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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Butrint

The road to Butrint was built in 1959 for a visit from Khrushchev and appears to have been preserved as if it, too, were an archæological artifact; which is to say, it was a misery to drive on. Alas, that Philistine Khrushchev was unimpressed by Butrint, even though the authorities had poisoned all the local snakes so he would feel free to walk around. He wondered aloud why they were bothering with such 'dead things' as Butrint and mused that it might be better put to use as a submarine base. It was the beginning of the end of Albania's good relations with the Soviet Union, which broke down entirely a few years later. As you can see, though, the Albanians aren't bothering much anymore with the dead thing Butrint, which is sinking on its marshy site with no plans for preserving it all all in evidence.
The stonework shows the differences in work done by the various periods during which Butrint was active. The photo below reminds me of Inca stonework at Sacsahuaman above Cusco, Peru.




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