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{{Infobox settlement AL
|type               = mu
|official_name      = Bilisht
|image_flag         = 
|emblem             = 
|skyline            = Bilisht 21.jpg 
|image_caption      = Bilisht, 2018
|image_location     = 
|county             = Korçë
|municipality       = [[Devoll, Korçë|Devoll]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|40|37|39|N|20|59|24|E|type:adm1st_region:AL_dim:100000|display=inline,title}}
|elevation          = 922
|area_unit=4.26|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|population_as_of   = 2023<ref name="2023pop">{{cite web |title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.instat.gov.al/en/themes/censuses/census-of-population-and-housing/|publisher=Institute of Statistics Albania}}</ref>
|population_unit=7287|postal_code        = 7006
|area_code          = (0)811
|website            = 
}}
'''Bilisht''' ({{langx|sq|Bilisht}}) is a town and a former municipality in [[Korçë County]], south-eastern [[Albania]]. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality [[Devoll, Korçë|Devoll]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vendime.al/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/137-2014.pdf |title=Law nr. 115/2014 |language=sq |pages=6372–6373|access-date=25 February 2022 }}</ref> It was the seat of the former [[Devoll District]]. The population as of the 2023 census is 7,287.<ref name="2023pop" /> The town is 9&nbsp;km from the [[Border crossings of Albania|border]] with [[Greece]] at [[Kapshticë]]. The closest Greek village across the [[Border crossings of Albania|border]] is [[Krystallopigi]] in the [[Florina (regional unit)|Florina regional unit]]. Bilisht is at 890 meters above sea level<ref name="AltmannElsie212"/> and has a continental climate with cool summers and cold winters. It serves as an economic centre for the local agriculture, mining, food and textile industries.<ref name="AltmannElsie212"/> The [[football (soccer)|football]] club is [[KS Devolli|Bilisht Sporti]].

==Geography==
The town of Bilisht is the most southeastern city of Albania. It is located to the east of the Devoll Valley, about 880-970m above sea level in a hilly relief that stretches from the [[Devoll (river)|Devoll River]] bed to Kokogllava hill over the city and covers an area of 1.4km2. With average altitude 925 m above sea level Bilisht is the second highest city in Albania after Ersekë (1020m above sea level).

The city has a very favorable geographic position as it passes through the motorway link connecting Albania with Greece via the Kapshticë customs that is 7&nbsp;km east of it. In the north the town is bordered by Bitinckë (3&nbsp;km east of it), east bounded by the hills of Kokogllava (1140m above sea level), Stranra (1280m above sea level), Sellcë (an early residence near Bilisht) and Vërnik, (5&nbsp;km east), south is bordered by Vishoçicë (3&nbsp;km south), while west is bordered by Devoll River and villages like Poloskë (4&nbsp;km), Kuç (3&nbsp;km), Baban (5.5&nbsp;km ) and Hoçisht (6.5&nbsp;km). Bilisht has a population of about 12,000 and is the capital of the Municipality of Devoll.

The [[Türbe|tyrbe]] (tomb) of the Muslim Sufi saint Qazim Baba is located in Bilisht.<ref name="Elsie53">{{cite journal|last=Elsie|first=Robert|title=The Christian Saints of Albania|url=http://home.olemiss.edu/~mldyer/balk/article2.html|journal=Balkanistica|volume=13|issue=36|year=2000|pages=53}}</ref>

==History==
A fortified location dating from the [[early Iron Age]] exists nearby Bilisht.<ref name="Hammond6">{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|title=Collected studies, Volume III|year=1994|publisher=Adolf M. Hakkert|isbn=978-9025610517|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1WwiAQAAIAAJ&q=bilisht|pages=6}}</ref>

