Traditions of Gjirokastër
A stone town of the south with tall fortress-houses, the home of the folk festival of Albania.
Gjirokastër is called the city of stone, for its grey slate roofs and fortress-like houses of the Ottoman period. It is a World Heritage site, a town where traditional Albanian customs are rooted and the National Folklore Festival has been held since 1968. Its old bazaar sells local honey, wool and crafts.
The folk festival
Every five years, the festival brings musicians, dancers and singers from all over Albania and the diaspora to the castle, in colourful costumes. Songs of the south are polyphonic and sung by men with a bass drone. Women make embroidered clothing and carpets. The town's famed tower houses have rooms for receiving guests.
At the table
Qifqi, rice balls with herbs fried in their own juices, and local lamb baked in a clay pot are the town's specialities. Lakror, a pie of leeks, is made on feast days. Gjirokastër is known for baklava and for tulumba, syrup-soaked fried dough. Raki is drunk with meze.
Signature traditions of Gjirokastër
Also part of it, and being written: Gjirokastër (The old town.), Albanian folk music (The tradition.), Qifqi (The rice balls.).
A trail idea for Gjirokastër
- Gjirokastër Castle See the old fortress.
- Skenduli House See an Ottoman house.
- Old Bazaar Browse crafts.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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