Shqipëria? Yes, that’s how you say “Albania” in the Albanian language. You can see it on the coins.
And in a small plaza surrounded by government buildings, I noticed signs that said Republika e Shqipërisë, i.e. Republic of Albania.
I’ve always been interested in linguistics but I never realized that Albanian is one of those outlier languages that has no relatives among the languages of the world. Unlike the languages spoken in all of the countries that made up the former Yugoslavia, it isn’t a Slavic language. Of course, over the centuries, Albanian borrowed words from other languages as it came in contact with other groups of people and fell under the rule of other empires. Kledi told us that it’s a very difficult language to learn. Fortunately for me, most Albanians speak English, especially the younger ones. English language instruction begins in the first years of elementary school. In fact, when we met Kledi’s fourteen-year old daughter a few days later, we were impressed by her fluent American-accented English.
By the way, here’s the flag of Albania with the double headed eagle in black on a red field. The photo shows it flying from the façade of one of government buildings near the hotel. And notice that the flag next to it, which is mostly obscured in the photo, is the flag of the European Union. However, Albania is not a member of the EU. The country has applied for membership but has to meet certain economic milestones before it attains that status. Kledi mentioned that more and more foreign investment coming to Albania. One example is in the south, where Canadian companies are operating crude oil wells.
Our official tour began with Kledi leading our group of nine to a nearby statue of Suleiman Pasha, who founded the city of Tirana in 1614, when Albania was part of Ottoman Empire. The name of the city means “near the riverbank.”
A short distance from the statue was a monument to the resistance and the liberation of the city from the Nazis on November 17, 1944, during World War II. As I may have mentioned in my previous post, Albania’s resistance movement worked with the Red Army and Allied forces. The style of the statue is representative of the style favored by the Communists.
On our way to Skanderbeg Square, we passed by a mobile museum displaying the types of traditional clothing from different areas of the country. Many of the outfits featured detailed needlework and were reserved for special occasions, such as weddings and national holidays.
Skanderbeg Square is the largest plaza in the country and it’s paved with beautiful stone tiles, which can be slippery when wet.
The square is named after a mid-15th century Albanian military commander known as Skanderbeg. As a young boy, he was taken from his noble Christian family by the ruling Ottoman Turks to be raised as a janissary. This meant he was raised as a Muslim and trained to become a loyal soldier in the Ottoman army. This was a common practice in lands ruled by the Ottomans. However, when he was 38 years old, Skanderbeg returned to his home and devoted the rest of his life to fighting the Turks on behalf of the Albanians. To this day, he is seen as a national hero in Albania.
Also on the square is the large Opera House, which was a gift from the Soviets. The building with the large mosaic on the façade is the National Museum, built in 1982. The mosaic is an example of the Socialist Realist style. Kledi pointed out the central figure, a very serious looking woman holding a rifle, and mentioned how communism provided women with a lot of new opportunities, including greater access to education and employment. Today, many women in serve in the government and have full-time jobs. Childcare is state-supported and very affordable.
We had to be careful as we walked across the square to avoid colliding with the electric scooters that were zipping past. I was surprised to learn that at Christmas time, there’s a big Christmas tree in the middle of the square. Kledi told us that everyone celebrates the holiday, but doesn’t observe it in a religious way. Since religion was outlawed during the communist era, many Albanians are atheists. Although the population is composed of people from many different religious backgrounds, there doesn’t seem to be any friction based on religion.
From the square we could see an unusual looking building resembling a head wearing a helmet. Kledi explained that it was simply a multi-use building containing both residential and commercial space.
There were quite a few examples of interesting modern architecture near the city center.
Not far from Skanderbeg Square is a former underground bunker designed as a shelter in the case of nuclear attack. It was intended to be used as a command center for government officials.
Later in the morning, we got a completely different view of Tirana when we rode a cable car up to a national park on nearby Dajt Mountain.
On our way to the lower cable car station, we drove through a residential area of tall apartment blocks built during the 1970s and 80s. Each of the small apartments was typically occupied by eight to ten people. The buildings have no elevators or insultation. According to Kledi, the buildings were constructed quickly and without attention to quality. As a result, they are now in a state of deterioration. Housing is a problem in Tirana, as the population of the city continues to grow. Roughly one third of the country’s 2.7 million people live in the capital, and the number is constantly increasing.
The cable car ride covered 2.5 kilometers and took about 20 minutes so I had plenty of time to look down at the landscape. As we ascended, the contoured hillsides became greener and greener. I later learned from Kledi that the contours are a result of a geological process. The Balkan peninsula is a subduction zone, i.e. it’s where the African tectonic plate meets and slides under the Eurasian tectonic plate. Another result of the process is seismic activity in the subduction zone. In fact, every hundred years or so, there’s an earthquake in the Balkans. The most recent significant earthquake in Albania was a 6.4 magnitude quake that took place in 2019.
When we reached the top cable car station, at an elevation of 1100 meters above sea level, we had an excellent lunch served family style in a restaurant in the park. I enjoyed the typical Albanian dishes, such as cornbread with yogurt sauce; a salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and olives; böreks (phyllo turnovers with various fillings); a steaming mixture of peppers, tomatoes, and soft cheese for dipping rolls into (fergesë?); and a dish of meatballs in sauce. However, the dessert was a total surprise – tres leches cake has obviously conquered the world.
There’s also a hotel in the park, and a recreation area that’s popular with local residents.
Once we were back near sea level (the elevation of Tirana is only 361 feet), we drove to a very large bunker on the outskirts of the city. Built between 1972 and 1978, it is now called Bunk’Art 1 and was opened as a museum within the last ten years.
Hoxha, the Albanian dictator, was convinced that the Soviet Union or the United States would launch a nuclear attack on Albania. Over an eight-year period, from 1975 to 1983, he had over 173,000 bunkers built around the country (an average of one bunker for every 11 people). Most are small but the one we were visiting could accommodate and support 600 people for several months. And it’s where Hoxha thought he and his generals could survive a nuclear attack. Building the bunkers was dangerous work, usually performed by prisoners and soldiers who dug tunnels into the mountains. Hundreds died in the process.
The bunker is located on an active army base. After a short hike through a wooded area, we reached the entrance to the bunker. Soon we were in a multilevel underground city. Breathable air was supplied by oxygen generators throughout the bunker.
Exhibitions in various rooms of the bunker provided a wealth of information about the Albanian experience during World War II, beginning with the invasion by Italy in 1939, the start of the Albanian resistance movement in 1942 (in which Hoxha was involved), and finally the Nazi German takeover of the country in the summer of 1943. Approximately 20,000 Albanians lost their lives during the war.
From the exhibits, I also learned a lot about Hoxha’s rise to power as the war came to an end. The majority of Albanians were poor farmers who initially supported Hoxha. By the time they realized what Hoxha had planned for the country, it was too late to do anything to stop him. Anyone who opposed him was denounced as an enemy of the state.
While the bunkerization program was going on in the 1980s, Albanians were suffering through a widespread famine. But anyone who complained about the lack of food faced a ten-year prison sentence.
Hoxha’s private quarters looked quite comfortable. He had an office, a bedroom, and his own bathroom. He never actually slept in the bunker.
After our visit to the bunker, a traditional Albanian dinner accompanied by exuberant musical entertainment lightened the mood. The instruments featured were accordion, clarinet, mandolin, and tambourine.
Once again, the food (all vegetarian) was excellent. I couldn’t stop eating the fresh bread dipped in olive oil. But the highlight of the meal was the stuffed eggplant.
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