Gjirokastra - Citadel - Museum of Arms - Portrait. Gjirokastra, the "Stone City", situated in the southern part of Albania, on the the easter slope of mountain Mali i Gjere. It is a commercial center in South Albania, it produces foodstuffs, leather, and textiles. There are several 18th-century mosques and churches and an old citadel (rebuilt in the 19th cent.) in the town. Dating probably from the 4th cent., Gjirokastër passed to the Turks in the 15th cent. It was captured (1811) by Ali Pasha and was the center (late 1800s) of anti-Turkish resistance. In World War II it was occupied by Italy, Greece, and Germany in succession. Enver Hoxha, the Albanian Communist party leader, was born there . Gjirokastra is museum city with charasterist houses made from stone. What strikes the visitors most in Gjirokastra are its typical and characteristic houses which resemble little fortresses, clustered one above the other. Their exterior combines roughness with the beauty of windows, small rooms and light pillars supporting the roofs prtotruding from the walls. Gjirokastra´s population is around 40,000 and one of the biggest cities of southern Albania. The name Gjirokastra comes from Illyrian Argyres Tribe which inhabited these parts of Europe. Gjirokastra is a home of traditional Albanian folk festival.