Maliq City

The city of Maliqi is located 13 km from the city of Korça, in the southeast of Albania. The total area is over 656.34 km², with a population of 7,696. The ancient name of the city is thought to be the city Koragos, starting from its name which in ancient Greek means raven, Shadow of the Raven.

Maliqi is an important archaeological site among the only ones in Albania for the Early Paleolithic period. From the archaeological excavations, stilt buildings, wooden buildings on the water, as well as many important items of archaeological value have been found there. You can see the walls with large stones that surrounded the highest part of the hill, which controlled the gorge of Devolli, where the natural road that connected the coast of Illyria with Macedonia passed. Among the important findings, a treasure of 618 silver coins found by chance in 1982 and kept in the Archaeological Museum of Tirana is highlighted.

Two other archaeological points near it are the two hills of Gradishta and Hija e Korbit, which in ancient times were two early cities in the first Illyrian kingdom. The relief is plain-hilly in the city part and hilly-mountainous in the villages. The highest parts in the territory are Mali i Ariu with 1379 m, in Kolanec and Maja e Mustaqi with 1547 m, in the territory of Gjyras.

The plant world of Maliqi is rich in: oak, chestnut forests and some rare woods such as: black pine, hemlock, etc. The city has decorative flowers and many medicinal plants such as: wild rose, black juniper, red juniper, sage and fruit trees. To the west of the city is the famous Krastafilak forest, in which the fir trees gracefully brush the wind's hair. In terms of fauna, there is a wide distribution: fox, wild rabbit, wolf, mountain partridge, thrush, etc.

The city of Maliqi was developed on the basis of a Russian-type urban plan and is more than 50 years old, built after the drying up of the swamp of the same name. Agriculture and livestock are the bases of the economy for the city of Maliqi. By the mid-1950s, the sugar mill was put into operation, employing more than half of the population at the time. Alcohol, vodka and starch were produced in the combine complex. Part of it was the TEC which supplied energy to the city and part of the surrounding area.

Maliqi is characterized as a small, simple, beautiful and lively town. Russian architecture immediately catches the eye, the bungalow style, lined with sidewalks on both sides. Maliqi remains to be visited at any time of the year, but in winter it turns into magic, being completely covered under the white blanket of snow.