Albania

Visited: May 2010

Duration of visit: 5 days

Population: 3.0 million (2010)

Capital city: Tirana

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

• Staying in an aged socialist hotel in Shkodër, where senior politicians might have been taking important decisions in rudimentary conditions.
• Navigating among pointed peaks on turquoise waters of Lake Koman.
• Tirana – new wave of liberty, freedom and Western influence continuously battle with the communist legacy of Enver Hoxha.
• Wandering cobblestone streets of UNESCO World Heritage town of Berat.
• Gjirokastra – the City of Stone, where most of the old houses still have roofs covered with flat dressed stones.
• Bunkerization – government policy of bunker construction to protect its citizens from any enemy that could attack this isolated country without friends in the world.

The country that has been loosed to the outsiders for most of the 20^th century has been turning into an exotic tourist destination in Eastern Europe. Caught between traumatic communist past and insecure future the transition has brought market economy, democracy, exposure to international community, consumer-orientated lifestyle that accompanies new values, foreign visitors and opens new business opportunities, while the old system, infrastructure and habits have been struggling to survive.

Hardline Stalinism policy of president Enver Hoxha turned Albania into the most isolated country in Europe.

He broke with the Soviet Union after Nikita Khrushchev embarked on his reformist policy, withdrew Albania from the Warsaw Pact in 1968 in protest of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and blew out relationship with China after American President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing. Quite interesting historical events that were a good starting point, when I finally decided to visit Albania on my Balkan trip combined with Kosovo and Montenegro.

I crossed the Montenegro-Albanian border without any major problems and reached the most historic city of Albania – Shkodër or Shkodra in Albanian language. Securing a 54-kilometer trip in an almost new Mercedes for merely 5 euros to the gateway of Albanian Alps was a superb deal. The driver reminded me on mafia personalities from Robert DeNiro movies; with a short beard and a cap he could easily transform into a role of Muslim prayer leader – Imam as well. He greeted almost everyone who came across.

Horns interspersed with manual signs, while turning on and off the lights reconfirmed friendship with the majority of oncoming vehicles. Possessing a Mercedes in the region gives you a privileged status in local community.

The town of Shkodra was held by the Byzantines, Bulgars, Serbs, Turks, Illyrians and Austrians in until it was reunited with free Albania in 1921. It seems pretty calm these days. People wandering around slowly, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee in bars and coffee shops while observing the movement of the town. Shkodra Lake and Rozafa Castle surrounded by the Buna and Drin rivers are the two main attractions, but for me personally the highlight was a hotel where I stayed.

I found accommodation in an old socialist hotel, which actually doesn’t look like much of a hotel anymore. Elevators are inoperative, showers are not included among the amenities, and identifying the original paint color poses a challenge.

The place is memorable if you can imagine it in the past or scaring if you look at it from today’s perspective. The staff was friendly though and helpful with hints about the city, but didn’t talk much about the mysterious past of the hotel.

Beautiful monument erected for Saint Mother Teresa in the center near Ebu Bekr Mosque is dedicated to a woman whose mission was to help the poorest of the poorest, mainly in India. She was born in Kosovo, but her fathers’ family originates from Albania. Many people pay homage to this unique person by leaving flowers in front of the statue.

My next stop was Lake Koman. In order to navigate the lake, I boarded a daily ferry between the towns of Koman and Fierze. The ferry ride took approximately two and a half hours. The vessel is used to transport cars and passengers; no extra luxury is offered. During my trip it was rather empty, so I’ve got all the attention from the crew and other people aboard.

After an hour smaller grassy hills turn into rocky mountains that raise out of turquoise lagoon hundreds of meters high. The sun was shining. The scenery was really beautiful and peaceful. From the pointed peaks, depressions formed in valleys, where small rocks slowly roll down towards the lake. I imagined how mountain peaks were covered with snow in the winter. A kind of miniature version of the Norwegian fjords.

Located in the center of Albania, only 30 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea, sprawls Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Influenced by a Mediterranean seasonal climate, it is among the wettest and sunniest cities in Europe. In November 1944 the city was liberated after a fierce battle between the Communists and German forces. Nazis eventually withdrew from the country and the communists seized power.

