Tirana Albania - on to a new country!

As we have never been to this part of the world before - and not sure what to expect we decided to go with a private guided tour.  Our tour guide, Megon picked us up at the airport and drove us to Tirana.  The drive seemed to be very mellow - all drivers seemed calm and shared the road nicely.  Then we got to the city and Mike and I had flashbacks  to being in Vietnam.  The lane demarcations seem to be suggestions.  And I can't figure out if the stoplights are suggestions sometime and rules at other times.  We are very glad that we have not rented a car and having to drive.  We go directly from the airport to Petrella Castle up on the top of a hill.  Their national hero, Skanderbeg, used this castle as part of his defence system.  They sent messages to other fortifications using smoke from chimneys.  So if one part of the area was being attacked people on the next hill would be notified very quickly.

 Did I mention there were a ton of steps to get up to the castle?

 View of the town below.

View through the bathroom window with reflection above.
I did make it down all those stairs - but my thighs are really sore.  But I'm still game for more.  Next stop is to check into our hotel.  After we are settled into our room we head out to see what is around us.  We walk over a bridge with no water underneath.  Megon explains that this used to be the only bridge over the river between the Christan and Muslim parts of the city.  The religious were separated because it was easier to control the taxing of people.  The Muslims paid less while the Christians were audited and paid taxes based on how much they owned at a higher rate.  The river has since been moved so there is no water now. 

We next moved on to Skanderbeg Square. 

 Old ruins - most of the old stones have been repurposed - in other words ancient buildings have been destroyed.

 Lots of government buildings here

 This is a bunker that was built during the communist era by Enver Hoxha who was the dictator during the period.  He build a ton of these bunkers - this one has been repurposed to show all the people who died because of him.  If you look closely - each of those lights are actually a photograph of a person.

 The clock tower.  A Christian church used to be next to it.  It - along with most other religious buildings were destroyed during the communist era.

 Right next door is a Muslim mosque. 

 This is a statue of Skanderbeg on a horse.  To this day he is a national hero.

 This museum was closed because of the late hour, but the Mosaic on the front is interesting.  It is made from a lot of little colored local stones.

 Skanderbeg square is actually has a rise in the middle to indicate a hill.

 Then we walked to a Greek Orthodox church and went inside.  There was a service going on.  The minister/priest walked around the audience waving something that sent off puffs of incense. 

 Then we headed off to see the home of Enver Hoxha and passed by this colored fountain.  The former mayor of Tirana was a painter and artist and he changed the city look a lot.  A lot of Albanians thought he was crazy because he knocked down buildings and added a lot of color, but the end result has been a much more beautiful city.

I did not get a picture of the home of Enver Hoxha because it is gated off and it was already quite dark.  Magon did tell us a story of how when he was a young boy playing with friends in the neighborhood he got into a lot of trouble.  He was being chased by friends and ran into the forbidden area.  This was during the communist era and a section of the city was off-limits to the locals.  Only the elites who lived there were allowed in.  But he was not paying attention and ran into the area - he went up to a policeman to ask how to get out and was caught and beaten before being allowed to have his grandfather pick him up.  When he got home he was beaten again by his family - I think for fear of what could have happened to his family because of his actions.  This story and many others I have heard make me so thankful that I was born in the time period and the country I was born in.