Delvinë

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View over Delvinë, left in the backround the castle hill

Delvinë is a small town in Southern Albania, for 16 km northeast from Saranda. Delvinë is principal place of the circle of the same name. Delvinë lost since 1990 at least one third of its citizens and has today still 4,200 inhabitants (estimation 2004).

The city is because of a mountain-slope. It has a mosque and an orthodox church. On close convenient mountain are the remainders of a medieval castle. In the level underneath the city is the antique Phoinike.

Beside the state it hardly gives employer. Also of could Delvinë do not boom-end tourism in Saranda yet profit directly.

In the middle age Delvinë was a part of the Despotat of Epirus. In the middle of the 14th century the aristocracy family Shpata has taken the rule over Delvinë. 1354 are testified Peter Shpata as owners of castle and city.

[edit] Bloom time under the Turkey

The Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi visited around 1670 Delvinë and gives some information about the city in his travel book. It knows to report that Delvinë in the Middle Ages was first in Spanish hand (with Spaniards the Catalan mercenaries are probably gemeit, in 14. Century their nuisance in Epirus and Greece floated). Afterwards the Venezianer some time rulers was over the city. To Evliya Çelebis times was Ajaz pasha, a native Albanian, Sandschak Bey of Delvinë. The Sandschak of Delvinë covered 24 Zeamets and 155 Timare. There was a Turkish garrison, whose command on the castle was from Delvinë. According the description of Çelebis the small fortress had a good cisterne, an ammunition depot and a small mosque. In the city reports Çelebi were about 100 houses covered with bricks had. These stood relatively far apart and nearly each house were provided with a fastened tower. But a townwall was missing. There was several mosques, three Medreses and about 80 stores as well as an open market place.

In 17th century was Delvinë thus a flowering eastern city with predominantly Muslim population. Orthodox Christians probably lived in the adjacent villages, where are received until today still some old churches.

[edit] Jewish community

Up to the Second World War a small Jewish community existed in Delvinë. It concerned Jews from Spain, who had come under the osmanian rule to Delvinë and had close connections to the large Jewish community in Ioannina. Nearly all Jews emigrated after the war to Israel.