Travel Guide Libohova

Libohova/Libohovë (pronounced "liborhova"/"liborhoveu") has a population of around 1,900. It is the seat of the municipality of Libohova (population 3,500). The village lies 19 km southeast of Gjirokastra (morning minibus connections) and 24 km north of the Kakavia border post.Situated in the Bureto mountains, at an altitude of 1,763 m, on the border with Greece, this village was once the stronghold of the powerful Libohova family, one of whose sons married Shanishaja, sister of the redoubtable governor Ali Pasha, in 1788. You can still admire the beautiful homes of this influential family, one of whose members, Mufid Libohova (1876-1927), was a minister in the first Albanian government in 1912. But it's in the vicinity of Libohova that you'll find the most interesting things: the Roman theater at the small archaeological site of Hadrianopolis, the tekké of Melan, a Mecca of Bektashism in Albania, and, above all, the beautiful medieval church of the Dormition-of-the-Mother-God. The village itself is also worth a visit for its majestic half-millennium-old plane tree (next to the Libohova restaurant) and its impressive fortress, which once controlled the Drino valley. The latter was built by order of Ali Pacha and given to the Libohova clan on the occasion of his sister's wedding. It takes the form of a 60 x 40 m rectangle with a round tower at each corner. However, due to the lack of a janitor, it is rarely open to visitors.