Bilisht ({{Langx|ota|بهلشته}},<ref name="Lecosm">{{cite web|url=https://lehcei.cagdassozluk.com/osmanlica-turkce-sozluk-madde-2915.html|title=بهلشته - Bihlişte|author=Lehce-i Osmani|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref> ''{{Transliteration|ota|Bihlişte}}''<ref name="Bedirhan3233"/>) was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] for several centuries. Muslims in the [[kaza]] (district) of Bilisht owned tenet farms (baștina) in the late 16th century.<ref name="Ergo42">{{cite book|last=Ergo|first=Dritan|chapter=Islam in the Albanian lands (XVth-XVIIth Century)|editor1-last=Schmitt|editor1-first=Oliver Jens|title=Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa &#91;Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe&#93;|year=2010|location=Frankfurt am Main|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9783631602959|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCdYHU9PtiIC&q=Bilisht+|pages=42}}</ref> Bilisht became an important centre for the [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Halveti]] order<ref name="Clayer145">{{cite book|last=Clayer|first=Nathalie|title=L'Albanie, pays des derviches: Les ordres mystiques musulmans en Albanie à l'époque post-ottomane (1912-1967)|year=1990|publisher=Harrassowitz|isbn=9783447030885|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=31LYAAAAMAAJ&q=bilishti|pages=145}}</ref> and maintained two or three [[Khanqah|tekkes]] in the town that were reliant on its tekke in [[Ohrid]].<ref name="Elsie90">{{cite book|last=Elsie|first=Robert|title=Handbuch zur albanischen Volkskultur: Mythologie, Religion, Volksglaube, Sitten, Gebräuche und kulturelle Besonderheiten|year=2002|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=9783447044875|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eH1pAAAAMAAJ&q=bilisht+tekkes|pages=90}}</ref> During the [[Great Eastern Crisis]], the [[Treaty of San Stefano]] nearly placed Albanian areas such as Bilisht in a proposed [[Greater Bulgaria|large Bulgarian state]].<ref name="Cuaz99">{{cite journal|last=Cuaz|first=Marco|title=Il tema dell'identità nazionalenella storiografia albanese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYWFAAAAIAAJ&q=Bilisht|journal=Passato e Presente|volume=XIX|issue=39|year=1996|pages=99}} "trattato russo-turco di Santo Stefano del 3 marzo 1878 che avrebbe fissato le «indiscutibili frontiere etniche bulgare», occupando i territori albanesi di Korcia, Bilisht, Pogradec, Struge, Dibër, Gostivar, Kaçanik e Kumanove."</ref> Shortly thereafter it was superseded by the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]] that left the town and its surrounding area in the Ottoman Empire. In the late Ottoman period, the [[Nahiye (Ottoman)|nahiya]] (sub–district) of Bilisht was a centre of revolutionary activity for Albanian and [[Aromanians|Aromanian]] [[Cheta (armed group)|cheta]] groups, whom collectively numbered some 150-200 individuals.<ref name="VelichkoTrifunov476">{{cite book|last1=Georgiev|first1=Velichko|last2=Trifunov|first2=Stayko|title=История на Българите 1878-1944 в документи: Българите в Македония, Тракия и Добруджа|year=1994|publisher=Prosveta|isbn=9789540105581|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnwvAQAAMAAJ&q=%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%89%D0%B0|pages=476}}</ref> Until the early twentieth century, Bilisht experienced population growth from the surrounding rural area, as it was a centre for artisan activities and trade located on important transport lines.<ref name="Vullnetari21"/> It also made the town vulnerable in times of crisis to robberies and war.<ref name="Vullnetari21">{{harvnb|Vullnetari|2007|p=21.}}</ref>

[[File:Xhamia e Bilishtit 8.jpg|300px|thumb|Mosque of Bilisht]]
Following the [[Balkan Wars]] (1912–1913), Bilisht became part of Albania. Some Muslim Albanian villages on the Greek side of the border had Bilisht as their market town until their inhabitants were sent to [[Turkey]] during the [[Population exchange between Greece and Turkey|Greco–Turkish exchange of populations]] (1923),<ref name="DeRapper8081"/> based on religious criteria. Due to the Albanian census of 1923, the urban status of Bilisht was recognised.<ref name="AltmannElsie212"/> During the interwar period a tekke of the [[Rifa`i]] Sufi Order existed in Bilisht<ref name="Popovic112">{{cite book|last=Popovic|first=Alexandre|chapter=Les confreries mystiques musulmanes dans liespace albanophone (XIXe-XXe s.)|editor1-last=Schmitt|editor1-first=Oliver Jens|title=Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa|trans-title=Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe |year=2010|location=Frankfurt am Main|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9783631602959|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCdYHU9PtiIC&q=Bilisht+|pages=112}}</ref> and part of the surrounding Muslim rural population emigrated to [[Australia]].<ref name="Vullnetari17">{{harvnb|Vullnetari|2007|p=17.}}</ref> Bilisht was also the centre of the Bilisht district.<ref name="AltmannElsie212"/>

