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tirana is the capital of albania and the perfect place to use as a base for exploring the country.
it is a quite small city and most places are within walking distance.
skanderbeg square is the center of tirana and it is a very nice place to hang out and watch the albanian way of life. Leave a Comment
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Lezha, Alessio in Italian, is now a small town of less than 20,000 inhabitants, 39 km south to Shkodėr and 77 km north to Tirana.
Lezha is overhanged by a fortress (first photo) which is a part of a chain of fortresses used by Skėnderbeg to communicate fast at long distance. From the fortress of Lezha, a beacon lit on Rozafa castle in Shkodėr,45 km as the crow flies, can easily be seen. Then a beacon lit on Lezha fortress can be seen from Kruja castle ((54 km). Further south, other citadels such as Petrela could receive the signal and transmit it.
The fisherman shown on the second picture uses a kalimerre. This kind of fishing is used from Ulcinj, in the south of Montenegro to Saranda, in the south of Albania.
For more, visit my Rrethi i Lezhes page based upon my 1988 visit and my Lezhe page, based on my 2007 visit.
The third picture shows a highly polluting and dangerous plant that was working in 1988. It does not seem to work anymore in 2007. Leave a Comment
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Durrėsi is the main harbor for Albania, only 39 km from the capital Tirana. It has close to 100,000 inhabitants and is the second largest city in Albania, after Tirana.
The amphitheater left by the Roman is only partly unearthed but is worth the visit (first photo)
A small paleochristian church with an early Christian Crypt with a rare wall mosaic, shown here (photo) is situated in the Western part of the amphitheater.
For more, visit my Rrheti i Durrėsi page for my 1988 visit and myDurrėsi page for my 2007 visit. Leave a Comment
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Shkodra, a city of 90,000 inhabitants stands at the northern end of Albania, on Liqeni I Shkodres (Lake Skadar or Shkodra Lake), 116 km from Tirana, 15 km from the Montenegrin border and 27 km from Ulcinj/Ulqin, as the crow flies.
The first photo shows the monument for Isa Boletini a major figure of Albanian resistance against Ottoman Empire and Serbia & Montenegro. He was Kosovo representative in the first Assembly of Albania in 1912.
The second photo shows Rozafa castle, mainly built under the Venetians, though its history starts since the Illyrian times. There is about the building of the castle a legend about walling a living person, Rozafa, in the wall to allow the completion of the castle.
The third photo, shot in 2005, shows a building in bad condition that would require a lot of repairs.
Would you believe that the fourth photo was also taken in Shkodra in 2005 and not very far from the other ones? There are in the center of the city several buildings of this type, for offices that have been very recently built. That shows clearly that the country is running fast to improve its economical situation.
For more, visit my Shkodrar page. This page was built both 1988, 2005 and 2007 photos and I have tried to show how the city has at the same time changed and remained the same between these two dates. Leave a Comment
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during the enver hoxha rule, there was build several thousands bunkers around albania.
enver hoxha was sure that the west was planning an invasion of albania and spend large amounts of money building bunkers.
they did serve one good purpose though.
the young albanians often used them to have sex in.
quite practical if you still live at home with your parents.
today they stand as an odd remain of the communist era in albania. Leave a Comment Directions: scatterd all over albania.
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Gjirokastra/Gjirokaster, Argyrokastron for the Greeks is the birthplace of both former leader Enver Hoxha and writer Ismail Kadare, In 1988, we visited the so called birth house of Enver Hoxha with souvenirs of his entire life. Our Albanian guide warned us that it was not really his birth house but that this one fitted better with easy visits.
A World Heritage site, Gjirokastra also has a charming bazaar area with small shops facing cobbled streets. The castle, entered from either the valley or the town side, now houses the National Arms museum, though the best things about it are the fantastic views across the valley,
In Gjirokastra the houses are covered with "pllakė" (first photo), thick and irregular slates which give to the city its grayish color and explain its Greek name of Argyropolis (silver city) or more often Argyrokastron (silver castle).
The Market's Mosque (second photo) was built in 1757. In 1988, it was one of the few mosques that had not been destroyed by the Enver Hoxha regime and it even looked in good condition. The entrance with three arcades had recently received a new coating and was painted in white.
Do not be surprised if you see vines climbing on top of the houses : they allow to prepare home made raki with only a narrow strip of land around the house (third photo)
For more, visit my Gjirokaster page for my two visits (1988 and 2007) Leave a Comment
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Kruja is an old Illyrian settlement. It was later the seat of the first Albanian feudal state. It was later again the stronghold of Skėnderbeg, Albanias national hero.
The first photo shows the medieval bazaar and Skėnderbegs castle.
The second photo shows a beautiful large house. It is too large to be a private house and I wonder if that could not be a monastery with tombstones at the foot of the front.
The third photo was taken from the summit of the tower and shows a bird's eye view on what remains of the inner part of the citadel and of various houses with their inner yards.
For more, visit my Rrethi i Krujes page based upon my 1988 visit and my Kruja page, based on my 2007 visit.
My Fushe-Krujės page gives a glimpse on a neighboring small town with special features. Leave a Comment
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skhoder is the main town of northern albania and a pretty interesting place with lots of streetlife and people who are not used to foreigners and therefor very curious.
i have to admit it was a bit of a ramshackle place, but i still enjoed my 2 days there. Leave a Comment
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Vlora, 61,300 inhabitants, is the second largest port of Albania after Durrėsi. It is also a fishing port and holiday resort. It is also the starting point for the coastal road to Saranda, along the Albanian Riviera. It stands mid distance between Tirana and Saranda.
It was Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient, when he was in Vlora in 1542 to prepare his naval expedition against Italy, who ordered the famous architect Sinan to design and build Xhamia e Muradi (Muradi Mosque) (first photo).
The main square of Vlora is called Sheshi i Flamurit (Flag square). In the center of the square stands a monument depicts an anonymous flag holder, while below are depicted distinguished figures of the movement for the independence of Albania, including Ismail Qemali and Isa Boletini.
For more, visit my Rrethi i Vlores page based upon my 1988 visit and my Vlora page, based on my 2007 visit. Leave a Comment
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Saranda is the Albanian name for the Greek Saranda, meaning "forty", named after the Byzantine monastery of the "Forty Saints"
The city stretches along a 1 km bay. It is a good shelter for boats as it is protected from every wind except south-western by the Eremeca ridge (first photo).
Between Saranda and the Llogara pass (1027 m elevation) the coastal road is a wonder. The Albanian Riviera was in 1988 completely unspoiled (second photo).
In 1988, the terraces of Lukove (third photo) were amongst the greatest prides of the Albanian government. As much as 650,000 olive trees, orange trees and other fruit trees have been planted and watered by the "volunteers".
For more, visit my Saranda page built from both my visits in 1988 and 2007. Leave a Comment
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on October 6, 2004
on November 9, 2007
