From Castle to City: An Atmospheric Acoustemology of Gjirokastër

Talk by Uğur Aslan (Tirana, AL).

Gjirokastër, a UNESCO World Heritage city in southern Albania, is widely known for its distinctive stone architecture, historic castle, and rich cultural heritage. While much research has focused on the city's visual and material dimensions, less attention has been given to how Gjirokastër is experienced, remembered, and understood through sound.

This presentation explores the city's sonic environments, ranging from the reverberant spaces of the castle and old bazaar to the everyday sounds of contemporary urban life. It asks how listening contributes to people's experience of place and how sound participates in the formation of memory, atmosphere, and belonging. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the historic city and its ongoing transformations, as well as to the ways in which past and present seem to resonate through the city's sonic environments. 

Drawing on discussions of atmosphere, ambiance, and acoustemology, the talk reflects on the possibilities of thinking about sound as both an affective and a knowledge-producing dimension of urban life. Through the notion of atmospheric acoustemology, I explore how listening may offer insight into the sensory and emotional qualities of place, and how sonic experience can illuminate relationships between architecture, history, environment, and everyday life. Using examples from ongoing research in Gjirokastër, the presentation considers how a focus on sound might contribute to broader conversations in sound studies, anthropology, and heritage research, while opening new perspectives on the cultural and sensory life of historical cities. This research is supported by the Institute of Anthropology, Academy of Sciences of Albania.