Balkan Time | Alsar Foundation “Berat

The ALSAR Foundation for Culture, Education and Humanitarian Aid operating in Albania has published the book “Berat – Movable Structures for Centuries and Cultural Wealth”.

The following statements came in the Al-Saar Foundation’s statement on the matter:

“Time, migrations, and human and intellectual upheavals have made preserving the collective heritage a very difficult task. No matter how far a person goes, by nature he takes his mother tongue wherever he goes. Moreover, even if that language consists of only a few words, it will persist.” In existence until the last breath of this person.In the era of globalization in which we live, it seems that human beings have built their foundations on slippery ground while continuing their progress in the journey of material well-being.However, the development of humanity will not be sustainable unless the mental and ideological structure of man is built on foundations Durable and deeply rooted.

The environment in which a person is born and raised, family environment and social environment play a crucial role in shaping that person. Acquired knowledge creates an imbalance or imbalance depending on the nature and dissemination of knowledge. An excessive amount of information distributed at lightning speed from unreliable sources impairs our ability to make choices and causes unwanted distortions in one’s worldview. The right words, well thought out and written by the right people, allow you to look at the matter from an authoritative, calm and appropriate point of view.

We cannot build our future without knowing the past. We cannot decide where we are going without knowing where we came from. These winds must be reined in to prevent the destructive winds from sweeping away everything and depriving us of history today and humanity tomorrow. For this very reason, it is so important to look at our ancient cities and the places we live in, and to uncover how life was shaped by evaluating the realities left to us by our cultural heritage.

Intellectual work such as research and cataloging activities that can provide us with complete information about the cultural heritage dating back many centuries has always been appreciated. Such a lofty idea legitimizes the emotional language used, and this constitutes the first phase of the project.

The idea mentioned here is actually a long term plan and a project that needs time and people. In this direction, the ALSAR Foundation will complete the above-mentioned project within ten years and the books published during this period will be included in a few volumes. Experts from various fields will be appointed to implement the project.

This research and compilation will be carried out in stages, taking into account existing administrative regions. The main distinguishing feature of the project is the on-site examination of the remains or traces of these remains.

The project will not be limited to collecting data and providing information about structures belonging to a particular period, as Turkish writer Ekrem Hakı Ayverdi did in the past. Ekrem Hakki Ayverdi mentions Albania in the last part of the fourth volume of his work entitled “Ottoman Architectural Works in Europe”. This book is an inventory of structures in nine cities, from castles to fountains. However, it should be noted that since his request to go to Albania was refused in 1974, he was content only with what he found in Ottoman documents while making an inventory. On the other hand, there are no date and time restrictions in our project. On the contrary, cultural heritage items from the 1990s will also be included in the project.

Another distinguishing feature of the project is its language. In order to avoid translation problems and eliminate this risk, publications will be prepared in three languages: Albanian, English and Turkish. In this way, it will be ensured that the publications are easy to access and read. Although it is difficult to prepare publications in three languages, it is an essential step of the process.

The publication of the book, which is dedicated to the city of Berat and the entrepreneur to be published in the future, is the most realistic indicator of the relevance and value of the project idea. In his book Dritan Chukou, the author summarized the city’s cultural heritage built over the centuries in five sections with detailed information. In this work, a temporal criterion is used to list the items that represent everything that the townspeople need, such as houses, churches, mosques, castles, bazaars, baths, inns, and libraries. The author begins with castles and continues with mosaics. Then, after listing mosques and churches, and giving brief information about mosques, dervish inns, mausoleums, zawiyas, madrasahs, and soup kitchens, he gives place to engineering and social structures such as cisterns, aqueducts, fountains, aqueducts, bridges, mills, tombs, and traditional houses of Berat. At the end of the book is a glossary and bibliography to provide additional information to readers.

While the author talks about any work, the date of creation, architectural features, function, purpose of use, condition, restoration or not, name, condition, location, environment etc. of this work. Provides information on this topic. According to the findings and the materials presented, there are pages and paragraphs of information about some buildings, while there are only a few lines of information about others.

The following research will be designed with the same structure and at a similar starting point, without major changes, except for minor changes noted by the authors. The scholarly nature of the research, compilation, and writing processes for this book are indispensable for creating a text that is independent of the influence of time and will contribute to future research.

Since it is an important project that has social, religious, historical and cultural dimensions as well as different settlements and regional characteristics and is carried out jointly by many participants, it requires total dedication and responsibility renewed frequently with other energies around a common goal.

In keeping with the mission of ALSAR Publications, the aim of this publication is to identify all works of cultural heritage in Albanian territory, to take an inventory of these works and to provide a clear framework for the protection of this heritage for the relevant institutions. This publication, which is an inventory of Albanian cultural heritage, is a contribution for future generations to learn about and own this heritage.

Alsar Foundation continues its special studies for all cities of Albania by forming scientific committees. The registration work, which started in Berat Province, will cover all provinces in the future. Radio programs will be published not only in Albanian, but also in Turkish and English.