Borsh is a maritime village, in the
Albanian Riviera, in the former
Lukovë municipality,
Vlorë County,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
, At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality
Himarë.
The village is inhabited by
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...
,
[Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995).]
Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography
" In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). ''Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania]''. University of Athens. p. 51. " AM Αλβανοί Μουσουλμάνοι”; p.53. “BORSH ΜΠΟΡΣΙ 1243 AM" many of whom have traditionally been Bektashi Order, Bektashi. In Borsh, the
Lab dialect of
Albanian is spoken.
Borsh borders with
Fterra,
Qeparo
Qeparo ( sq-definite, Qeparoi; el, Κηπαρό, ''Kiparo'') is a seaside village in the municipality of Himara in Vlorë County, Albania. It is part of the Albanian Riviera and the village is divided in two parts – Upper or Old Qeparo on hig ...
,
Piqeras
Piqeras ( sq-definite, Piqerasi; el, Πικέρνη, Pikerni) is a village in the former municipality of Lukovë, Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Himarë.
Demographics
I ...
, Kuç, Çorraj, Kalasa, Zhulat, Tatzat, and has a population of 2500 registered inhabitants.
History
The region which Borshi is located was part of the
Chaonia of the ancient region of
Epirus. Borshi was probably fortified from antiquity and it belonged to Kemara (modern
Himara) then part of the
Chaonian tribal state, one of the main
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
tribes in Epirus.
The castle remained in use in Roman times and was refortified by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Nothing is known of the settlement in the Byzantine era, until it is mentioned as Sopotos in 1258 when it was part of the
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus ( gkm, Δεσποτᾶτον τῆς Ἠπείρου) was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It clai ...
that grew out of the failing Byzantine empire. Borsh then went through a period of considerable turmoil, changing hands several times between the Despotate of Epirus and Norman crusades invaders before being taken by the Turks in 1431.
Fifty years later it was captured by Albanians led by
Skanderbeg's son
Gjon Kastrioti II, but was retaken by the Turks eleven years later and heavily refortified. On June 10, 1570 the castle of Sopot was taken by James Celsi, Proveditor of the Venetian navy, who left after leaving in charge the commander of
Nauplion,
Emmanuel Mormoris. This also caused part of the nearby Himariotes to submit to Venetian rule. The next year the Ottoman army recaptured it and took Mormori as a prisoner.
The 18th century was a turbulent economic time and due to Orthodox revolts and conflicts with Orthodox powers such as the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
, Ottoman governors at times applied pressures including drastic tax raises on the local Christian population as well as other pressures caused towns to convert. Borsh converted in 1744 and followed it up by raiding nearby
Piqeras
Piqeras ( sq-definite, Piqerasi; el, Πικέρνη, Pikerni) is a village in the former municipality of Lukovë, Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Himarë.
Demographics
I ...
, which remained Christian.
The fortress was renovated again by
Ali Pasha Tepelena, and it is these fortifications that visitors can view by taking the half-hour walk up to the ‘castle rock’ the limestone mount clearly visible above the old village. During Ali pasha's reign there were 700 houses at Borsh, and below the castle mount you can see a ruined
mosque of Hajji Bendo and a
madrese (a Muslim theological school), both of which were damaged in Ali Pasha's wars but survived, only to be destroyed by fighting after 1912 when the Turks left the region.
Between 1912 and 1914 serious inter-ethnic conflict took place between Greeks and Albanians, and significant portion of the old village was destroyed, however some buildings remain in fine condition. Modern Borsh was built after that, but became seriously depopulated, firstly due to malaria, and following severe reprisal killings by Germans in WW2 however, depopulation was balanced by an influx of refugees from Vlora, fleeing into partisan territory from the city which was heavily contested until late in the war.
Geography
Climate
Economy
The village is very stable and growing in prosperity thanks to tourism and olive oil production. The thing that makes Borsh very popular is its beach, which is the largest beach in Ionian sea (7 km).
The tourism has begun to develop a lot thanks to village's beauty and thanks to its friendly people. Continuing in this way Borsh will become soon the best destination for tourists in the South of Albania.
Culture
Language
The Lab dialect spoken in Borsh was reported by Albanian linguist M.Totoni to possess
nasal vowels, a characteristic that was previously thought to have been the diagnostic difference between the major
Tosk and
Gheg divisions, whereby Tosk dialects such as Borsh's lab dialect were previously thought to have all lost nasal vowels when they split from Gheg dialects, which retained the nasality feature.
[Paçarizi , Rrahman (2008)]
''Albanian Language''
. Page 102.
See also
*
Albanian Ionian Sea Coast
**
Albanian riviera
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borsh
Villages in Vlorë County
Populated places in Himara
Albanian Ionian Sea Coast
Archaeological sites in Albania
Beaches of Albania
Labëria