A couple of years ago, I explored the western coast of the Adriatic Sea on an OAT small ship adventure. I was entranced by the Adriatic’s clear blue waters, the gentle climate of the region, the mouth-watering cuisine, and the rich and complex history of the area. Therefore, it seemed like returning to explore the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea was a logical next step.
The itinerary of OAT’s Crossroads of the Adriatic adventure included Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia, countries on the Balkan peninsula that were formerly parts of Yugoslavia. Although I knew there had been armed conflicts in this area fairly recently, my knowledge of the history of the Balkans was fairly limited. But I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the region.
Somewhat as an afterthought, I decided to add on a pre-trip extension to Albania, another country on the Balkan peninsula. It was the southernmost country I visited during the trip.
Before the trip, the main thing I knew about Albania was that it had been completely cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Until 1991, no one could leave the country and no one could enter the country. I was curious about how the Albanian people were making the transition from an isolated socialist society to an open capitalist society.
In addition, a friend had told me that Albania was one of the few European countries that had managed to save nearly its Jewish population during World War II. In fact, I later learned that Albania was the only country where the Jewish population increased during the Holocaust. That information intrigued me and provided a good reason for me to start off my trip to the Balkans with five days in Albania.
I really had no idea what to expect when I arrived in Tirana, the capital of Albania, on a bright sunny afternoon in April. On my way into the city from the airport, I was favorably impressed by the decent condition of the roads. The surrounding countryside looked invitingly green. Close to the city center, where our hotel was located, there was a lot of traffic. The buildings were a mixture of tall skyscrapers and older, lower structures with red tile roofs. There was also plenty of construction going on. As soon as I dropped off my luggage in my room, I was eager to explore.
A few others in my OAT group had arrived a day early, like I had. We met with Kledi, our tour leader for Albania, and set out for a short neighborhood walk.
I was very pleased with the location of our hotel, on a quiet side street right in the heart of the city. I was equally pleased to note there were two gelato shops just a few steps away. In addition, there was a modern multi-level shopping mall right across the main road.
A few minutes’ walk brought us was a very attractive pedestrian zone. It was actually part of a castle that went back to the sixth century, i.e. the Byzantine era. The old castle walls were rebuilt in late 1780s and early 1800s. Nowadays, this is where locals and tourists go to find open air cafés, restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops.
As we walked along, the chirping of birds and the scent of jasmine filled the air. Of course, I couldn’t read any of the signs that were written in Albanian, but Kledi pointed out several places where we could try the local cuisine. Before long, all of us were seated at outdoor tables at the Shendeverë Wine Bar and Restaurant. Perusing the English language menu listings, I saw many items that seemed similar to dishes I’d enjoyed in Greece, Turkey, and Italy.
I shared my dinner with Anita, a fellow traveler from Massachusetts. We had a lovely salad, excellent bread that we dipped into very flavorful olive oil, a platter of grilled vegetables (peppers, carrots, and zucchini and eggplant).
For a main course, we chose for a main course, Tave Kosi. This is an Albanian specialty which reminded me of a quiche without a crust. Big pieces of tender lamb were embedded in a creamy mixture of eggs, yogurt, and rice.
All of the food was delicious. My only regret was that I didn’t have room for dessert. But in the coming days, there would be many more opportunities to try all kinds of Albanian food.
Since the weather was beautiful, Anita and I continued exploring after dinner. Kledi had mentioned that we weren’t far from a pyramid that we could climb for excellent views of the city. However, we made the mistake of looking for something resembling the Egyptian pyramids at Giza. Eventually, we realized that this pyramid was a modern looking construction covered by several staircases going off in different directions. They all led up to various platforms that looked out over the city from a variety of vantage points. The juxtaposition of different architectural styles from different periods of time made for fascinating views.
Fortunately, all the stair climbing helped me recover my appetite, allowing me to stop for gelato on the way back to the hotel. After considering the wide selection of flavors, I settled on Black Forest cherry, which was vanilla ice cream with swirls of cherry and chocolate. It was absolutely delicious, and a good-sized scoop cost only 100 Lek (a little over a dollar).
