//
Photo: Malenki, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
An attractive, old church in the town of Permet. The word “Paraskevi” is the Greek word for Friday and Saint Paraskevi was a Greek saint, who was martyred by decapitation, the saint is often shown in various icons, with a head on her shoulders and another head in a bowl. The name of this church in Albanian is Shen Premte (Saint Friday). The church was built in the year 1776, the shape of the building is long and low with a beautiful colonnaded porch, the roof has been made on a single level, which is very unusual as most of the roofs of the narthex are built on a lower level than the nave. There is an interesting architectural feature in the church, underneath the paved floor, there is a small channel which collects water from the font and leads the water to the rainwater drain outside. The wall paintings were painted in the year 1808 by the Albanian artist and painter Terpo Zografi, some of the paintings are in need of conservation but most are beautiful. The original door to the church was destroyed during the atheism campaign and has been replaced by a modern, carved door that a local craftsman carved.
St. Paraskevi's Church is a church in Përmet, Gjirokastër County, Albania. It became a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1963.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Detaj i teqes së Ali Postivanit
A teqe is a small place of worship for those practicing the Bektashi branch of Islam.
Shen Maria
The Church features outstanding iconography paintings. Probably the most spectacular church in Albania, it was not burned in World War II because it resembled more an art gallery than a church.
A group of hot springs, from which small pools with water of different sizes have been created. Each pool is used for treatment of a specific problem, for example, acne and other skin diseases, rheumatism and diseases of body, or stomach; more folklore than science. A more specific aspect is the existence of the basin with healing mud, which the elderly say it is a key to keep the skin fresh and young. In the waters of Bënjë one can find visitors from all over Albania, coming to be cured. However there are many others who visit even just to get the sun rays. The hottest of all pools can be found further into the Langarica Canyon, around the corner, after about 300 m on the right. It can also be reached from then small road going up the hill.
Lengarices Gorge
The springs and bridge mark the end of the 5-km-long Langarica Canyon in Kolonje District, where you can kayak in what is considered the most scenic canyon of Albania.