The hexagonal hall
A dome on six great pillars.
Arbenllapashtica — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gashi Bujar — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christoph Strässler — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tori Oseku — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gashi Bujar — CC BY-SA 4.0
A compact triangular fort on a rocky peninsula that splits Porto Palermo bay in two, on the Albanian Riviera between Himarë and Qeparo, with a gun bastion at each corner. Built in the early 19th century by Ali Pasha of Tepelenë, the Ottoman governor of Ioannina, it is the best preserved of his garrison forts in the region and a listed cultural monument. The bay, thought to be ancient Panormos, is the only sheltered harbour on the Riviera between Vlorë and Sarandë. Set on a former islet some 30 metres offshore, later joined to the land with earth and stone, the fort guarded the anchorage and watched over Himarë, which resisted Ali Pasha. Its exact date is uncertain: in January 1805 the British officer William Martin Leake found only a small square fort here, with a house, a church, two small cannon and ten soldiers, half Muslim and half Christian. Tales of an older Venetian fort are unproven. Through the gate, a hexagonal hall domed on six great pillars opens onto dark vaulted rooms where the garrison lived, one used as a prison. Steep stairs climb to the roof terrace and bastions overlooking the bay. Its plan recalls the triangular Venetian fort at Butrint, 40 km south-east as the crow flies. The castle lies just off the SH8 coast road, 8 km south-east of Himarë and about 45 km north-west of Sarandë, both by road, with free parking close by. Coast buses pass the turn-off but may not stop. The clear bay below the walls is good for a swim.
A dome on six great pillars.
Bay views from the bastions.
Clear water off pebbles and rocks.
Porto Palermo bay, off the coast road between Himarë and Qeparo
That is a popular local legend about Vasiliki, one of his wives. The records of the time present it simply as a garrison fort guarding the harbour.
Yes, for free, from the strip of sand and pebbles by the peninsula or off the rocks below the walls. The shore is partly rocky and facilities are few, so bring water shoes, drinking water and shade; the bay is calmest in the morning.