In the 1960s, the area around Bilisht and neighboring Korçë had the highest densities of population in mountainous districts within the country (500 metres and above).<ref name="Vullnetari75">{{cite web|last=Vullnetari|first=Julie|date=September 2007|title=Albanian Migration and Development: State of the art review|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45666021|publisher=IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion)|access-date=14 September 2019|page=75}}</ref> The Albanian communist government [[Bunkers in Albania|constructed many bunkers]] in the Bilisht area.<ref name="DaCosta83"/> During the early 1990s, [[Christianity in Albania|Christianity]] and later [[Islam in Albania|Islam]] were revived in Albania.<ref name="DeRapper41"/> As such in Bilisht, the Orthodox church of [[Paraskeva of the Balkans|Saint Paraskeva]] (Shën e Premte) was rebuilt in 1992 followed by a new mosque in 1995.<ref name="DeRapper41">{{cite journal|last=De Rapper|first=Gilles|title=Religion in post-communist Albania: Muslims, Christians and the concept of 'culture' (Devoll, South Albania)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4xOAQAAIAAJ&q=Bilisht+Islam|journal=Anthropological Notebooks|volume=14|issue=2|year=2008|pages=41}}</ref>  The town in post communist Albania has also been a recipient of in-migration by a small number of people from other parts of the country, due to pre-existing family connections.<ref name="Vullnetari115209">{{harvnb|Vullnetari|2012|pp=115, 209.}}</ref> New shops have opened in Bilisht<ref name="Sintes381">{{cite book|last=Sintès|first=Pierre|title=La raison du mouvement: Territoires et réseaux de migrants albanais en Grèce|year=2010|publisher=Karthala|isbn=9782811103903|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VtH0OkaN7F4C&q=bilisht&pg=PT389|pages=381}}</ref> and it has been one of a number of towns in the wider area that has attracted investment.<ref name="Vullnetari209">{{harvnb|Vullnetari|2012|p=209.}}</ref> Old communist era bunkers in Bilisht have been repurposed into cafes and other uses.<ref name="DaCosta83">{{cite thesis|last=Da Costa|first=Brandon|date=2019|title=Part I - Delirious Underground, Part II - Model Homes for Paranoia|type=Masters|publisher=University of British Columbia|url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/graduateresearch/42591/items/1.0378621|access-date=15 December 2021|page=83}}</ref> Built in the late 2010s, the [[Trans Adriatic Pipeline]] (TAP) transporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe runs through Bilisht.<ref name="Jirušek67">{{cite book|last=Jirušek|first=Martin|title=Politicization in the Natural Gas Sector in South-Eastern Europe: Thing of the Past or Vivid Present?|year=2018|publisher=Masaryk University|isbn=9788021089822|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=toDoDwAAQBAJ&dq=bilisht+tap&pg=PA67|page=67}}</ref><ref name="Tarsoudi21">{{cite thesis|last=Tarsoudi|first=Vasiliki|date=2021|title=Το δίκαιο μεταφοράς φυσικού αερίου στην ΕΕ και ειδικότερα το καθεστώς του αγωγού TAP και το σύμφωνο φιλοξενούσας χώρας|type=Masters|publisher=Democritus University of Thrace|url=https://repo.lib.duth.gr/jspui/handle/123456789/11663?mode=full|access-date=8 January 2022|page=21|language=el}}</ref>

