Zekate House, at the top of Palorto quarter, in Gjirokastër, Albania. This three-story house dates from 1811 and is thought to be the ‘best surviving example of an ottoman tower house in Gjirokastra’. It belonged to Beqir Zeko, who was a general administrator of Ali Pasha.

The house has two fortified tower houses and a double-arched facade in the front.
The ground floor would contain storage rooms, a kitchen with a high ceiling and the cistern. The central staircase winds upwards through the building. The first floor has two rooms that served as the family living quarter, and the third floor a grand reception room and two other smaller rooms. The main room is very ornate with frescoes on the walls, a carved wooden ceiling and an ornate fireplace. This level would have been shared by the whole family. At the top of the staircase there is a wooden balcony which overlooks the town.

The Zekate House appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Gjirokastër!

Other names of Zekate House

The Zekate House has the following names: Zapanaja e Zekatëve (Albanian).

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