{"id":4158,"date":"2022-06-28T06:37:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T06:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelshelper.com\/albania\/?p=4158"},"modified":"2022-07-18T18:30:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T18:30:50","slug":"himare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelshelper.com\/albania\/himare\/","title":{"rendered":"Himar\u00eb"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Geography<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Himar\u00eb region is a strip roughly 20 km long and 5 km broad, with a total area of 132.13 km2, surrounded by the 2000-metre-high Llogara mountains to the northeast (known in antiquity and the local Greek dialect as the Ceraunian mountains) and the Ionian Sea to the southwest. There are extensive beaches with white sand, and the small hills near the water are terraced and covered with olive and citrus trees. During the Ottoman period, the towns of Himar\u00eb\u00eb were strategically positioned on the peaks of the Ceraunian range to provide natural defenses against the Lab Albanians. During the Ottoman era, the Himar\u00eb\u00eb region’s conventionally understood bounds shrunk until they were limited to the town of Himar\u00eb\u00eb and the coastal settlements (Bregdet in Albanian).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Demographics<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The population of the Himar\u00eb\u00eb area is 11,257, with a largely Greek ethnic mix for both the town and the region. Himar\u00eb\u00eb, Dhrmi, and Palas, which make for the majority of the region’s population, are inhabited by Greeks, whilst Pilur, Kudhs, Vuno, and Ilias are inhabited by an Orthodox Albanian community. Greeks (upper neighborhood) and an Orthodox Albanian population reside in the hamlet of Qeparo (lower neighbourhood). On the other hand, according to the most recent official census in Albania (2011), which was widely contested due to procedural irregularities and whose results were affected by a boycott by a portion of the Greek minority, 60.38 percent were registered as Albanians, 24.56 percent as Greeks, and 14.0 percent chose not to declare any ethnicity. According to the 2011 census, there were 7,818 inhabitants in Himar\u00eb\u00eba Municipality and 2,822 inhabitants in the Himar\u00eb\u00eba administrative unit (the pre-2015 municipality). Comparatively, according to the 2015 Albanian Civil Registry offices, which identify all Albanian nationals, including those who reside abroad, the population of the municipality was 27,049 persons. After the municipality of Dropull, Himar\u00eb\u00eba has the second lowest population density in Albania. The bulk of the population has departed for Greece or Albania’s big cities.<\/p>

According to Athanasios Psalidas, a Greek scholar and secretary to Ali Pasha, three of the territory’s villages were deemed Greek in the early 19th century, but there were also several Orthodox Albanian villages in the vicinity. In general, the residents’ allegiances were narrowly to their individual clans (the “phatriae”) and regions, and broadly to their Orthodox faith and cultural heritage. The latter criteria suggest deeper relationships with their fellow Greeks than with the Muslim Albanian populations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Religion<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The majority of Himar\u00eb’s residents are Orthodox Christians. In 1577, 38 Himar\u00eba area chieftains petitioned Pope Gregory XIII for weapons and supplies against the Ottomans. They pledged to move from the Orthodox Church to the Roman Catholic Church and to acknowledge Philip II of Spain as their ruler. Since the bulk of the population is Greek and does not speak the Frankish language, they requested that their liturgical traditions be preserved. From 1577 through 1765, the people identified with the Roman Catholic Church and acknowledged the Pope as its religious leader. The success of Roman Catholic missionaries among Albanians of Eastern rite in Himar\u00eb led to the territory becoming a haven for converted Orthodox prelates. Himar\u00ebiotes thus adhered mostly to Christianity, but isolated conversions to Islam were documented as early as the 16th century. One of them, Ajaz Pasha, became Grand Vizier and was sent by the Ottoman Sultan to suppress the Himar\u00ebiotes rebellion in 1537. Despite this, crypto-Christianity emerged, especially in the settlements of Fterre, Corraj, and Vuno. In addition, Basilian missions have been sent by Rome since 1682, establishing a number of Greek schools.<\/p>

The rebuilt Orthodox church of Saint Athanasius in Dhermi was bulldozed by Albanian police in August 2015, weeks after local officials ruled it a “illegal structure.” The Albanian Orthodox Autocephalous Church deemed it a vandalistic act of degradation and a breach of church property, and Greece lodged diplomatic objections. This is the second time the church has been demolished; the first time occurred under the People’s Republic of Albania, but the local Orthodox Church reconstructed it following the return of democracy in the nation (1991). The Albanian government has pledged to reconstruct the church after the completion of archaeological digs. The destruction of the religious structure prompted significant responses from the European Commission.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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History<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In antiquity, the Chaonians, a Greek tribe, occupied the area. It is thought that the Chaonians established Himar\u00eb as (Chimaira or Chimaera, thus the name Himar\u00eba) as a trade station on the Chaonian coast. However, another hypothesis suggests that the name originates from the Greek word (cheimarros), which means “torrent.”<\/p>

Ancient authors, including Pliny the Elder and Procopius, mention the city.<\/p>

During the 16th to 18th centuries, Himar\u00eba was under the ecclesiastical authority of Rome, and some of its residents were Catholics of the Eastern rite.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How To Travel To Himar\u00eb<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By bus<\/span><\/h2>

Vlore\u00a0or Tirana-bound public buses link to Vlor and Tirana, respectively (there are few a day depending on the season). It is the least expensive yet slowest option (from Tirana 1000 lek and approx. 6 hours bus ride). In addition, there is a daily direct route between Gjirokastr, Athens, and Elbasan. There is no bus terminal in Himar\u00eb; inform the driver of your desired drop-off location.<\/p>

By car<\/span><\/h2>

Himar\u00eb\u00eb is located on the SH8 highway (next to the riveria).<\/p>