KRUJA CITADEL
Of Byzantine origin, it was Skanderbeg's stronghold against the Ottomans. It houses two museums and several ancient buildings.
This fortified town (Kalaja e Krujës) covers an area of 2.5 ha and offers panoramic views over the Tirana plain and as far as the Adriatic, with the Zeza valley below and the town of Fushë-Kruja, where Skanderbeg fought his greatest battles. The citadel is home to a number of guesthouses and restaurants, as well as the Skanderbeg Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Dollma tekké. Situated on a promontory at the foot of the great cliff of Mount Kruja, it was built from the5th century onwards by the Byzantines, then reworked by the Serbs, King Charles of Anjou, the Venetians, the Thopia and Kastriot families and, finally, by the Ottomans, who seized it in 1478. But the place remains associated above all with Skanderbeg, who may have been born here and made it his stronghold to lead the revolt against the Ottomans. However, the citadel has lost some of its grandeur over the centuries. In particular, it was denatured by the Communist regime, which erected the Skanderbeg Museum in 1982. Once past the guard tower, you find yourself beneath this monumental building, which dwarfs everything else, starting with the ruins of the Sultan-Mehmed-Fatih mosque (1481) opposite. Nearby are two fountains, one of them medieval. In the northern part, the Clock Tower stands next to the remains of a 17th-century Orthodox church whose frescoes are gradually fading. To the south, past the Ethnographic Museum, the cobbled alley leads to an old, small 15th-century hammam, then to a small bridge and the Dollma tekké.
very warm welcome of the family, accommodation recommended into + + +