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Jean Carlier de Pinon was a French nobleman who lived in Paris and Cambré. He is the author of the work Mon voyaige en Levant, faict l'an 1579 [My journey to the Levant, in 1579]. In this work, he gives an account of his journey to the Holy Land, together with his German companion, Hans Jacob Breuning, from February 1579 to March 1580. Sailing from Venice towards Constantinople and Alexandria, they stopped at the Ottoman port of Vlora which he described in this fragment.
By: Jean Carlier de Pinon
Translated into English (from French): Robert Elsie[1]
Translated into Albanian (from English): Agron Shala
On May 11 [1579], we set sail with a favorable wind, seeing only sea and sky, until, in the evening, on the left side, we began to distinguish the mountains of Albania, once known by the name of Epirus.
On May 12, after we had made some progress, we saw the mountain opposite Vlora and the mountain of Chimera[Himara], which is located beyond Vlora.
On the 13th of May, having come within four miles of the Albanian mainland, where Vlora is situated, with a light wind blowing behind us, we cast anchor after lunch. There, a Turk [Muslim], a native of that part, went down in a frigate or small boat, and with him were some Greeks [Orthodox] who were trying to go to Vlora, which was not more than two or three miles away by land. They were going to Vlora to take some boats to unload the goods they wished to leave at Vlora. At their head was the ship's captain and the owner with four footmen or sailors. But when the frigate was not more than two miles from the ship, a sloop suddenly appeared in front of her, which had been hidden behind some rocks. We fired several cannon shots at her, but we could not hit her. We did not leave the spot all day, where the owner had decided to drop anchor, and we waited for the return of our frigate, but when it did not return by the end of the day, we suspected that something had happened to it.
On May 14, to find out what had happened to the frigate, after we weighed anchor we entered the port of Vlora. At the entrance to the aforementioned port, from the Northwest, there is a mountain or rock in the shape of an island called Saseno [Sazani]. After we lowered the sails, we fired several cannon shots, which is the usual thing for entering ports. At that moment, the Emini or head of the customs came out, accompanied by some other Muslims and Jews, with whom we talked on a carpet spread for them, according to their customs.
They informed us of what had happened to those who had landed the day before. They had noticed the sloop following them and had quickly hidden the frigate among some bushes to save it. Frightened when they realized that they would certainly be caught on land on the way to Vlora, the men abandoned this road and took the mountain path to the left, being more than twenty miles ahead of the robbers. At a certain place there was a small stream and, while they were there, tired as they were, they stirred up the water so that, when the robbers arrived, they would think that they had crossed the aforementioned stream and follow the tracks on it.
Since they were very tired, they took the help of a shepherd to accompany them to a safe place, turned back along the road and climbed the mountain on the right side where there was a village. When they arrived there, they found shelter in the house of a local Muslim, because the custom in Turkey is that it is not allowed to force someone out of a Muslim's house.
The pirates, when they heard that the shepherd had led them there, arrived at the above-mentioned village. There, by promises or other means, they took control of the place and our men were forced to leave the Muslim's house and the village, and, since they were already in the hands of the pirates, they were sent further. The pirates held a consultation among themselves, considering the risks they would face if they sold the prisoners, because they had learned that their leader had been captured in Vlora, at the request of the Venetian Council, as soon as it was heard what had happened to the captain of our ship and the others.
They also feared that they would be pursued by men on horseback, and so they released the prisoners for the sum of 60 cents. The prisoners managed to pay only 20, but a Moor who was there paid the remaining 40 and was promised by the prisoners that they would return them to Vlora. For this reason, he released some of the prisoners to go and collect the said sum, but, without waiting for their return, he arrived in Vlora a little later with the rest of them.
On May 15, we landed at Vlora, although there was still some danger for us because of our clothing, which was not in the Venetian style. We could easily have been taken for subjects of the King of Spain, since the armistice between the King of Spain and the Sultan had not yet come into force, and we could have been captured and enslaved, or sentenced to death as suspected spies. All Westerners face such dangers in islands and distant countries. But there is no danger in large cities where there are ambassadors and consuls of Christian kingdoms and republics.
That day, we witnessed justice being done to those who had been responsible for the kidnapping of our people. The justices were in the porch or hall of the town hall. Below them, in the courtyard, were the accused and the crowd. The mayor or chieftain of the village where our people had been captured, lay on his back with his legs up, and his feet were held by a man on each side. In front of him was the executioner, who with a stick beat the soles of his bare feet hundreds of times, and for each blow the accused paid the court, according to custom, an asper, sixty of which constitute a ducat or penny and fifty constitute an ecus. The Moor who had attempted to profit from the prisoners' ransom was given a blow with a stick in the stomach, while our people were released and had to pay only 40 ducats or penny.
About the city and castle of Vlora
Like most of the cities of Turkey, Vlora has no moats or walls. It is six hundred miles distant from Venice. It is situated in Albania, and is subject to Turkey, which maintains a sanjak here. The situation is very pleasant. There are many cypresses, and the soil is fertile. It is built beside a river which is wider than it is deep, and flows into the sea opposite the city.
There are about five mosques, as Muslim churches are called, adorned with tall white towers or clock towers. The city is inhabited by Turks [Muslims], Jews and Greeks [Orthodox]. Wheat, wine and meat are free here. To the south, at an arrow's distance, is a castle that overlooks the harbor. It is quite large and built in a circular shape. Half of it touches the hills and the other half faces the sea. Inside the castle is a round bastion that is very strong. The man in command is called the aga or castle-keeper.
Above this castle, a little further up the mountain, is another similar castle. There are many pirates and brigands in this region, and every day they bring much booty taken from Christians who are not allies of the Sultan. Some years ago, the Sultan sent Caracossa here with some galleys. He was killed in 1571 in a battle fought between the army of Sultan Osman Selim and that of the Christians. At that time there were no galleys in the harbor, but only fusta.
On May 16, after unloading what our sailors wanted to leave here and securing supplies of meat and fresh water, the ship's owner sent Emin a gift consisting of four baskets filled with Murano glasses and cups from Venice, and in each basket there were sweet pastries and a little jam. There was also soap, two chairs small [buck hair for cleaning?] and some espousettes [dusting brush?]. Emin did not like the gift because it was not given to him at the time of our arrival. That day, we saw three Turkish boats entering the harbor towing a Marseillaise, that is, a type of ship or boat captured by the Christians.
On May 17, after losing our frigate, we set sail. As a result, the ship's carpenter had to build another one during the voyage, on deck. After leaving the port and having the Himara mountains on our left, we saw several islands on our right, the first of which was Fano, which is uninhabited. /Telegraph/
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