Dhërmi – as a stopover on the drive towards Vlora, the beautiful beach in front of Dhërmi came in very handy, as the heat of the day made the journey quite unpleasant.

While a proper seaside resort has developed directly on the coast, the old town centre lies high above the Albanian Riviera.

The now almost exclusively tourist infrastructure of "modern" Dhërmi has been steadily expanded in recent years, and the number of vacationers from all over Albania and from neighbouring countries is constantly increasing. This includes Western Europe.

It is primarily beach tourists who have come to appreciate the clear sea waters. Improvements in infrastructure have, of course, also contributed significantly to this tourism boom; all connecting roads from Dhërmi to Vlora and Saranda have been renovated and even expanded.

Dhërmi – a small Albanian town with 30 churches

Of course, we also want to use our time in Dhërmi to take at least a short tour of the old town, which is said to have once contained 31 churches and monasteries. Some of the monasteries and churches can still be visited today, although some are in poor structural condition, although they are decorated with frescoes, some of which are quite elaborate and certainly worth preserving. Among the most famous churches are the Church of St. Mary from the 13th and 14th centuries, the Church of Hypapante from the 18th century, and Shën Stefani, with elements from various eras.

This relatively high number of churches and monasteries is certainly due to the high proportion of native Greek residents, as, like the neighbouring villages of Palasa and Ilias, Dhërmi is a place with a predominantly Orthodox Greek population. They speak a local Greek dialect but also speak Albanian.

Why are there so many Greek citizens?

The Chaonians were one of the three major Greek tribes of Epirus, which in ancient times made up the population of Epirus. They lived in the region named after them, Chaonia, which lies opposite the island of Corfu on the coast of the Ionian Sea, today partly in Albania and partly in Greece. To the southeast, the Chaonian territory bordered that of the Molossians and to the south, the Thesprotians.

The Chaonian main towns were Buthroton, present-day Butrint, Phoenike, Dhërmi and Ilium. In the 5th century BC, the Chaonians were in constant conflict with the Greeks of Corfu. The latter managed to establish themselves on the coast and control Butrint and several other strongholds in the Chaonian territory. In 429 BC, the Chaonians were defeated by the Acarnanians at the Battle of Stratos.

With the rising power of Macedonia under Philip II and Alexander the Great from the 340s BC onward, the Acarnanians, who were also Greek, turned to this kingdom as a new protectorate.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, turbulent years followed: under the Bulgarians, under the Balšić / Balsha, briefly under the Arabs, and later even under the Normans. The region – then much more densely populated than today – enjoyed a certain independence from the Ottoman central power. In 1797, Tepedelenli Ali Pasha incorporated the area under his rule. In 1912, Dhërmi became part of the new Albanian state. However, in March 1914, the region declared itself autonomous. After 1990, the majority of the inhabitants emigrated back to Greece, but numerous Greeks remained in Dhërmi.

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