From 1944 to 1991, massive socialist-style apartment complexes and factories were built, while the Skanderbeg Square was redesigned, with a number of buildings demolished. Tirana’s former Old Bazaar and the Orthodox Cathedral were razed to the ground in order to build the Soviet-styled Palace of Culture. The northern portion of the main boulevard was renamed Stalin Boulevard and his statue was erected in the city square.

Because private car ownership was banned, mass transportation consisted mainly of bicycles, trucks and buses. After Hoxha’s death, a pyramidal museum was constructed in his memory by the government.

With political changes in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, significant demonstrations started by University of Tirana students demanding political freedoms.

Western personalities started to visit the capital, such as former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, Pope John Paul II and first of all Mother Teresa, the first religious figure to visit the country after the end of Albania’s long anti-religious atheist stance. In 2007 George W. Bush traveled to Tirana on an official state visit becoming the first U.S. President to visit the former communist country. A street in center or the city was named after him and eternal glory was guaranteed.

Tirana still stays a rather small city with population just over half a million. A mixture of architectural styles reflects the influential periods of two totalitarian regimes in its history: Benito Mussolini during the Second World War and the regime of Enver Hoxha in the aftermath until the 1990s. If Mussolini brought Italian architects, communist system was influenced by Soviet regime and architecture.

In the 21^st century, Tirana evolved into a proper modernist city, characterized by large residential buildings, contemporary structures, new shopping centers and many green areas.

The Pyramid of Tirana opened as a museum in 1988 to honor the country’s despotic dictator Enver Hoxha who ruled from 1944 to 1985 and had died three years earlier. In 1991, following the collapse of Communism, the particular structure became a conference center and exhibition venue. During the 1999 Kosovo War, the former museum was used as a NATO base and humanitarian organizations.

Since 2001, part of the Pyramid has been used as broadcasting center by Albanian media outlets Top Channel and Top Albania Radio, while the other parts have experienced dilapidation and vandalism. The future is not clear: it is probably too difficult for local community to honor a person who had such a strong impact on Albanian history, while on the other side they also realize that installing a modern museum to Enver Hoxha could create enormous tourist flow and help the economy.

The Skanderbeg Square was under big renovation during my visit in 2010. The Skanderbeg Monument was surrounded by piles of sand, stones and excavators, which reorganized the central square and the surrounding area. The main goal would be transforming the square into a pedestrians and public transport only area.

The Clock Tower, Et’hem Bey Mosque and the National History Museum are located in the area, that would become one of the biggest pedestrian zones in the Balkans. But it was not always like this. Skanderbeg Monument replaced a statue of Joseph Stalin in 1968, on the 500^th anniversary of the death of Skanderbeg, while Enver Hoxha monument was removed amid student-led demonstrations in the early 1990s.

It is probably more reliable solution on a long term, to dedicate a central role to an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.

All in all, Tirana is a pleasant city, where the new wave of liberty, freedom and Western influence is the most visible. Younger generation don’t live any different from the counterparts in Western Europe, but there are still many remains that remind on the socialist past of the country.

Hatred of the restrictive past system leads to the destruction of all symbols, legacies and lifestyle. After a few years or decades, museums, attractions and activities that expose brutal systems in a way to convert them as a main magnet for foreign visitors.

In 2010, Tirana is in an in-between moment and it is only a question of time when entrepreneurs will discover the symbols of the past that can be converted and well marketed in the future.

“Socialism is the past. Younger generation don’t talk about it anymore. We want to live as people in the West or actually emigrate to the West. There are no jobs, salaries are low and you need good connection to get a good position,” was the narration of Amar, a typical youth representative of modern Albania.

Berat, nestled on the bank of Osum River, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have managed to coexist for centuries throughout the history. The terraced houses, several churches and mosques painted with grandiose wealth of visible murals and frescos are surrounded by the ruins of a citadel. Berat is beside Gjirokastër one of the main cultural centers of the country.

