Mali i Gjerë (lit. 'Wide Mountain') is a massif located between the municipalities of Sarandë and Gjirokastër, in southern Albania. It constitutes the watershed boundary of the Delvina basin and the Drino valley as well as the waters that flow into the Adriatic and Ionian seas. The highest point is Maja e Frashërit, reaching a height of 1,789 m (5,869 ft). Other peaks include Maja e Kikshajt 1,782 m (5,846 ft), Maja e Nikollasit 1,584 m (5,197 ft), Maja e Bidos 1,543 m (5,062 ft), Maja e Pilloit 1,592 m (5,223 ft), etc.
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👉 Gjerë mountain in the context of Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (Albanian: [ɟiɾoˈkast:əɾ, -ra], Albanian definite form: Gjirokastra) is a city in southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea level. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress, where the Gjirokastër National Folk Festival is held every five years. It is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha, and author Ismail Kadare.
The city appears in the historical record dating back in 1336 by its medieval Greek name, Αργυρόκαστρο, Argyrókastro, as part of the Byzantine Empire. It first developed in the hill where the Gjirokastër Fortress is located. In this period, Gjirokastër was contested between the Despotate of Epirus and the Albanian clan of Zenebishi under Gjon Zenebishi who made it his capital in 1417. It was taken by the Ottomans in 1418, a year after's Gjon's death and it became the seat of the Sanjak of Albania. Throughout the Ottoman era, Gjirokastër was officially known in Ottoman Turkish as Ergiri and also Ergiri Kasrı. During the Ottoman period conversions to Islam and an influx of Muslim converts from the surrounding countryside made Gjirokastër go from being an overwhelmingly Christian city in the 16th century into one with a large Muslim population by the early 19th century. Gjirokastër also became a major religious centre for Bektashi Sufism.