The first impression of Albania is just the opposite of the title. When you say you're going to Albania, everybody will just ask you – what will you be doing there? You'll get killed there! And when I see what people think of the country I can only laugh at them. Naturally, these grim warnings come from people, who never travel, and believe visiting a country that used to be under the tight fist of Envier Hoxa in the past, is a grand adventure. Currently Albania has a population of 3.6 million people and the youngest average population in whole of the Europe.
The capital, with one millions of people living there, is much different from other cities in Europe. Traffic is chaotic, everybody drives as they please, not regarding the traffic lights and constantly being on the horn. It reminded me of traffic in India, but nobody is nervous behind the wheel. They love to call Albania the country of Mercedes Benz, as 80% of all vehicles originate from that German producer – dating back to 1985. I’ve been told it’s so due to once bad roads, and the durability of these cars. The population/benz ration is higher than in any other country in the world. Even the vans and busses are from the same factory. Down-town Tirana is a huge construction site, with foreign capital arriving from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and similar. What to see in Tirana? The biggest site is the Skenderbeg’s square, that connects all the main streets of the city. You should also se the 30m tall lock tower Sahat-Kulla; the Hadji Et'hem Bey mosque; the Central Committee building, the culture centre Pyramid – the former mausoleum of Envier Hoxa (closed and collapsing), the state bank, the opera and the monument ot the national hero Gjergja Kastriotija – Skenderbeg in the middle of the square. Important is also the modern church of Kish (with the mosaic of mother Theresa) and the national history museum. Albanians are descendants of the Illyria people, with highly developed culture dating back to the days of ancient Greeks, Romans and Byzantium.
I continued towards the medieval Kruj near Tirana, which was the capital in the 15th century. This is the town, from where the national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeg ruled the country and fought successfully against the Turks for 25 long years. He protected European civilization from the Ottoman threat. Skenderbeg died in 1468 and Albania fell under the Turkish rule 10 years later. The town is located on the hill of Sari-Saltiku and offers a great view to the glorious mountains and olive trees. Here you will find typical Albanian houses and the Skenderbeg’s monument, a rich Turkish bazar (a must see, with many unique hand crafts) and the castle / fortress with the interesting museum dedicated to Skenderbeg. The shops and bazar are full of souvenirs by local people, who offer everything from Skenderbeg, to cognac and bunker-shaped ashtrays.
And it’s the bunkers that are the biggest tourist attractions all around Albania. They are just about everywhere! The former dictator probably had no clear vision of where to place them. The Bunkers were built all over the country from 1950 until his death in 1985, as he was always trying to protect the state from an invasion that never came. Each is really heavy – 5 tons – and mostly today they are deteriorating as there is no use for them. Some were transformed into shops, while others are used for sheep shelters, in some people even live, but most are overgrown by grass. The state is planning to demolish 300.000 bunkers in the future. A group of German students got the idea, to transform them into a hostel.
Berat je is one of the most beautiful museum towns in Albania. It’s also named the town of thousand windows. It’s located under the mighty Tomorr mountain and surrounded by beautiful landscape, with many olive and cherry trees. The town has three parts and was established by an Illyria tribe of Dezareti s6 centuries ago. The whole town is a museum, as it’s the most beautiful and picturesque town of Albania. It’s outlook is the work of Albaina artists such as Onufri, Nikolla, Qipriot and Cetir. The old part of the town is surrounded by a massive fortification with 24 towers, inside it you’ll find 20 churches, with the largest of them being the most important museum of Albanian painter from the 16th century – Onufri – known for his master icons. The town was placed on the UNESCO list in 2008.
The picturesque town of Gjirokastër is also known as the town of thousand stairs and has a unique architecture. It’s also under the protection of UNESCO. You simply have to go and walk around it to get to know it, to see the streets, the bazar and the architecture of three story houses of the 19th century. In the centre there’s a monument to Mehmed and the scenery is dominated by the view of the mighty fortress from the 6th century, that used to be a prison, but is now a military museum with a collection of old guns and cannons (and even a shot down US plane in the yard in front of it). The panoramic view is also just priceless. And while I was at the fortress a whole group of beautiful young girls came to the fortress. It turned out they were auditioning for Miss Albania, which was held in Gjirokastër. And the town is known that the communist leader Hoxa was born here. His birth house is now an ethnographic museum, with typical bedrooms, guest rooms, dining room, traditional clothing… But it never states that he was born here, as people don’t really cherish his memory.
In many aspects Albania is still an undeveloped country, where we can see many different things and interesting things we couldn’t see anywhere else. They call their land the Shqipëria, which means the land of eagles, which is also the symbol of the country on the national flag. Albania also features many rocky and sand beaches, mighty mountains, wild rivers and rich nature. There are also some lakes worth visiting.
For those, who want to discover Albania and what lays behind the stereotypes of a poor and closed off land, visited only by a few westerners, I have to say this is more a myth than a stereotype. But it does have a special charm to visit Albania and some still feel it’s a unique adventure. But in the past few years the country made a great progress in tourism, which means this is about the last possibility to visit the land and enjoy it as it is, before it gets spoiled by mass tourism.
