A river runs through Voskopoja
Rugged terrain on a beautiful day
A phallicay church symbol of some sort
Shen Kolli - The best Byzantine painting in Voskopoja are behind these walls
Unlocking the gates to the court yard
A little boy who was staying with the orthodox priest - he was our guide.
Some Byzantine murals probably defaced by communists
From outside in the courtyard, looking down to the entrance
Scary beasts hurting a saint
The boys show us the candles
Very dark in here - kind of spooky
Very ornate
Even though it was dark, the colors were quite brilliant. The paintings inside were maintained quite well.
See the next one
yoink!
bam!
holding about four candles for extra lighting
looking down the aisle
on the other side, down the aisle
the seats are very old - i wonder if people still sit in them
strange that the church go-ers sat facing across from each other, not up at a priest
These paintings have not well stood the test of time
Above the door to enter
Shen Kolli bell tower
Around the back of Shen Kolli
Approaching Shen Millit
It was very quiet around here - just some people nearby clearing some trees out. No one paid any attention to us though
The gate was locked.
So we climbed the fence around the other side instead
Dedicated to various saints0
Very old - very locked
Held my camera inside the dark church window so I could capture some photos. The floor looks very interesting.
This was outside at the end of the courtyard
Cafe we ate at just off the center of town in Voskopoja
Lunch for two, total cost = $4
A sad stray sheepishly begging for food. Felt bad for the guy so we gave him some feta.
This was a beautiful dog who wouldn't give us a beautiful pose. He is a good dog, the locals told us.
Headed to another church - Shen Ilias
There is Shen Ilias, up on a remote hill
Shen Ilias was interesting and unlocked.
Shen Sotiri - another saint
Shen Ilias's bell tower
Kejda approaches the doors to find it thankfully unlocked
Grabbed some snaps. Looks pretty desolate in here though.
Kisha e Shen Ilias
Interesting shape
Most of the paintings were no longer here
Here is one, mostly scratched out - likely during communism.
Looking outside
A ladder to a window
Well, it was technically locked..
Look at that one brick over there at the end
What the heck? What is a Star of David doing here?
From the outside, in.
Overlooking Voskopoja
There is our trusty Mercedes
Little Voskopojans enjoying their summer day
We found an old monestary on the way out of town.
The monestary's bell tower
There it is - it looks a lot like the other churches
It was also locked and so was the gate. So we found a way over a part of it.
climbing over the rock wall
We're in - but it is locked, of course
Defaced Byzantine-era art
Really falling apart
Another view
Kejda was getting a little tired, maybe. It was pretty hot this day.
Look out for the water! This box has holes in it...
A view from the window
I wonder who made all those paintings on the right
Not much to see in here - pretty quiet and empty
Another view from the window. Some interesting paintings on the other side I wish we could have seen close up.
An iron door means no go.
Tribute to Shen Marena
Bright outside, isn't it?
Another view - better lighting
Ready to go?
Still standing..
A horse battles the horse flies.
Hotel Akademia is next to the monestary
Possible ruins on the road between Voskopoja and Korca
Another view of the possible ruins
Crop formations
Narrow roads and not many people in these parts
