Maliq-Opar is a community in the

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

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 ...

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

Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi), formerly known as Malik ( sq-definite, Maliki), is a town and a municipality in Korçë County of eastern Albania. It is the smaller of two cities in the district, the other being Korçë, southeast of Maliq. The cu ...

History

Maliq-Opar has historical significance as the origin of the medieval Albanian noble family

Muzaka The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions ...

, who established a lordship based at

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

. According to the memoirs of Gjon Muzaka, written in the early 16th century, Opar was a village where Albanians fought against Slav and Ottoman invasions and joined the army of the national hero

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

Culture

The masons of the area speak a unique sociolect known as

Purishte Purishte ( sq-definite, Purishtja) is a sociolect of the Albanian language spoken by the masons of the Opar region in Western Korçë District, Albania. Location The former commune of Lekas in Western Korçë District consists of mainly speakers ...

. This sociolect is part of the cultural identity of the region and reflects the traditional craftsmanship and community bonds of its inhabitants.

Geography

Maliq-Opar is located within the Moglicë administrative unit in the municipality of Maliq. It is situated near the village of Nikollarë and the hamlet of Kucaka (Gurshqipe).

References

Populated places in Maliq Villages in Korçë County Albanian ethnographic regions {{Korçë-geo-stub