==Demographics==
Ottoman geographer [[Hadji Khalfa]] (1609–1657) wrote that during the mid seventeenth century the nahiya (sub-district) of Bilisht was populated by a mixed [[Albanians|Albanian]] and [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] population and the Christian element was declining due to local disturbances and [[Islamization of Albania#Southern Albania|inhabitants converting to Islam]].<ref name="Gyuzelev67"/> In the early nineteenth century, the ethnic border between Albanians and the neighbouring Slavic (Bulgarian) population ran close and to the east of Bilisht.<ref name="Gyuzelev67"/> Between 1805 and 1807, the British traveller [[William Martin Leake]] passed through the area, referred to the ethnic border and stated that the people of Bilisht spoke [[Albanian language|Albanian]].<ref name="Gyuzelev67">{{cite book|last=Gyuzelev|first=Boyan V.|title=Албанци в Източните Балкани|year=2004|publisher=ИМИР|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZxoXAQAAIAAJ&q=%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%89%D0%B0|pages=67|isbn=9789548872454}} "{{lang|bg|Етническата граница между българи и албанци оставя двете български села като остров сред албанското население още вначалотона XIX в. Тогава тази граница е преминавала пò на изток, някъде в района на градчето Биглища. В 1805–1807 г. През Албания минал англичанинът Уилям Лийк. Според него границата настраната била селището Биглища, тъй като жителите му говорели албански. Всредатана XVII в. Турският географ Хаджи Калфа в своето описание на Европейска Турция обаче отбелязва, че жителите на нахия Биглища са българи и арнаути. Християнското население на тази област намалявало най-вече поради изселване в други крайща и приемане наисляма.}}"</ref>

During the 1980s, the population was 5600.<ref name="AltmannElsie212">{{cite book|last1=Altmann|first1=Franz-Lothar|last2=Elsie|first2=Robert|title=Albanien im Umbruch: eine Bestandsaufnahme|year=1990|publisher=Oldenbourg|isbn=9783486558487|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cpm4AAAAIAAJ&q=bilisht|pages=212}}</ref> In post–communist Albania, Bilisht contains a mixed population of Muslims and Orthodox Christians.<ref name="DeRapper8081"/> In 1995, it had 8,000 inhabitants<ref name="DeRapper8081"/> and 7,000 in 2001.<ref name="Vullnetari23">{{cite book|last=Vullnetari|first=Julie|title=Albania on the move: Links between internal and international migration|year=2012|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=9789089643551|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSGPweA2KL8C&q=Bilisht|pages=23}}</ref> Apart from the village of [[Vernik|Vërnik]], all other settlements of the Devoll region including Bilisht are populated by an Albanian speaking population.<ref name="DeRapper8081">{{cite book|last=De Rapper|first=Gilles|chapter=Blood and Seed, Trunk and Hearth: Kinship and Common Origin in southern Albania|editor1-last=Hemming|editor1-first=Andreas|editor2-last=Kera|editor2-first=Gentiana|editor3-last=Pandelejmoni|editor3-first=Enriketa|title=Albania: Family, Society and Culture in the 20th century|year=2012|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=9783643501448|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfpTqhlsCtMC&q=Bilisht&pg=PA81|pages=80–81}}</ref> A [[Romani people in Albania|Romani community]] also exists in the town that settled in Bilisht during the 17th century.<ref name="Dalipaj132">{{cite book|last=Dalipaj|first=Gerda|chapter=Roma communities in Elbasan|editor1-last=Hemming|editor1-first=Andreas|editor2-last=Kera|editor2-first=Gentiana|editor3-last=Pandelejmoni|editor3-first=Enriketa|title=Albania: Family, Society and Culture in the 20th century|year=2012|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=9783643501448|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfpTqhlsCtMC&q=Bilisht&pg=PA81|pages=132}}</ref> As of the late 2010s, the majority population of Bilisht is Muslim of the [[Bektashi Order]].<ref name="PetVic157">{{cite book|last1=Pettifer|first1=James|last2=Vickers|first2=Miranda|title=Lakes and Empires in Macedonian History: Contesting the Waters|year=2021|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781350226142|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bQ8EAAAQBAJ&dq=Bilisht+town+is+majority+Bektashi/Muslim&pg=PA157|page=157}} "Bilisht town is majority Bektashi/Muslim"</ref>

