MONASTERY OF MESOPOTAM

This ancient Orthodox monastery (Manastiri i Mesopotamit) was founded in the 11th century, when the nearby village of Mesopotam was a prosperous and influential Greek town. From the complex remain some ruins and, above all, the beautiful church of Saint Nicholas. Built in 1225, it has survived many earthquakes and looting. Its architecture is quite astonishing. With its walls rising to 10 m high and surmounted by four domes (originally seven), it is one of the largest Byzantine churches in Albania. It was built on the site of a pagan temple with materials from the city of Phoenicia. On the external walls, one notices stone blocks sculpted in half round-bosse representing eagles, dragons and lions. Another singularity, its two identical naves adjoining each other are unique in their kind. Some researchers suggest that this double nave could have been designed to accommodate two distinct places of worship, one Orthodox, the other Catholic. This symbol of the union of the two "currents" of Christianity in the same space would thus be the origin of the name of the village: mesopotamos means "between the two rivers" in Greek. Since 2015, the interior is being restored with the help of Unesco. Most of the 13th century frescoes have disappeared, but the south wall is decorated with a rich portrait of Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus (11th century) praying before an icon of Christ. The apse preserves for its part an Orante with beautiful colors.