#: locale=en
## Tour
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### Title
tour.name = Zekate
## Skin
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Button_1B9A3D00_16C4_0505_41B2_6830155B7D52.label = REALTOR
Button_1B9A4D00_16C4_0505_4193_E0EA69B0CBB0.label = FLOORPLAN
Button_1B9A5D00_16C4_0505_41B0_D18F25F377C4.label = PHOTOALBUM
Button_1B9A6D00_16C4_0505_4197_F2108627CC98.label = LOCATION
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windows
Although interiors of the houses are very carefully designed, exteriors are usually left with little or no decorations. The front façade would be accentuated. Construction elements and building materials are the ones adding to a harmonious design.
Stone ground floors, rendered upper floors (19th century addition) with timber frames of windows, railings on verandas and elaborate eaves of the roofs are composed creating an interplay of volumes.
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Zekate
Zekate building is one of the most typical representatives of Gjirokastra fortified house
type, kulla. It must belong to the years 1811-1812, and the Later Ottoman period (1810 -1912). It is a two-winged variant, among which the right wing is three-winged, as a result of the adaptation to the terrain and the placement of the cistern on the left wing. The building is located in the neighborhood Palorto at its highest point. It
stands out for the composition in height, the main monumental appearance, and the
protective character.
Around the beginning of the 20th century, it has undergone transformations over time, so the front of the room on the right wing has been like the front of the guest room. The service premises at the back have been demolished, while the roof has been rebuilt.
The work done on this monument, based on the restoration criteria, have brought it in a safe condition and have made it regain its former values. After the interventions, the monument has gained a stable condition but given its great values it seems to require constant assessment.
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Staircases
The external staircases are always built by stone, but we find stone staircases even in he interior of the houses. They are supported in a well build structure of arches and even stone columns in the very big and tall houses. The steps are covered with black stone that is not slippery while the vertical parts of the steps are usually plastered.
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Oda e mirë
At the third floor, the biggest reception room (oda e mirë, literally “good room”) is found, and two smaller rooms.
The guest room has special furnishings and decorative elements, noticeably richer than in the other oda: floral paintings on the walls, wooden ceilings also on the fireplace, and wardrobes.
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Musandra-Diphato complex
In some of the oda’s, the upper floor of the musanda‐dhipato complex had small windows covered by wooden net. It is told that the women of the house were sitting behind these windows when there were guests in the house to check if they needed more drinks or food, so they would not be seen by the men guests.
Also, the daughter of the house could also sit there to see and approve her future husband without him being able to see her.
However, not everyone believes this version of the function of these windows. Albanians were not known as religious fanatics. These windows are also assumed to have the function of bringing light and helping air circulation in these small and dark cupboards.
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Divani i sipërm
The upper floor was used for leaving during the summer months but was also hosting the ceremonies of the families since predominant space in this floor is the guest room of the house. The intermediate room in this floor is either a closed room called divani i sipërm or in the later periods and more developed two wings typology houses,
these spaces were usually opened and are called çardak.
When closed room, divan was used and as a living space, because its position in the composition of the house allowed the creation of sitting corners. On the contrary, the opened çardak was only used as intermediary space. Here, instead of a sitting corner, a qoshk was created in the space above the staircase. This wide terrace with the pergola offers a spectacular view.
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Wooden Ceiling
The ceiling is delicately carved and ornate and the windows have multicolored glasses.
The points with the green color are the mezzanine 360 panoramas
The first floor was used for living, and especially during the winter months. It is called dimorore, which means the wintry floor. The ceilings of this floor are lower, and the rooms have less and smaller windows than the upper floor. In this way, the rooms were easily heated during the cold winter months. This floor is called pat and contains the winter rooms oda and this, intermediary room that is called divani I poshtëm.
The intermediary room of the ground floor is called nën divan.
In Zekate dwelling, the mezzanine floor contained a reception chamber, and over the cistern, a room was used by the women for the storage of food and other household purposes.
The rooms that were next to the cistern were the coolest ones and as a result the best rooms to storage the food...
This room is called katua, which means small shelter for livestock and general storage.The ground floor hosts the facility rooms of the house. These spaces were usually used as storage rooms for food and the agricultural products harvested.
The intermediary room of the ground floor is called nën divan.
The musandra concealed a short staircase leading to a small balcony (dhipato) where women and children used to gather while the men of the house had formal meetings with guests (Doempke et al., 2012).
The backs of the middle (here, the first) and upper floors (here, the second) were respectively the kitchens for the winter and for the summer (Dipasquale et al., 2020).
The musandra concealed a short staircase leading to a small balcony (dhipato) where women and children used to gather while the men of the house had formal meetings with guests (Doempke et al., 2012).
The backs of the middle (here, the first) and upper floors (here, the second) were respectively the kitchens for the winter and for the summer (Dipasquale et al., 2020).
Each oda (main room) has the main space and the wooden structure of musandra, positioned close to the entrance. Depending on the height of the room, musandra is either one or two floors structure (large cupboard) which stored mattresses and other bedding during the day.
The other sides of the room are occupied by low couches (sofas) and smaller wooden cupboards built in the walls.
A toilet is also hidden within the musandra structure. Some of the big houses have also small hamams next to the toilets.