==Education==

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=400
| image1 = Bilisht 30.jpg
| image2 = Bilisht 26.jpg
| footer = Primary schools "Myteza Sala" (left), "Dritëro Agolli" (right)
}}
An Ottoman secondary school (rüştiye) was opened in Bilisht during 1881–1882.<ref name="Bedirhan3233"/> Twelve years later it closed down due to a decrease of students and poor quality teaching from its lone educator.<ref name="Bedirhan3233"/> It was transformed into a primary school by the early 1890s.<ref name="Bedirhan3233"/> In the mid 1890s it had reverted to a secondary school and was the smallest in the region.<ref name="Bedirhan3233"/> By the 1900s, it had two teachers and around 20 students.<ref name="Bedirhan3233">{{cite thesis|last=Bedirhan|first=Hasan Çağri|date=2019|title=Serficede modern eğitim kurumları (1875–1912)|trans-title=Modern Educational Institutions in Serfice (1875–1912)|type=Master's thesis|language=tr|publisher=Necmettin Erbakan University|pages=32–33|url=https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.12812/294408/yokAcikBilim_10300830.pdf?sequence=-1&isAllowed=y|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214082725/https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.12812/294408/yokAcikBilim_10300830.pdf?sequence=-1&isAllowed=y|archive-date=14 December 2021|access-date=9 March 2025}}</ref>

A Greek language school was already operating in Bilisht in 1888, while Greek education was still present during the 1912–1914 period.<ref name=Kolstida>{{cite web |last=Koltsida |first=Athina |script-title=el:Η Εκπαίδευση στη Βόρεια Ήπειρο κατά την Ύστερη Περίοδο της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας [Education in Northern Epirus during the Later Ottoman Period] |url= http://invenio.lib.auth.gr/record/104814/files/KOLTSIDA.pdf |publisher= University of Thessaloniki |access-date=2 December 2021 |page=138 |language=Greek}}</ref> Located outside of Albania's official Greek minority zone, post communist Bilisht has a Greek language and cultural tutoring centre.<ref name=Qaja118>{{cite web|last=Qaja|first=Evis|script-title=el:Το Ζήτημα της Εκπαίδευσης στην Ελληνική Μειονότητα και οι Δίγλωσσοι Μετανάστες Μαθητές στα Ελληνικά Ιδιωτκά Σχολεία στην Αλβανία [Education Issues in Greek Minority and Bilingual Immigrant Students at Private Greek Schools in Albania] |url=http://invenio.lib.auth.gr/record/66383|publisher=[[University of Thessaloniki]]|access-date=6 February 2013|pages=118–119|language=el|year=2006|quote={{lang|el|Έτσι, αν και η περιοχή επίσημα (Këshilli i Ministrave,2001) δεν χαρακτηρίζεται «μειονοτική»,... Γι' αυτό το λόγο, δημιουργήθηκε Φροντιστηριακά Τμήματα εκμάθησης ελληνικής γλώσσας και πολιτισμού, τόσο στην έδρα του Συλλόγου, την πόλη της Κορυτσάς, αλλά και ένα δίκτυο Φροντιστηριακών Τμημάτων που επεκτείνεται ραγδαία στην ευρύτερη περιφέρεια της περιοχής (Λεσκοβίκι, Ερσέκα, Βιθκούκι, Μπομποστίτσα, Μπιλίστι, Πόγραδετς, Μοσχόπολη, Πογιάνι, Ποροντίνα, Πολένα, Χοτσίστι, Ρεμπέτσι κ.ά).}}}}</ref>