By 8pm, when we finally got back at the hotel, I’d had six hours of immersion in Albania and I liked what I’d seen so far. Before I went to sleep, I reviewed some of my earlier reading about the country’s long and complicated history. Here’s a brief overview:
Albanians consider themselves descendants of the Illyrians, who were the original inhabitants of the area. The Illyrians fought the Romans for many years until they were eventually absorbed into the Roman Empirein the 2nd century BCE. After the division of the Roman Empire, the region became part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire. In the 7th century, Slavs from the north arrived in this part of the Balkans. Much of modern-day Albania became part of the Slavic Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century. During the Middle Ages, several different principalities controlled the region until they were defeated by the Ottomans in the late 15th century. Albania remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912 when the modern state of Albania declared its independence and chose its own king. Italy invaded the kingdom of Albania in 1939. The country became a protectorate of Nazi Germany during World War II. When the war ended, the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania was established with Enver Hoxha as its all-powerful leader. In the coming days, I learned much more about Hoxha and this repressive period of Albania’s history that he ushered in. Since 1991, the country has been a republic with a parliamentary system of government.
Before the official start of our tour, Anita and I had a full day for independent exploration. To fortify myself, I began with a hearty and healthy Mediterranean style breakfast – eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, feta, whole grain bread, and delicate turnovers filled with spinach and cheese.
The terrace of the hotel offered great views of the city in the early morning light.
Our first stop was the modern Orthodox Church where I was entranced by the dazzling mosaics.
Considering Albania’s recent history of totalitarianism, Anita and I decided to make our next stop the House of Leaves, or the Museum of Secret Surveillance, which was located right across from the Orthodox Church.
The museum is dedicated to highlighting the once-hidden sinister activities that took place during the reign of Albania’s strongman leader, Enver Hoxha. He was initially attracted to communism and fought with the partisans against the Nazis during World War II. After the war, he turned his back on the Soviet Union and set out to create an independent socialist state in Albania. He considered both the Soviet Union and the U.S. as external enemies.
At the same time, Hoxha was also preoccupied with internal enemies. Outside the entrance to the building we saw a sculpture depicting giant old-fashioned listening devices, a reference to the routine surveillance of the Albanian population during Hoxha’s regime.
Since no photographs were allowed inside the building, I’ll try to describe what we saw. The wide range of equipment on display was used by the government to track the activities and the thoughts of every single person in the country. People were encouraged to turn in family members, friends, and casual acquaintances who might say something as innocuous as, “There was no butter in the store today.” This was considered a criticism of the socialist system and the person who uttered the remark would be labeled an enemy of the state. The person could then be seized, imprisoned, tortured, and even executed. This practice resulted in an atmosphere where it was impossible to trust anyone.
In addition, Hoxha extracted vengeance on those he perceived as personal enemies, including a woman who had rejected his marriage proposal. When he learned that she was engaged to another man, he immediately arranged for her and her fiancé to be arrested and executed.
We saw rooms where torture took place and lists of the thousands of people who were imprisoned and executed as enemies of the state. This included a large number of religious figures, especially members of the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, the government had complete control over the information that the Albanian people received about the outside world.
I’m glad the present government has brought this grim chapter of Albanian history to light. School groups routinely visit the House of Leaves. Given the current situation in the U.S., I wish every American had a chance to see what happens when authoritarianism takes over and people lose their basic rights.
Needless to say, our visit to the House of Leaves was a chilling experience. While it was a sobering way to begin the day, it provided an essential learning experience that helped me begin to understand Albania today.
Afterwards, Anita and I walked, and walked, and walked. Tirana is a very walkable city and the fact that traffic stops for pedestrians who want to cross the street made walking even more enjoyable. We found our way to Skanderbeg Square, Tirana’s main square, which is dominated by a large-scale mural dating back to the socialist era.
A trio of musicians was entertaining passersby in the square.
The Ethem Bey mosque, which dates back to the 1790s, is adjacent to Skanderbeg Square. The interior is beautifully decorated. The majority of Albania’s population is Muslim, a legacy of the period of Ottoman domination. However, according to Kledi, for most Albanians, it’s a cultural identity rather than a strict religious practice. Of course, all religions were banned during the socialist period.
We browsed in a modern well-stocked supermarket and later strolled through the sprawling open air bazaar, where locals come to buy vegetables, grains and dried beans, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, and assorted housewares.
At one point, we walked past the old castle walls and returned to the pedestrian area for an al fresco lunch.
We walked across a pedestrian bridge that spans a small river running through the city.
Eventually, it was time for another gelato (so many flavors to try!). And all of this took place within twenty-four hours of our arrival in Tirana. I could hardly wait to see more of the city and the surrounding area under Kledi’s leadership.
What a fascinating trip!
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