| Type: | v |
| Official Name: | Arapaj |
| County: | Durrës |
| Municipality: | Durrës |
| Municunit: | Rrashbull |
| Coordinates: | 41.3031°N 19.5056°W |
Arapaj is a village in the former municipality of Rrashbull, Durrës County, Albania.
At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Durrës.[1] It is a southern suburb of Durrës, located near the Mediterranean coast, approximately 6 kilometres south of this city.
Arapaj is a noted archaeological site, containing the substantial Basilica of Saint Michael dedicated to Saint Michael, an early Palaeo-Christian church which is believed to back to the fifth or sixth century.[2] [3] It has been declared a Cultural Monument of Albania because of its architectural significance.[4] A mosaic unearthed in the Basilica also demonstrates how engrained its culture was later on with the early Byzantine Empire.[5]
"Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu Winery", is distilled in the village of Arapaj.[6]
The etymological origin of the name Arapaj is hypothesised to come from the word Arap which means Arab in Albanian and it comes from the Turkish word which is the same. This possibly indicates there was an Arab settlement in this village, Durrës did receive Arab traders along the coast.
Notable people with roots from the village include:
Fatos Arapi (19 July 1930 – 11 October 2018) was an Albanian poet, short story writer, translator and journalist.
Renato Arapi (born 28 August 1986) is an Albanian
Lindita Arapi (born 30 June 1972) is an Albanian
Mustafa Arapi is an Albanian painter, lecturer and art restorer