In modern Bilisht, there are two Albanian primary schools, "Myteza Sala" with 20 teachers and "Dritëro Agolli" with 25 teachers.<ref name="Pylli244">{{cite conference|last=Pylli|first=Evionda|date=2–3 May 2019|title=Challenges of acquiring scientific knowledge for students of pre-university education and teacher responsibilities in the classroom environment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3GgDEAAAQBAJ&dq=bilisht+education&pg=PA244|publisher=Rating Academy (Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University)|location=Çanakkale|conference=Village Institutes and New Searches in Education|page=244|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref> Bilisht has an Albanian elementary school "Fuat Babani" and it caters for up to 800 students.<ref name="kohjon"/> It was completely reconstructed and modernised through a €600,000 investment by the TAP pipeline in 2018.<ref name="kohjon">{{cite news|title=TAP rikonstrukton shkollën "Fuat Babani" në Bilisht me 600 mijë euro|trans-title=TAP reconstructs the school "Fuat Babani" in Bilisht with 600 thousand euros|url=https://kohajone.com/tap-rikonstrukton-shkollen-fuat-babani-ne-bilisht-me-600-mije-euro/|agency=Koha Jone|date=20 May 2018|accessdate=7 January 2022|language=sq}}</ref>

==Governance==
The municipal council for Devoll composed of 17 members is located in Bilisht.<ref name="muncoucil"/> In local Albanian elections of the early 2000s, a member of the Romani community was elected to the municipal council as a councilor.<ref name="DeSotoBeddiesGedeshi111">{{cite book|last1=De Soto|first1=Hermine|last2=Beddies|first2=Sabine|last3=Gedeshi|first3=Ilir|title=Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From social exclusion to social inclusion|year=2005|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=World Bank Publications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eLDiHsezD8EC&q=islam&pg=PA16|isbn=9780821361719|pages=111}}</ref> At the [[Albanian local elections, 2011|2011 Albanian local elections]], the Macedonian minority succeeded in electing one councilor to the  municipal council.<ref name="muncoucil">{{cite web|url=http://www.cec.org.al/images/stories/zgjedhje-vendore/2011/html_lshumemerore/110919_-_DTI_-_lista_keshill_2011.htm|title=List of elected councilors (2011 local elections of Albania)|year=2011|publisher=[[Central Election Commission of Albania]]|language=sq|access-date=10 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705092257/http://www.cec.org.al/images/stories/zgjedhje-vendore/2011/html_lshumemerore/110919_-_DTI_-_lista_keshill_2011.htm|archive-date=5 July 2015}}</ref>
In the early 1990s, the Greek political party [[Omonoia (organization)|Omonia]] in Albania fielded a local candidate from Bilisht in elections, however it was later withdrawn after threats of violence.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bugajski|first1=Janusz|title=Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations and Parties: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations and Parties|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781315287430|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KY0YDQAAQBAJ&q=thanasi+jorgji%3D&pg=PT336|language=en|quote=Several other anti-Greek incidents are reported on the eve of the elections. For example, Thanasi Jorgji from the village of Bilisht, province of Korce, withdraws his candidacy after local Albanians threatened to burn down his house.}}</ref>

== Popular culture ==
The town of Bilisht is the location for events in an [[Albanian iso-polyphony|Albanian polyphonic song]] ''Në plepat Bilishtit'' (The poplars of Bilisht) that commemorates male bravery, honour and family values.<ref name="Sugarman256">{{cite book|last=Sugarman|first=Jane|title=Engendering song: Singing and subjectivity at Prespa Albanian weddings|year=1997|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226779720|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0vZkH0m-bMC&q=bilisht+plepat&pg=PA256|pages=256}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Bilishti.jpg|Centre of Bilisht, 2013
File:Stadiumi “Devolli” në Bilisht 1.jpg|"Devolli" Stadium
File:Bilisht 47.jpg|"Çezma e Madhe" (large water fountain), erected 1914–1918 
File:Bilisht 53.jpg|Communist era bunker
File:Bilisht 55.jpg|Monument to local victims of communism
File:Bilisht 54.jpg|Bilisht and Orthodox Church (far right corner)
File:Teqeja Halvetjane, në Bilisht 2.jpg|Halveti tekke
File:Bilisht 34.jpg|Streetscape in Bilisht
File:Bilisht 37.jpg|Houses in Bilisht
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090622174951/http://www.visitdevoll.com/alb_htdocs/default.htm Visit Devoll Tourist Guide]

{{Cities in Albania}}
{{Korçë County}}
{{Devoll div}}

[[Category:Former municipalities in Korçë County]]
[[Category:Albania–Greece border crossings]]
[[Category:Administrative units of Devoll (municipality)]]
[[Category:Towns in Albania]]