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Albania's oldest town is charming. Its medieval old districts boast hundreds of white little houses with rustic light brown tiled roofs and dark brown windows. Built on a slope of vast castle hill right by a rapid stream, the Osum river. And there's more! The legend of Berat has it that two brothers, Tomor and Shpirag, fell in love with the same girl. Their feelings were so strong for her that they fought over the girl. Tomor, the elder one, fought with a brilliant sword, the Shpirag with a strong cudgel. God observing everything got very sad and angry with the situation and decided to punish the brothers, changing them to large stones of the size of mountains. The mountains still stand, the Shpirag with scars from the sword, and the Tomor with big gaps made by the cudgel. The girl did not escape God's anger and she was changed to a rocky hill, where Berat has been built over the many years. She loved both brothers, but not their fighting. To this days she cries and cries with streams of tears, which build up to size of the river called Osum. There were three parts of Berat. First, the least interesting, was the new town. The old part featuring white houses with dark brown windows, right by the river. And the third was on the top of the hill, complete with ruins of the citadel and an Ottoman district.
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