The bridge was built in 1770 by Mehmet Bushati Pasha. It is 108 m long and 3 m wide. Kiri river, which should be a wonderful blue color, was completely dried.
Not much to do or to see here, except, may be, a 2-3 km drive to see the Drisht Fortress.
A small restaurant, with a terrace, right near the bridge, and only us as customers. For 2 non-alchool beers and 8 cevapcici (beef grounded meet, grilled) we paid less than 4 euros. Then we headed back to Shkroder.
La 6 km in nordul orasului Shkoder, la Mes, se afla cel mai bine conservat pod otoman din Albania. El a fost construit pe Drini, pe un drum care lega Shkoder de Kosovo, inca din timpul romanilor. Aur si alte metale se exploatau de-a lungul acestui drum si de aici importanta sa economica.
Drumul nu este prea grozav, seamana cu cele de la noi, adica trebuie sa fii atent la gropi. Priviri curioase se intorc dupa noi fiindca, probabil, nu multe masini straine se aventureaza pe aici. Trecem pe langa un magazin unde se vand flori pentru inmormantari, din plastic sau diverse materiale si pe langa curtea unui atelier de ceramica, unde se fac diverse obiecte decorative.
Podul a fost construit in 1770, cu 12 arce caracteristice (va amintiti podul lui Ali Pasha de la Visegrad, din Bosnia?), de catre Pasha Mehmet Bushati. Are o lungime de 108 m si latimea de 3 m si este aruncat peste raul Kiri, despre care se spune ca are o apa incredibil de albastra. In iulie insa, se prezenta ca un ued secat dintr-o zona desertica.
Paralel cu podul istoric, pe care nu se mai circula, a fost construit un pod nou, de pe care se pot face poze. Daca dispui de suficient timp, poti merge mai departe, cale de 2-3 km, sa vezi cetatea de la Drisht, de asemenea monument istoric.
Noi am ramas insa aici, sa admiram mai mult constructia veche si zona rurala in care ne aflam singuri. Nici un turist nu era prin preajma si nu cred ca sunt multi cei care vin aici.
Cum undeva, in apropiere, se desfasura o nunta (vazusem nuntasii si masinile pe sosea) si in aer plutea miros de…mititei, am ramas si noi pe mica terasa a unui restaurant aflat chiar langa pod. Consultam meniul (saracut) si nu vedem micii. Il intreb pe tanarul ospatar “cevabcici?” fiindca banuiam ca trebuie sa-i cheme cumva asemanator. Imi face semn ca nu au dar, deduc, face el rost! Opt mici si doua beri fara alcool, ne costa 400 lek, adica mai putin de 4 euro. La o masa alaturata s-au asezat doi tineri albanezi. Dupa un timp, unul ma intreaba daca vorbesc engleza si apoi ma intreaba ce limba vorbim. Cand ii raspund “romana”, zambeste larg si imi spune “Aaa, mi se parea mie cunoscuta! Eu lucrez in Londra si am acolo doi colegi romani…” Ce mica e lumea!
Afara sunt 32 de grade dar pe terasa, sub umbrela, e placut. Trebuie totusi sa ne intoarcem…
magda
Great bridge and your pictures are wonderful!!!
How small is the world! 🙂
I hope you’re always well and travel!
It’s the finest thing in the world!
Many greetings and kisses
VP
The bridge is simply wonderful…
Traveling Hawk
Thank you, Magda, for the comment and wishes!
Traveling Hawk
Yes, VP, is a little gem, less known.
Randy
That is really an interesting bridge. Love the flower seller too.
Traveling Hawk
Yes, it is much alike with the bridge from Bosnia, Visegrad.
Rox
Ingrozitor de mica, sufocant de mica!! Sau cel putin asta constat cu stupoare zi de zi…
Luna trecuta am fost in Turcia si un tanar ne-a auzit pe mine si pe prietena mea povestind si ne-a intrebat in engleza (f politicos, cerandu-si scuze ca ne opreste asa) ce lb. vorbim, ca el lucreaza in bazar si aude zilnic toate limbile lumii, dar ce vorbim noi nu a auzit pana acum. Cand i-am spus, s-a apropiat si un prieten de-al lui care il ia la rost “cum nu stii, te-am si invatat salutul lor traditional!” si ni se adreseaza noua plin de mandrie “ce faci bine!” :))
Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger
What a lovely stone bridge, and well photographed!
Duncan In Kuantan
Traveling Hawk
Asa e, Roxi, in bazarele turcesti toti au invatat cateva cuvinte romanesti…
Traveling Hawk
Thank you for the appreciation, Duncan!
黄清华 Wong Ching Wah
What a wonderful little town, the bridge is interesting with the dry river … take it easy, my friend. Away from your work always better for the health especially when we not liking it anymore ! I wish you well…
Traveling Hawk
Thank you, Wong, for your kind and considerate words!
Doug Hickok
The bridge is phenomenal. Seeing it reminds me of a novel I read a few years ago by Ismail Kadare called The Three Arched Bridge. This is how I imagine the bridge to be in that wonderful story!
Traveling Hawk
I don’t know about that book, Doug. Ismail Kadare wrote also about Gjirokaster, which I went to see, and which is his birthplace. He was inspired, for sure, by familiar landscapes in his country.
pharaonx
foarte fain podul, o piesa rara de istorie. desi locul nu e prea vizitat, nu e lasat in paragina. foarte interesant si de luat aminte
Life Ramblings
the bridge looks intriguing. it’s amazing that it’s still standing there majestically after so many years.
Winter
A piece of eroitidun unlike any other!
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Skjønner godt at du ble irritert… sÃ¥ kalrt medlemmer burde fÃ¥tt den først… Men nÃ¥ har du den..og kos deg nÃ¥ masse i sofakroken med boken… herlige bilder du viser.. ha en fin dag Marit…. solen har skint i noen dager her i vest og jeg nyter det virkelig… *Klem Kerstin
Rizalenio
Interesting bridge. This made me want to google and know more about this bridge.
Traveling Hawk
Asa e, pharaonx. Avea chiar si o tablita cu explicatii in engleza, ceea ce in alta parte n-am gasit.
Traveling Hawk
It’s a typical construction of that period, Life Ramblings. It resembles the one in Visegrad, Bosnia, about which I wrote.
Traveling Hawk
I am glad you learned something about the history of the place, Rizalenio!
Liliana
Florile arata ca sorcovele noastre!
Dar podul e superb, cu cocoasa aia din mijloc, e splendid.
Traveling Hawk
Subscriu la ambele afirmatii, Liliana:) Si mai ales a fost grozav ca era pustiu pe acolo!
Liliana
Da, pe mine inca ma fascineaza cocoasa aia! Superba.
J_on_tour@jayzspaze
That is an amazing looking bridge with it’s unusual construction.
Traveling Hawk
It’s very interesting, indeed. I photographed a similar one but bigger, in Bosnia (see the post about Bosnia).