Origins of SARANDË - The LOST MONASTERY in Albania 🇦🇱

[@Zp00kie]

That view @14:00 with the sunset was the chef's kiss! 👌

[@Steve-Owens]

@@Zp00kie A great analogy ZP.. 🤏☕ The emojis are Albanian reference. Thankyou

[@MrMenocom]

Hi Steve! Nice to see you checking out my town! I hope you enjoy it!

[@Steve-Owens]

@@MrMenocom We love it, it's a bit quiet over winter but in a good way..

[@blissfulblerbread-lc1dp]

Great work, Steve! I really appreciate the way you present things as they are, sharing both the positives and negatives honestly. The Albanian Riviera truly is a gem-beautiful landscapes and genuinely warm people, especially toward visitors from the Western world, as they value Western culture and values. I also love how much you genuinely enjoy your travels; your authenticity really shines through. Keep up the amazing work!

[@Steve-Owens]

I appreciate that, thank you, travelling is in my blood, I have trouble stopping it seems. Saranda is a true gem on Albania as are so many of the towns and cities.. thanks again..

[@artanalushi5919]

That's the real spirit you have to show when visiting places around the world. True meaning of serendipity. Amazing Steve!

[@Steve-Owens]

Thank you buddy...

[@dwaynewladyka577]

This was awesome. Cheers, Steve and Michelle! ✌️

[@Steve-Owens]

Glad you enjoyed it Dwayne.. We are still in Albania, moved to a new town..Cheers.

[@arrore]

Happy New Year and greeting all the way from Kukes to Saranda! Kaloni mire!

[@Steve-Owens]

Happy new year!! 🎊🕛

[@KadOshi-p3o]

You should visit Butrint while you're there mate! You'll love it!

[@adriatikzyka2876]

Great video

[@Steve-Owens]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@adriatikzyka2876]

If your still in Albania try ferma Sotira it's near Leskovik they have great rooms I was there 3 days ago with my wife and the stayed at Mezini for the night also great food and fire place down the road from Sotira and then went to melesin distillery right at the start of the town of Leskovik great places to review would love to watch a video for either one of them 😁

[@adriatikzyka2876]

Ferma Sotira is a farm with most food they make produced there because I only mentioned the rooms but I'm sure you will do your own research

[@adriatikzyka2876]

If you want any suggestions for Albania happy to help, I'm Albania who grew up in London and come here all the time to get explore with my wife as there is so much to see for such a small country

[@johnchristie1550]

Nice

[@abc123ben]

Good video. Nice views.

[@Steve-Owens]

Thank you buddy 🙂

[@coffee3681]

I wish you could've visited in summer, you would have had a tour guide giving you lots of information! Still beautiful

[@Steve-Owens]

@@coffee3681 I love to discover things organically though. Can you imagine how peaceful this place was with 100s of tourists.. Thank you..

[@dominic_turquey]

CUÁL SER EL LUGAR MÁS RECOMENDADO PARA TURISMO EN ALBANIA?.😮

[@besnikmanushi9552]

I wanna ad that the city was not there before and it was just a port the port of Saranda for the city of Delvina. In the last 150 years the port grew to become a town and because of tourism the city has trippled in size. The history of the city is pritty young, the Lekursi castle is more important than the port. I do not understand why the entire city didnt get the name from the castle of Lekursi. The monastery didn't play any important role for the town as it was far from the port and was probably abandoned way before the city came into surface. Maybe people called the port the port of Saranda in respect to the monastery I do not know it is strange. However the city is not older than 150 years, starting as a village for sailors and fishermen after the building of the port. The coty may have hD a life in the pas in ancient times.we do not know the name of it in the past, however the name today was reffered to the abandont monastery.

[@Steve-Owens]

Just 100 years ago there were no passports or entry visas, you could move freely from village to City and I think people had less awareness of name places. I suspect in those days the people of Corfu and Saranda were mostly the same families sharing culture and name places with little friction. This last 100 years has not been a great period it seems for unity. What are your thoughts?

[@albusha5150]

You do that uphill walk every day for a month at the end of that month you will start running through that uphill. Best workout. Haha I don't know what you do in Australia but it'd be interesting to take some grape varieties from Albania and grow them in Australia (of course not that Australia does not have grapes) but Albanian varieties may be more adaptable to make best raki?😂Might become a great seller in Australia!

[@Steve-Owens]

Yes, I actually love these uphill walks. I was a little weak from food poisoning bit I still loved it. You'll see on our channel we walk a lot. It's very hard to take new seeds into Australia but I'm sure others are working on a cunning Raki plan.. 👍👍😉

[@albusha5150]

@@Steve-Owens Hahaha raki Albanians' number 1 drink.

[@GezimGjoka-e9d]

That's is like wiski is very strong Raki so you have to be careful wen you drink you get drunk

[@detehoxa1126]

Hey man, that's not wine that's raki. That's water glass not glass for raki. That's a reason why raki is served in a small glass. I hope you're well. You made me laugh so hard when I saw the glass that you brought with. God bless your heart❤

[@eaglesland8093]

I am sure he knows what that glass is for , he just want to enjoy raki 🥂

[@Steve-Owens]

Silly me, there was so many choices of glasses in the hotel room. I should have taken the other identical glass. 😆😂 Is that all you take away from the video.. ? The misappropriated glass.. open your eyes, the location is the star..

[@detehoxa1126]

Oh, please I'm born and raise there. You're the tourist😆​@@Steve-Owens

[@mendjelire8392]

@@Steve-Owens hahaha

[@mendjelire8392]

@@Steve-Owens I am worried about you Steve. After all that hike medically it's important that you get hydrated with a glass or two of water not raki, which will dehydrate you even more. Thanks for the great video though.

[@brucewayne2773]

I can see why it's lost Steve 🙏. Have a great , blessed New Year

[@Steve-Owens]

Happy new year! BW. I almost got lost finding it 😂

[@brucewayne2773]

@@Steve-Owens 🙏

[@ArditSr]

Thats the origins of the last name, Saranda was known as Onhesmus in ancient times and for a brief time as Porto Eda, by the name of Benito Mussolini's daughter

[@irdibasha391]

Man i thought you would take a shot of that raki 😅 not the whole thing 😂

[@Steve-Owens]

It was a small bottle.. no 😂😆

[@abc123ben]

Need to exercise more, Stephen. 😉 That's why you're puffing.

[@Steve-Owens]

It's often the case when you condense an hour vertical climb into a 10 minute highlight video. 😂

[@abc123ben]

Excuses, excuses... 😉

[@mendjelire8392]

Destruction happened during Ottoman invasion and the final nail on the coffin was the bombing during WWII. Communists did not destroy objects that had a historical and national identity importance.

[@abc123ben]

Lol. Of course they didn't.

[@Steve-Owens]

I was told otherwise, history said that many beautiful churches and mosques were let ruin and any place of opulence was reduced to a diminutive status.. are you claiming this is not so?

Is not sarante is Saranta in Greek

[@Steve-Owens]

Yes

[@arrore]

It is also Arta, Preveze, Igumenice, Suli, Plaka and plus 10,000 others.