Alternate names: Saranda, Agioi, Hagios Saranta, Porto Edda, Santa Quaranta, Santi Quaranta, Sarandë, Saranta, Zogaj. 39°53' N 20°00' E, 101.1 miles S of Tiranë. This city on the Adriatic coast opposite the Greek island of Corfu, the remains of a synagogue dating from the 5th or 6th century were excavated in 2003. The capital of the District of Sarandë and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean, 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. 2008 population estimate: 32,000. Near Sarandë are the remains of the ancient city of Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
CEMETERY: A gravestone dating from 521 from the Jewish cemetery in Venosa, Italy (Augusta bat Yishai, head of the Jewish community of Anchiasmon) indicates a likelihood of a cemetery here although ties between the Greek and Albanian coastal settlements and southern Italy were strong. Anchiasmon (Onchismus) was the ancient name for Saranda then located in the Epirus area in Greece. [July 2009]