Ep. 54 - Saranda, Albania
A Mediterranean beauty flying under the radar, the storied Albanian Saranda is another amazing destination waiting to be explored. With white sand beaches, Ottoman conquests, old church ruins and more, episode 54 is an episode that you won't want to miss!
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Transcription:
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Hiya friends, welcome to episode 54 of The Friday Take Five. I’m Mark Moran, your host, and I do my best to help you relive awesome travel memories, or give you the inspiration to book your next adventure. Every episode, we discover a new destination and a new story. With that, it’s time to jump in, to destination 54.
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Saranda, Albania: Installment 54 brings us to a town flying under the radar for many, but one that’s becoming increasingly popular. Its increased popularity is well deserved too. Lying on the coast of Albania and facing out to the Ionian sea, this Mediterranean beauty of a city has 300+ sunny days per year. Add on the fact that it has some sweet historical landmarks, incredible natural beauty, and you can get a beer for less than what you’d spend on the McDonald’s dollar menu, and Saranda continues to look better and better.
Now, I don’t judge places and get them on my travel list purely on the price of beer by any means, but a beer for $2.60 USD is one of several indicators of a budget friendly destination. That paired with the beauty and history of Saranda has me putting this city on my list.
Saranda, being a city on the Ionian coast, has pristine white sand beaches and pebble beaches all around with turquoise blue waters of the likes of the Maldives. Flamingo, Mango, and Lori beaches are a few of the popular beaches in and around the area that are high on my list and the water at each of them looks absolutely gorgeous.
In addition to the beauty of the coast, I’m excited to head inland a bit to explore the Blue Eye Spring, a nature reserve just East of Saranda. According to legend, the spring was created when a massive wind storm tore through the area and a snake came out of the water. The snake went on a feeding frenzy eating local people and animals before going to hide in a cave. A man took his donkey to the cave and used it as bait to trick the snake into eating both the donkey and straw that the man had set ablaze. The flame burned the snake and as he left the area his big blue eye fell behind where the dark blue “eye” of the spring is in the water today. Take a minute to look up a picture of the spring and you’ll see this dark blue “eye” right at the heart. It’s pretty freaking cool!
Alongside the awesome natural beauty, there are some really incredible historical landmarks in Saranda that are sure to excite history buffs like myself. One of the places at the top of my list is Lëkurësi Castle. The castle, built in 1537 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, was a constructruction of the Ottoman empire to fend off incursions from the Venetians during the economic peak of Ottoman rule. Though mostly ruins today, the site still offers fantastic panoramic views of the city and I am itching to make it there.
Another historic site topping my list is the 40 Saints Monastery. A basilica built in roughly the 6th century, for nearly 1000 years, the 40 Saints monastery would become one of the premier pilgrimage sites for Eastern Orthodox Christians. Ottoman conquests led to the destruction of the Basilica. The site temporarily regained religious importance in the 1800 and 1900s before being almost completely destroyed in WW2. After the war and with the rise of the communist regime in Albania, the site was transformed into a military installation, which eliminated chances of further preservation. Now over 30 years removed from the fall of communism in Albania, the 40 Saints Monastery is another ruin that tells the story of a crazy past. Miraculously, members of the local Greek Orthodox community will still occasionally leave flowers at the ruins, bringing everything full circle, which I think is incredibly cool.
So that’s Saranda. A storied, if underlooked, destination full of beauty that won’t necessarily break the bank when you get it on your list. I hope if you haven’t already been to Albania, you’ll consider getting Saranda on the list - It’s definitely on mine already.
*Transition music*
Hey there! Thanks for listening to another episode of The Friday Take Five. If you haven’t already, be sure to give the show a 5 star rating on podcasting platforms, and share this episode with a friend. Have your own stories about Saranda or feedback on the show? I’d love to hear it so follow me and DM me on socials @FridayTakeFive or email me at thefridaytakefive@gmail.com. Stay curious, stay adventuring, and have a great weekend!
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