When we told people that we were going to Albania on vacation the typical reaction was either “is it safe” or just simply “why Albania?” Yes, it is very safe and I hope to show you “why Albania” in this blog post and the one that will follow. I expect that in 10 years Albania will be on a lot more European itineraries as it is discovered by more and more travelers.
Tirana, the biggest city and capital of Albania is a modern, growing city with a definite buzz to it and some cool modern architecture.
We knew the area surrounding Albania from previous trips to the Mediterranean and knew that the beaches would be nice, the weather would be warm, and we had read that once summer ended that Albania was an uncrowded, inexpensive, destination. What we didn’t know was a single word of the language, how good the tourist infrastructure would be, what kind of cuisine we would find, and how welcoming the people would be.
As you can see from this picture taken on a cable car ride up to the top of scenic Mount Dajti, Tirana is a big, sprawling city of over a half a million people.
Albania is not a big country – for comparison it is about equal to the size of the state of Maryland. Albania is also very mountainous and most of the population of approximately 3 million lives in the lower elevations on the coast and just inland from the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
Religion was basically banned in Albania from the late 1960’s until the mid 1980’s. After the mid 80’s religious practices resumed and the country is now 59% Muslim and 38% % Christian with the Christians divided between Catholic and Orthodox. There seems to be no strife between the various religions in Albania and it is not unusual to see a mosque built next door to a church.
Albania is a young country having gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. The government that took over in 1944 led by the dictatorial Enver Hoxha used a combination of terror, nationalism and isolation to rule the country until his death in 1985.
Tirana has some beautiful pedestrian areas lined with shops, cafes, and bars. It has a young, energetic vibe rather than the old and quaint vibe of many other European cities.
Civil unrest bordering on anarchy overwhelmed the country in 1991–92 and 1997. In the spring of 1997, Italy led a multinational military and humanitarian intervention authorized by the United Nations Security Council to help stabilize the country. Since then Albania has made strides toward democratic reform and is now a parliamentary constitutional republic with free elections. Albania is a member state of NATO and also an official candidate for membership in the European Union.
The Pyramid of Tirana is one of several architecturally interesting buildings found in Tirana.
Albania is emerging from a troubled past and now their trajectory seems strong. Wages are still very low and so prices are a real bargain for tourists but don’t wait too long because if Albania joins the EU and switches to the Euro then wages and prices will ramp up quickly.
The Tanners’ Bridge is an Ottoman stone footbridge that dates back to the 1700s and is one of the few structures we saw in Tirana from Albania’s past.
We stayed in a nice apartment in an area that previously had been reserved for Albania’s elite during the Communist regime. We were very near to the city’s heart – Skanderbeg Square – and just across the street from our apartment there was a park and a casino. The area had plenty of retail and restaurants to choose from and so we found the tourist infrastructure to be more than sufficient for our tastes.
Above the entrance of the Historical M1useum is a large mural mosaic titled “The Albanians” that depicts ancient to modern figures from Albania’s history.
Skanderbeg Square is an immense public square partially surrounded by buildings including the Opera House and the National Historical Museum.
A statue of Skanderbeg on horseback adorns the square named in his honor.
The Square is named after Skanderbeg who was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and unified the small Albanian principalities leading to Albania becoming an independent country.
Street musicians belt out lively tunes in Skanderbeg Square.
Julia posing in front of the I Heart Tirana sign in Skanderbeg Square.
One of the many mushroom shaped bunkers that dot the Albanian cities and countryside.
You can’t really write about Albania without mentioning the “Bunker Mania” that occurred during the Communist regime. After the leader Enver Hoxha cut ties successively from Russia and China because he didn’t like their brand of Communism, the country was isolated and without any backing from a major power. Hoxha’s paranoia convinced him that the country would be invaded and so he mandated a project to build bunkers throughout the country.
The tunnel leading to Bunk Art 1.
This was no small task and this bunker project was supposed to build 220,000 bunkers at a pace of 21,000 bunkers per year. From 1967 through 1983, 173,371 bunkers were scattered across Albania, an average of 5.7 bunkers per square kilometers of land. Bunkers lined the streets of major Albanian cities and dotted the fields and mountains in its rural areas.
The greeting party at the guard house near the entrance to Bunk Art 1.
The invasion that Hoxha feared never happened and the bunkers were never used. Many of these bunkers have been destroyed or repurposed as lodging, retail or museums like the one pictured below located in Tirana called Bunk Art 1. Bunk Art 1 is located in the hills above Tirana and is a combination modern art museum and museum of history detailing life under the isolationist Communist dictator Enver Hoxha.
The entrance to Bunk Art 1.
We spent 3 enjoyable days in Tirana and feel like we barely scratched the surface. The people were very welcoming and expressed surprise to see visitors from the United States. English was widely spoken in tourist areas and the lodging, food and entertainment were a definite bargain. We rented a car at the Tirana airport and skirted the heavy city traffic and headed south and west to the Albanian coast.
The Monument of Agonothetes was constructed in the 2nd century AD.
Outside of the city it was mainly agricultural – cows standing by the side of the road, small land plots planted with grapes, olives, and corn. Here and there, more bunkers, more mosques and churches, and a surprising number of turkey farms. Red tile roofs on pastel colored houses with balconies and iron railings painted white dotted the landscape. First stop on our journey to the coastal town of Vlorë was the ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia.
The Odeon at Apollonia dates to the 2nd century AD and was used for meetings and literary and musical performances.
Apollonia was an Ancient Greek trade colony named in honor of the god Apollo and founded in the 7th Century BC. Later Apollonia developed into an independent city and after that a Roman city. An earthquake in the 3rd Century AD rerouted the nearby river and caused the harbor to fill with silt and marked the end of the city’s prominence as a trade center. Much of the city has yet to be excavated and archeologists estimate that less than 10% of the city has been uncovered.
The museum on-site at the Apollonia ruins houses many of the treasures that have been uncovered to date including this detailed mosaic floor.
We continued down the coast to the city of Vlorë which is the third most populous city in Albania. Vlorë sits on the Bay of Vlorë where the Adriatic Sea ends and the Ionian Sea begins and it is surrounded by the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains. Like Tirana there is not a lot of quaint history displayed and the “Old Town” area pictured above seemed anything but old.
But the city has its charms including some nice beaches and a long seaside promenade lined with bars and restaurants.
Vlorë played an instrumental role in Albanian Independence. The founders of modern Albania signed the Declaration of Independence on the 28th of November. 1912 at the Assembly of Vlorë. The monument pictured above celebrates that important step in Albania’s history.
The Muradie Mosque is one of the notable older structure that is still standing in Vlorë. The mosque was built during the rulership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and completed in 1542 AD.
After a few nights in Vlorë which included a couple of fabulous seafood meals we moved on to discover the Albanian Riviera which I will cover in Part II of a post on Albania Ascending.