Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Mother Teresa

With around 140,000 inhabitants, Shkodra is the fifth most populous city in the Republic of Albania. The area has been inhabited continuously since the early Bronze Age. A settlement was founded here by Illyrians in the 4th century BC. The Romans annexed the town in 168 BC. With the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD, the archbishopric of Scodra was founded and taken over by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 535. In the second half of the 6th century, Scodra was conquered by invading Slavs. In 1396, the Republic of Venice took over Shkodra, which now became part of Venetian Albania. During Venetian rule, the city flourished into a rich trading town. In 1479, after a long siege, Shkodra was captured by the Ottomans. As far as the inhabitants had survived the siege, they left the city with the retreating Venetian troops and were resettled on Venetian territory. It took a long time for the city to recover from the destruction and depopulation and become an important trading centre again, which was now able benefit from the exchange between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe. By the end of the 16th century, almost all the inhabitants had converted to Islam. The Ebu Bekër Mosque was built from 1994 to 1995 on the site of the old Fushë Çela Mosque, which was destroyed during the communist era.

With around 140,000 inhabitants, Shkodra is the fifth most populous city in the Republic of Albania. The area has been inhabited continuously since the early Bronze Age. A settlement was founded here by Illyrians in the 4th century BC. The Romans annexed the town in 168 BC. With the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD, the archbishopric of Scodra was founded and taken over by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 535. In the second half of the 6th century, Scodra was conquered by invading Slavs. In 1396, the Republic of Venice took over Shkodra, which now became part of Venetian Albania. During Venetian rule, the city flourished into a rich trading town. In 1479, after a long siege, Shkodra was captured by the Ottomans. As far as the inhabitants had survived the siege, they left the city with the retreating Venetian troops and were resettled on Venetian territory. It took a long time for the city to recover from the destruction and depopulation and become an important trading centre again, which was now able to benefit from the exchange between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe. By the end of the 16th century, almost all the inhabitants had converted to Islam. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen and this consecration follows the consecration of an already existing church, on whose remains a mosque was built. During the first three centuries of Ottoman occupation, the city's bishops were forced to live outside the city. In 1851, Abdülmecid I issued the decree after the Christians had asked the Sultan for permission to build the church. The church was opened in 1865. An earthquake in 1905 and the bombing in 1913 during the Siege of Scutari (First Balkan War) severely damaged the church, the bell tower burned down and many people who had sought shelter here fell victim to the attack. When communist Albania declared atheism in 1967, all places of worship, mosques or churches, were closed, destroyed or converted. The cathedral was converted into a sports hall. The bell tower was blown up and the bells melted down. After the collapse of the Albanian dictatorship, the cathedral was ceremoniously reopened in 1991. On the left is a large picture of Mother Teresa. She was born in 1910 to a Kosovo Albanian Family. In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace". She died in 1997 in Calcutta and was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016. Today Albanian´s largest airport in Tirana is named "Mother Therea Airport".

With around 140,000 inhabitants, Shkodra is the fifth most populous city in the Republic of Albania. The area has been inhabited continuously since the early Bronze Age. A settlement was founded here by Illyrians in the 4th century BC. The Romans annexed the town in 168 BC. With the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD, the archbishopric of Scodra was founded and taken over by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 535. In the second half of the 6th century, Scodra was conquered by invading Slavs. In 1396, the Republic of Venice took over Shkodra, which now became part of Venetian Albania. During Venetian rule, the city flourished into a rich trading town. In 1479, after a long siege, Shkodra was captured by the Ottomans. As far as the inhabitants had survived the siege, they left the city with the retreating Venetian troops and were resettled on Venetian territory. It took a long time for the city to recover from the destruction and depopulation and become an important trading centre again, which was now able to benefit from the exchange between the Ottoman Empire and the rest of Europe. By the end of the 16th century, almost all the inhabitants had converted to Islam. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen and this consecration follows the consecration of an already existing church, on whose remains a mosque was built. During the first three centuries of Ottoman occupation, the city's bishops were forced to live outside the city. In 1851, Abdülmecid I issued the decree after the Christians had asked the Sultan for permission to build the church. The church was opened in 1865. An earthquake in 1905 and the bombing in 1913 during the Siege of Scutari (First Balkan War) severely damaged the church, the bell tower burned down and many people who had sought shelter here fell victim to the attack. When communist Albania declared atheism in 1967, all places of worship, mosques or churches, were closed, destroyed or converted. The cathedral was converted into a sports hall. The bell tower was blown up and the bells melted down. After the collapse of the Albanian dictatorship, the cathedral was ceremoniously reopened in 1991. Mother Teresa was among the thousands of guests in attendance.

The Romans were already here and utilised the hot springs. They built a bridge over the river, the Ponte romana, creating an important communication route, which was of course secured by fortifications. In the 5th century, Ourense became the seat of a bishopric. As the capital of the kingdom of the Suebi, Ourense flourished in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Suebi king Teodomiro († 570) built the first cathedral in Ourense after converting from Arianism to Catholicism. Constant raids by the Moorish conquerors and the Normans devastated the city to such an extent that it remained almost uninhabited for several centuries. It was rebuilt in 1071 under King Sancho II of Castile. In the following centuries, the city gained importance as a bishop's see, but also as a trading centre. In the 13th century, Ourense was an important trading centre in Galicia due to its geographical location and its large Jewish community. The economic decline began after the expulsion of Ourense's Jews in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs. In the centuries that followed, Ourense's importance steadily declined. The Church of Santa Eufemia is a Baroque church just a few metres from the Cathedral of Ourense St Euphemia is a saint who was martyred at the time of Emperor Hadrian. In 1060, a shepherdess in Campelo discovered a grave from which a hand with a golden ring on one finger protruded. The woman took it and lost her speech. She was only able to regain it after returning the ring to the hand that had it. According to legend, a voice was then heard saying that the tomb of St Eufemia was there. The mortal remains were buried under the altar of a hermitage between Braga and Orense. In 1159, the bishop of Orense tried to transfer the saint's body to the city cathedral but this was rejected by the parishioners of Braga, which led to a dispute. It was decided to place the body of the saint in a cart pulled by oxen and to bury her remains in the place where the animals went. The church of Santa Eufemia was built in 1653 as part of a Jesuit college thanks to the Order of the Society of Jesus and was converted into a parish church of the diocese of Ourense in 1767. Mother Teresa / Exotism