Monday, October 3, 2016

Albania -- August 2016

Seems like forever since our last entry...where has the time gone and where have we been?  Thanks for hanging in there with us...we do have some travels to share...

We're not sure we ever really thought about Albania, let alone thought we'd ever visit.  But what a gem of a country.  Nestled in the Balkans, it's the small orange country (see map below) on the Adriatic and Ionian coast, north of Greece, east of Italy.  It was one of the last countries to fall from communism in 1991 and it's taken this long for word to get out that this is a country very rich with history along with natural beauty with both mountains and beaches, including 2 World Heritage UNESCO sites, and is well worth a visit.
Albania is roughly the size of Maryland, Belgium or Rwanda with about 2.8 million people.  Of those, 430,000 live in Tirana, the inland capital of the country at only 361 feet above sea level.  Back in the late 1960s, after many mosques and churches were destroyed, Albania was proclaimed by the then leader, Hoxha, as 'the worlds 1st atheist state' yet today 58% of the country declare themselves Islamic, 17% Christian and 25% non-religious, atheist or other.

We were lucky enough to spend 10 days in the country and 7 of those were in Tirana, where Aly attended a conference.  We managed to get out in the evenings and even went on a 2.5 hour free walking tour of the city one weekend morning.  Here are just a few of the sights...
The city on a crystal clear day
Tirana from the Sky-view revolving restaurant



a multi colored city
with lots of green space in the city as well
and wide boulevards
with a beautiful carousel at the end of the main street
lit up at night
traffic blocks on the main boulevard
Lake Tirana near city center
beautiful walking streets
Albanian men catching up...
...and some Albanian women doing the same
Presidential Palace
Parliament
Roman Orthodox church--Resurrection of Christ Orothodox Cathedral
Skanderbeg Square -- the largest and main plaza in downtown Tirana where the Natural History Museum, Opera, Skanderbeg Monument, Et'hem Bey Mosque, Clock Tower, and the International Hotel of Tirana are all found.


 Clock Tower of Tirana and the 18th century Et'hem Bey Mosque
Natural History Museum with a beautiful mosaic featuring Albanians from various times in history
Skanderbeg Mounument -- George Castriot 1405-1468
Albanian nobleman known as Skanderbeg-- he reigned from 1443-1468
Tanners' Bridge -- an 18th century Ottoman footbridge -- one of the oldest around
statue of Mother Theresa - she hails from an Albanian-Indian family
just 1 of approx 185,000 bunkers found throughout the country dating back from
communist times--this is across the street from our hotel--the Rogner
Some interesting statues in and around the city...
Abdyl, Naim and Sami Frasheri -- heros and brothers from the 1800s
a woman giving a soldier water
children playing leap frog
wire man figure off the main street
Conference is over...a photo of the attendees...
A few of us took a gondola up to the top of the mountain just outside of town...beautiful views of the city where we had a delicious lunch and went on a lovely 2 hour hike.



Buddy, Aly, Haishu, Doug and Megan out on a hike





























After the conference, we, along with 2 friends, took a trip to the south of the country, visiting the 2 World Heritage sites in Albania and taking advantage of the aqua-marine waters of the sea.  Our 1st stop was Gjirokaster--Its old town is a World Heritage site--a well preserved Ottoman town which is overlooked by the Gjirokaster Fortress.  The town and Fortress date back to 1336...
the Fortress overlooking the town

the town of Gjirokastra
inside the fortress


beautiful panorama from the Fortress







amazing stonework





Megan, Carol and Aly inside the Fortress




the old town of Gjirokaster



Albanian arts and crafts
Albanian enamel bowls



lunch on the road--literally
lunch for 4--cheese, potato, spinach, meat and bread--all very delicious


leaving Gjirokaster with some Albanian humor (check out the sign!)
From Gjirokaster we continued south and stopped at the 2nd World Heritage Site in Albania, Butrint, the Roman ruins which date all the way back to the 10th to 8th centuries BC.  Butrint is located at almost the southern most tip of Albania facing the sea and the Greek island of Corfu.

















more amazing stonework
a ferry crossing into Greece


















After driving and visiting the 2 World Heritage Sites, we headed to the coast and spent our last night in Albania in the southern town along what people call the Albanian Riveria in the town of Serande, so close to Greece, you could almost touch it.  Beautifully clear warm water, delicious food and wonderful temperatures.
our hotel beach and umbrellas
looking south at the Greek coast line
the peach-y colored hotel on the left was ours




sunset
early morning on the coast

Corfu, Greece -- 6 kms from Serande
the beautiful town of Serande



the steep, twisty road back to Tirana
at the top of the coastal range, heading back to Tirana
















Ten days flew by and we left Albania heading for Austria for another bike trip in Europe...that trip will be next...

5 comments:

  1. Hello Aly and Buddy, thanks for sharing the nice pics and it is obvious that you spend a nice time in Albania. Happy Thanksgiving. Adrien

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Aly and Buddy, thanks for sharing the nice pics and it is obvious that you spend a nice time in Albania. Happy Thanksgiving. Adrien

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great photo tour of a place I've never thought of as a travel destination. You both look great, and I can tell you are doing well. Thnx! I guess I am late in seeing this, but glad I fell upon it today.

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  4. Awesomely awesome!
    (What else can one say?)

    ReplyDelete