The city of
Gjirokastra fell under the control of Ali Pasha of Tepelena in 1811. During his
rule Ali Pasha oversaw many new construction works, most notably the expansion
of the castle and the building of a twelve-kilometre aqueduct to bring drinking
water from Mt. Sopot to the cistern in the castle. At the time, this grand
aqueduct was one of the greatest engineering achievements to have been carried
out in the region. Sadly, only some small parts of the aqueduct remain today.
What was left of the aqueduct was torn down in the 1930’s during the reign of
King Zog, and the stones were used to build the new prison in the castle.
This article was
written based on the publication of Cultural
Heritage without Borders.