"SARANDA" a Sarande Travel Page by eni83

SARANDA, is the Southernmost city of Albania on the Ionian coast. Due to its position, mild climate, sunny days, etc., it is an important tourist site. Apart from the visits to the city, the tours to the tourist site of Ksamil are rather interesting. The tourist have the possibility to enjoy the magnificent views provided by the islands, the lake of Butrint and the citrus and the citrus and olive-tree plantations. The archaeological centre of the ancient city of Butrint lies a bit southward of Ksamil. The recent archaeological excavations have further enriched the history of Butrint. They have brought into light big monumental objects such as the theatre, the Temple of Aesculapius, the Baptistery, Nympheum, Gate with towers, etc. The visit to that site is also enriched by the museum in the environmental of the Venetian and the Ali Pasha fortress. Numerous materials, such as sculptures, manuscripts and different objects, a testimony to the flourishing of ancient Butrint, have been put on display on site there. The flora, climate and waters of sea, the Butrint’s lake and the Bistrica River make the location of Butrinti one of them most important in tourist terms.

Located on the shores of Ionian sea, in front of Greek island of Corfu, Saranda is characterized by a Mediterranean climate and warm sea waters. Due to it’s location and warm weather. in front of the sea and along the main promenade there are some hotels and restaurants which offer you catering facilities and accommodation.

The city of BUTRINTI (Bothrota) is one of the fragments which form the fabric of Albania's ancient cultural landscape. Nestling in the highlands in the far south of the country and surrounded by dense vegetation, Butrinti was doubly protected by nature and by the fortifications which its inhabitants built in ancient times. However, this was not sufficient to isolate the city from the rest of the world. Less than ten kilometers from the island of Corfu, Butrinti was linked to the Mediterranean by the Vivari canal, which ran from the Butrinti Lake to the Ionian Sea.
The amphitheater, dating from the 3rd century B.C., bears witness to the cultural riches of the city. The stone banks of seating, of which twenty-three rows have been preserved, would have held an audience of 1,500. The theater is situated at the foot of the acropolis, close by two temples, one of which is dedicated to Asclepios, the Greek god of medicine, who was worshiped by the city's inhabitants. Approximately thirty inscriptions, almost all in ancient Greek, carved the western facade of this temple, and another hundred or so found on a tower which was rebuilt in the 1st century B.C., are the only examples of writing discovered in Butrinti. These inscriptions are mainly concerned with the liberation of slaves.