Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër (Albanian: [ɟiɾoˈkast:əɾ, -ra], Albanian definite form: Gjirokastra) is a city in southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea level. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress, where the Gjirokastër National Folk Festival is held every five years. It is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha, and author Ismail Kadare.

The city appears in the historical record dating back in 1336 by its medieval Greek name, Αργυρόκαστρο, Argyrókastro, as part of the Byzantine Empire. It first developed in the hill where the Gjirokastër Fortress is located. In this period, Gjirokastër was contested between the Despotate of Epirus and the Albanian clan of Zenebishi under Gjon Zenebishi who made it his capital in 1417. It was taken by the Ottomans in 1418, a year after's Gjon's death and it became the seat of the Sanjak of Albania. Throughout the Ottoman era, Gjirokastër was officially known in Ottoman Turkish as Ergiri and also Ergiri Kasrı. During the Ottoman period conversions to Islam and an influx of Muslim converts from the surrounding countryside made Gjirokastër go from being an overwhelmingly Christian city in the 16th century into one with a large Muslim population by the early 19th century. Gjirokastër also became a major religious centre for Bektashi Sufism.

Taken by the Hellenic Army during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, Gjirokastër was eventually incorporated into the newly independent state of Albania in 1913. The local Greek population rebelled and established the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in 1914 with Gjirokastër as its capital. During the communist period, Gjirokastër was designated a "museum city" due to its architectural heritage. In more recent years, the city witnessed anti-government protests that led to the 1997 Albanian civil unrest. Besides Albanians, who constitute the majority, the city is also home to a substantial Greek minority, and some Aromanians, Romani and Balkan Egyptians. The city is a centre for the Greek minority in Albania.