GJIROKASTR

Gheg dialect Gjinokastr, Greek Argyrkastron, Italian Argirocastro city, southern Albania. Lying southeast of the Adriatic port of Vlor, Gjirokastr overlooks the Drin River valley from the eastern slope of the long ridge of the Gjer mountains. Picturesque, latticed houses sprawl upon the spurs of the mountain, nestling under the shadow of the well-preserved fortress built by Ali Pasa, the Turkish grand vizier, in 1811. A centre of 19th-century Albanian nationalism, the town was the site of a meeting of the Albanian League in 1880 at which a resolution was passed demanding full autonomy from Ottoman rule. In the First Balkan War (191213), the town was claimed by Greece, and between 1939 and 1944 it was occupied in succession by the Italians, the Greeks, and the Germans. Gjirokastr was traditionally a centre of the Bektashiyah order of Muslims. The Albanian Communist Party leader Enver Hoxha was born there in 1908 of Muslim parents; his home was converted into a museum. Pop. (1990 est.) city, 24,900.