Sopot ( sq-definite, Sopoti) is a village in eastern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. It was part of the former municipality

Stravaj Stravaj is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County, eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Prrenjas. The population at the 2011 census was 2,427.

. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

Prrenjas Prrenjas (also written ''Përrenjas'', sq-definite, Përrenjasi) is a town and a municipality in Elbasan County, eastern Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Prrenjas, ...

Geography

The area has natural attractions for tourism, such as the Gostima Waterfall,

karstic cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, incl ...

s, woods, a rich flora and fauna, and local ethnoculture.Sopoti, magjia e turizmit (in Albanian)
/ref> Sopot rises up from above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, where the highest point is Gaferr's Peak, .

History

According to a folkloric

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

, during the Ottoman invasion of this mountainous part of Albania, women with their children flew from the castle's wall so as not to surrender to the Ottomans. Following five hundred years of Ottoman occupation and

islamisation The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

, the population of Sopot now carries two names, one Moslem and one

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. The area's population has decreased lately due to immigration.

References

Populated places in Prrenjas {{Elbasan-geo-stub

Geography

History

See also

References