Walking around pretty patchwork of window frames and winding cobblestone streets climbing towering castle or resting in cafes, bars, ice cream shops and restaurants on Bulevardi Republika is rewarding. Known as the City of a Thousand Windows, built into the hillside, with a collage of window frames all looking out toward the river and Byzantine fortifications.

A quiet residential quarter is perfect for wandering around and getting lost in the maze of cobblestone streets; restaurants and shops in this area are scarce, as well as visitors in this time of the year.

I didn’t find any other foreign visitors either. Situated along the river across from a leafy park, the pedestrian-only street is the busiest spot in town every night and perfect for people watching. Ice cream is passable, cheese burek regular and inexpensive.

The birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha – Gjirokastra – was my last stop in Albania. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as “a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate“. The city, along with Berat, was among the few Albanian cities preserved in the 1960s and 1970s from modernizing building programs.

I found a nice accommodation in a renovated building in the old town, owned by a young Englishman Matt. I struggled to comprehend why somebody from the United Kingdom would invest so much money in Albania.

However, after hearing his enthusiastic discourse on the country’s development, the potential for tourism expansion, and the opportunities arising from political and economic reforms in Albania, I began to appreciate his fondness for the region.

There was no other visitor on that day, it was obviously not the main season yet in late May.

The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Castle, where the Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival is held every five years. The fortress dominates the town and overlooks the strategically important route along the river valley. It contains a military museum featuring captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist resistance against German occupation, as well as a captured United States Air Force plane, to commemorate the Communist regime’s struggle against the imperialist powers.

In recent years, many traditional houses are being reconstructed and owners lured to come back, thus revitalizing tourism as a potential revenue source for the local economy. So Matt was not the only one searching for new opportunities; many small guesthouses and apartment buildings have been waiting for new guests, who visit the area predominantly in the summer.

Though others old buildings and houses continue to degrade or just wait for the right time when new investors will find them. It is the question of time when Western or local entrepreneurs that work abroad will start the renovation.

Typical houses consist of a tall stone block structure which can be up to four or even five stories high. There are external and internal staircases that surround the house. It is thought that such design stems from fortified country houses typical in southern Albania. The basement of the building contains a cistern and the stable. The upper floor is composed of a guest room and a family room containing a fireplace. Further upper stories are to accommodate extended families and are connected by internal stairs.

Generally, in Albania also modern houses are immense, built in three floors, to accommodate multiple generations. Nevertheless, during major holiday, when extended family members from abroad return, these homes actually become too small.

One of the unique sights in Albania are concrete military bunkers, with an average of almost 6 bunkers for every square kilometer. You can see them everywhere; mostly on the countryside, but also around big cities. They were built during the Stalinist and anti-revisionist government of Enver Hoxha from the 1960s to the 1980s, with an idea to fortify Albania and protect it from foreign invasive forces that could attack the intrusive system, its leaders and innocent Albanians.

The program of bunkerization resulted in the construction of bunkers on every corner of the country, spending millions of dollars that could have been invested in basic infrastructure that was always in very bad conditions. The bunkers were constructed of concrete, steel and iron and ranged in size from one or two-person pillboxes with gun slits to large underground nuclear bomb shelters intended for use by the Party leadership and bureaucrats.

The most common type of bunker is a small concrete dome set into the ground with a circular bottom extending downwards, just large enough for one or two people to stand inside.

Driving around Albania these were the only ones I could actually see.

The bunkers were never used for the original purpose; most were abandoned following the dissolution of the communist government in 1992. Recently they have been transformed into residential accommodation, cafés, storehouses, and shelters for animals or the homeless.

Albania is one of the fastest changing countries in Europe, which is normal according to the extreme situation in which it entered into the 1990s, when Iron Curtain largely ceased to exist. Non-existing tourism industry has only started to explore the potential of exotic destination with different culture, unique history and some architectural, cultural or historical remains that cannot be found anywhere around Europe.

I visited Albania just in time to appreciate it in a transition, where many original forms are still present, while new Western lifestyle has not penetrated every single corner of the country yet.

I am convinced that Albania in 10 to 15 years will be completely transformed, with plenty of new attractions for massive tourism that will dominate the region.