A week in Albania

By Macayla Riney-Lucas

Tirana, capital of Albania

Last week I went on a week-long trip to Albania, arriving in the country's capital Tirana and then travelling down to the coast to spend time in Sarandë. Albania was a place I had little considered travelling to before, from mountains to beaches I found it had everything I needed.

Having landed in the midst of the protests against Jared Kushner’s attempts to buy ‘flamingo island,’ (which is next to Dajti National Park, Europe's first wild river national park, home to a dynamic untouched ecosystem) this provided an interesting comparison point to the decades of communism within Albania, during the 20^th century. As a bit of a history nerd, I wanted to find out more about Albania’s communist history, especially in light of all the protests against their Prime Minister, Edi Rama.

The capital, Tirana, is a city surrounded by mountains with winding backstreets and wide-open squares. This contradiction of the city, crammed spaces and then suddenly large empty surfaces, perhaps, sums up the contradictions of Albania itself.

Dajti National Park, Cable Cars

Having, until 1991, been under communist rule, this country has dramatically opened up in the decades since its fall. In the middle of the city is an underground museum, Bunk Art 2, which documents and details all of Albania’s communist history, stating and sharing all the country has endured.

Once a place that had a list of what sorts of people were not allowed in the country; men with long hair, women dressed like men, anyone wearing flowy trousers or clothes. It is now extremely welcoming and happy to receive travellers! On more than one occasion we were told enthusiastically about what a great place Albania was to live. Over the years many residents have tried convincing friends to come and see it, but only recently has the offer been taken seriously.

Bunk Art 2

The museum, whilst providing information on what life was like under communism, also told of individual Albanians involvement in helping hide Jewish people during WWII. Whilst the subject of intense scrutiny and fear, Albanian’s still risked their lives hiding Jewish people. They were often put in remote mountain villages, that usually all the inhabitants of the village knew about.

The moral code Besa that Albanians lived by, was that of protecting guests at all costs. This code meant it was the only Nazi-occupied country to make it out of WWII with a larger Jewish population than before. Named as ‘righteous among the nations’ a room in the bunker was dedicated to non-Jewish families who took in Jewish people.  

Tirana is also a city of some unique architecture, The Pyramid, originally built as a memorial for Enver Hoxha, communist Prime Minister of Albania until 1985, is now a cultural landmark from which to get some great views of the city (as well as a place, in the summer months, to slowly roast in the heat).

Sarandë

Sarandë

Down by the coast of Albania lies Sarandë, by day a scene of families on beaches and tourists on boat trips, by night, a single pulsing organism pumping out music along the beachfront. It too has its own intriguing history.

The Butrint National Park, located a half hour bus ride from Sarandë, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that had been inhabited since prehistoric time. Mentioned in Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid, where Aeneas comes to Butrint and describes what he saw as ‘Troy in miniature’ believed to be founded by Helenus (son of Priam). Can't help but make the connection here to Odysseus!

Butrint also features a museum that relays all the city has endured and its many transformations. From Greek to Roman to Byzantine, and a brief period of occupation by Venetian's, the museum documents this all. Whilst wondering around the site by ourselves was fun, we definitely could have benefited from a tour guide giving us more information on what we were seeing. We did try and casually join a group but I think it was pretty obvious we were interlopers, guess I'm not as subtle as I think.

Butrint National Park, museum

Albania faces a lot of homelessness and poverty, it is especially heartbreaking to see the children begging for money. Leaving Sarandë at 5am we had an early morning traipse across the city, where we were confronted with the image of a family of four asleep on the floor; with folded up pieces of cardboard used as blankets. We tiptoed past trying not to wake them, but the image stayed with me long after we passed.

Top Tip: Finally, we flew out of Corfu, taking a ferry that ended up costing us €40 each, nearly double the price of the bus from Tirana to Sarandë! It was a strange feeling going through three different timezones in one day, with Greece being an hour ahead of Albania, so beware of that if you plan on flying out of Corfu. Overall, it was a great trip to a country full of rich history and unbeatable natural scenery.

Note: Where I stayed - Hostels - Bearded Dad in Tirana and Hasta La Vista in Sarandë.

Both were excellent!