Korca is town in southeastern Albania situated near the border with Greece and Macedonia, at the foot of the Morava Mountains, some 850 meters above sea level, on the beautiful slopes of St. Thana hill. Korca has a favorable geographical position because it is situated between trading roads that join Albania with Macedonia (47 km) and Greece (35 km). Korca was an Illyrian settlement in ancient times. Later there was the ancient city of Pelion built near here, which was captured during the second Macedonian War by the Roman Army under Sulpicius Galba in 199 B.C. By the early Middle Ages Korca had become an urban centre with the 9th century church, rebuilt in the 14th century. Known in 1280, Korca was destroyed in 1440 by the Ottomans but developed again after the 16th century. Islam penetrated the city of Korce in the 15th century through Albanian janissary leaders who actively participated in the Fall of Constantinople.
Korca grew considerably in the 17th century, especially after the burning of nearbyVoskopoja /Moskopole/ which was raided by the Muslim Albanian troops of Ali Pasha. By this time, Korca had become a centre of carpet-making as well as a focal point for trade with 1000 shops of merchants from Russia, Turkey, Greece and Italy. A largecobblestone bazaar was built, a mosque and a hamam were erected, hans - caravanserais, preserved as a cultural monument and the town developed quickly. TheMirahori mosque was built in 1418. Korca was the seat of government during Turkish rule. In the 18th century, the Korca city was able to exploit its premium location at the crossroads of several caravan routes and became a major trading point and Albania's largest and most developed city. The first school, a Greek language school, in the city was established in 1724. The first secular school with subjects taught in Albanian was opened in Korça on March 7, 1887. Ottoman rule over Korçë lasted until 1912. Ever since Albania gained independence in the Balkan Wars, Korce has been claimed quite wrongly, by Greece. Greek troops occupied it in 1912-3 during the Balkan Wars and again early in World War I. From 1916 to 1920 it was occupied and administered by the French, and in World War II it was held (November 1940-April 1941) by the Greeks. Since the fall of communism, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, like its sister Churches throughout the Eastern and Central and Southern Europe, has struggled to repair the damage wreaked by years of state-imposed atheism.
Old churches near Korca and the village of Veskopoje with its numerous churches and monasteries, has remained a stronghold of Orthodox Christianity in the southeastern part of the country. Korca has a large Orthodox community and it is the seat of the Greek Orthodox metropolitan Bishop. Korca's Museum is the Museum of Medieval Arts opened in l980; it covers a period from the 5th to the 19th century and there you can see works by Albania's most famous painters of the Middle ages - Onufri (Mid 16th century) and David Selenica (the early 18th century) as well as wonderful works by anonymous goldsmiths, silversmiths, woodcarvers and armourers. One of its greatest treasures is an 10th century iconostasis carved under the direction of the master Dhimiter. The National Museum of Education opened in 1967 in the building when the first Albanian school was set up. Korce has a large 15th-century mosque and several modern government buildings. Medieval Art Museum, the only national institution in the field of iconography that exhibits most valuable art works of the post-Byzantine period, and the period of the Ottoman invasion and the Prehistoric Museum, located in two traditional buildings of the city, give the chance to explore nearly 1,200 objects from archeological excavations from the prehistoric, Hellenic, Roman and Paleo-Byzantine eras. Korce is also an excellent place for exploring this beautiful hilly region of south-east Albania.
St Mary Church /Shen Ristoz/ stands like hidden treasure on top of the hill in the mountainside Mborja village above Korca town. The tiny Mborja village elevated above the valley where Korca lies once was a market town for the whole area and got its name after the Greek expression of "emporion" meaning market. Tiny Byzantine St Mary /Holy Resurrection/ dates from the 13th century and is built of local stone and timber coursing in trefoil base with small dome. UNESCO researches consider frescoes of Saint Mary Church among the best in the Balkans. They are well preserved although had undergone outrageous negligence during the communist period. Especially interesting are frescoes in the narthex depicting hand holding a balance in which people are being weight and the sinners on their way to hell attacked by various animals including having been bitten by snakes.
Korce is said to be the cleanest town in Albania. Korça is also known for its lovely girls, its tradition of seranades, bustling bazaar, carnivals, notable surrounding and good food. The most typical meal in Korca is the pie of this region colled "lakror" ( made of onion and tomato). Korce has old buildings in various states of repair surrounding the Orthodox Cathedral which was built in 1992. Quaint cobblestown streets run between and behind the main streets. The people are very friendly and generous. In the early evening they stroll through town in pairs, arm in arm. Korca sits in an area with an notable ancient history and favorable climate, hospitable and hard working people, an area where there are blended together cultural influences of the Balkans, but Western as well.
Kamenica Tumulus is newly excavated archeological prehistorical site with the museum just 10 km south of Korce, 180 m on the left side of the national road (Korçë – Ersekë), in the southern side of the Korça valley. Tumulus Kamnica Archaeological site has actually been open to visitors for a while but has escaped the attention of the guidebooks till recently. The Kamenica Tumulus is a prehistorical burial mound of the prehistoric community that lived in the period between the end of the 13th and the middle of the 6th centuries B.C. The central grave, where the cemetery began, is dated to the late Bronze Age, around the 13th century B.C. Unlike other similar tumuli excavated in Albania, which had a central grave, the central grave of the tumulus of Kamenica was surrounded by two concentric circles with a diameter of about 13 m, built with rocks of average dimension. During the Late Bronze Age (1200 -1050 B.C.), within this big circle were added other 40 graves. During the second phase of the cemetery, that of the Early Iron Age (1050-750 B.C.), the tumulus grew due to other 200 graves covered by soil, till it took its final semispherical shape, reaching a diameter of 50 m and approximately 3 m high. In the third phase, which coincides with the second half of the 7th century B.C., monumental circular or semi-circular structures were built in the southern and northeastern periphery, inside which were found single inhumations of individuals with family relationships. During a short period (625-540 B.C.) the tumulus grew gradually towards the east, by means of rock-filled graves, till it took the elliptical shape with axes 70x50 m. Tumulus Kamenica Archaeological Site has been partly excavated - you can see several stone rings and monuments in the dug-up area and the great thing about it is that they have a proper little open-air museum with explanations in English about the site. After thorough excavations researches have uncovevered 400 graves, containing 440 skeletal remains, and more than 3500 archaeological artifacts and objects : ceramic vessels, metal weapons, and jewellery made of bronze, iron, silver, gold, amber, and bone. The staff speak English and can show you around the site, and there's a film you can watch. Kamenica Tumulus is all done very well and worth a short visit - Albania could do with more of these initiatives. The site of Kamenica Tumulus is 150 meters off the main road near Kamenica village, and can easily be combined on a daytrip from Korca to nearby Dharda and/or Voskopoja if you have your own transport, or you could spend 10 euros on a taxi to bring you there, wait, and take you back to town.