there, guys.

Berat is one of two UNESCO protected cities in Albania, and it’s easy to see why! We’d only heard amazing things about Berat, and so we were stoked to finally come and visit for ourselves!

Located at the heart of Albania, our adventure through Berat took us along a historic journey through Berat Castle, helped us experience the Ottoman period through the Mangalem & Gorica Quarter’s, and of course included tons of local homemade Albanian food!

Join us as we explore Berat together!

#berat #beratalbania #albania #albaniatravel

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*CHAPTERS:*
00:00 Intro
00:44 Berat Castle
10:15 Checking in (Adorable hosts!)
12:23 Traditional homemade lunch
14:23 About Berat’s layout
15:00 Mangalem Neighbourhood
16:33 Sara’s disappointment
18:42 Gorica bridge
24:59 Berat View Point & Ura e Varur
26:48 5* Dinner Experience (2300+ REVIEWS!)