This trip will take us across a few of the Balkan countries as well as to the island of Sicily. After a flight to Frankfurt we then took a short flight to Tirana, the capital city of Albania. We arrived to a really interesting looking terminal and a bright sunny day.
Flying into the city we could see it is surrounded by beautiful mountains and the city is located in a valley.
The airport is actually called Mother Teresa airport because she was born to an Albanian family in what is now North Macedonia and is considered one of Albania’s most famous historical figures. Just outside the terminal in the middle of the traffic round about there is a bronze statue of her. I learn something new everyday when I travel!
We had booked a pickup and were surprised to see so many electric vehicles everywhere including our taxi. Tirana is less than 20 kms from the airport but took us 90 minutes as the traffic was horrendous! Lots of cars trying to drive on narrow streets, so finally our driver started driving on the shoulders of the roads to get ahead.
We are staying for a couple of days in a very nice and clean Airbnb in a quiet residential area. Here is the view from the balcony…
We were looking forward after some time resting to get out and explore the city but unfortunately that is not going to happen this time due to large, violent protests. They are happening in the centre of the city where we are close to but everyone is being cautioned to stay away.
Some of the scenes on the way from the airport…
The protests started over 130 days ago in response to Trump’s son-in -law paying billions of dollars to buy an Albanian island to turn into a luxury resort. This was done in secret without adhering to environmental protections on public lands. Once the citizens found out they demanded the deal be stopped and government officials held responsible. Tens of thousands of people have marched in protests since then. I took this picture from the internet showing the size of the crowds.
These protests were mostly peaceful but a week ago they turned violent as students and young people joined and turned their demands to the issues of corrupt government, poor economy and lack of public services such as education. Young people feel there is no future for them here so they are demanding the resignation of the PM who is refusing to resign as the violence escalates. Today their teachers and professors joined the protests.
Last evening the protestors set fire to the Ministry of Education building and the Supreme Court…
Most of the places we wanted to visit are located in the same area as the protests so we are staying close to our rental which is in a residential area about 1 km away.
The area is very quiet with people going about their day to day lives. Albanians have a strong cafe culture so they are everywhere, in fact Albania ranks among the highest in the world for coffee shop density, roughly one cafe for every 150 residents. “ Going for a coffee” is the primary way Albanians socialize…
Since we couldn’t explore we might as well eat and drink so we walked to a nearby square for pizza and beer…
Albanians seem to like pizza as there are pizza parlours everywhere and it seems that they also love their bakeries as there is one on every corner…
The area we are staying in feels very safe to walk at night…
So we have been enjoying traditional Albanian food which has a lot of meat and vegetables, especially eggplant…
This dish is called Tave Dure which is beef slowly cooked in a clay pot in a rich tomato sauce with ricotta cheese, it was delicious!
When I was researching this trip it seemed that getting around the country using public transit which is our preferred way to travel was not possible so we have hired private guides. The first guide named Pellaumb said that before we left the city he would show us some of the city sights earlier in the day before the protests started again so we agreed and did get a little glimpse of Tirana. He is quite tall and a professional basketball player. And of course Don kept him engaged in conversation…
Tirana is the capital city of Albania with approximately one million people including the Metro area. The centrepiece of the city is Skanderberg Square which features a prominent statue of Skanderberg who is the national hero of Albania leading the country to independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
Skanderberg Square is surrounded by many types of architecture from different periods of occupation. In fact the architecture is one of the main features of Tirana. This is also the area where the protests are being held but they start later in the day.
Another feature of Tirana are the number of bunkers all around the city which were built to withstand a nuclear attack. They were built during the Communist era from 1944-1991. During this time the country was ruled by a brutal dictator and its’ borders were closed. No one was allowed to leave or enter the country, it was a very repressive regime and a very dark time in the history of the country. And to think this is recent history…
This one is now a museum…
The entrance features pictures of people killed during this period as intellectuals, teachers, religious people were seen as threats to the regime. The era ended when massive protests by students toppled the government. So it seems this is one way to effect change in Albania.
Another interesting building is the Pyramid of Tirana which is a large concrete structure built to honor the
Communist dictator Enver Hoxha by his daughter who was an architect. The Communists seemed to prefer concrete buildings…
Our impression of Tirana is of a city in transition, lots of reminders of its history, but there are new buildings going up everywhere alongside very traditional buildings from many years ago. The roads are narrow and traffic is unbelievable with people driving every which way to get around. It also feels like a city with a great future if the citizens can have more belief in the government. Tourism has exploded in the last few years which brings in new money and potential for growth. Here are a few pictures I took on our walk about…
There are many pedestrian only squares…
Beautiful flowers even though it is fall the weather is still warm…
Lots of market stalls…
Pomegranates are in season…
Lots of public art…
Old men sitting around chatting and playing music…
The largest mosque in the Western Balkans as the majority of Albanians are Muslim. Our guide told us that most of them are not strict practitioners of the religion and all religions are accepted here.
A very modern football stadium as Albanians are passionate about the sport…
Signs of the protests as most of the bus shelters and other structures were burned out…
Just a note to say that the majority of Albanians support the protesters and blame the escalation of violence on the heavy handed tactics of the police. One night as we were sitting in a cafe large groups of students dressed all in black wearing masks were running through the square chanting slogans as they were going to the protests. The people in the cafes and in the streets stood up, clapped and cheered them on.
I sincerely hope that the situation doesn’t escalate into further violence but with the Prime Minister not resigning I think it will. I also wish the people of Albania a better future for young and old. It has been an eye opener!
We were so pleased that we did get this glimpse of the city since we thought we would have to leave and not see anything. We are now leaving to explore some of the other parts of the country.
