ALBANIA – TIRANA

APRIL 9-13, 2025.

Our initial impression of Tirana was not good at all. First of all, the road into town had a speed limit of 50 kph. Our taxi was going 110 and cars were passing us like we were standing still. Then the taxi driver got lost and started losing her mind. She was yelling in Albanian, waving her hands around, grabbing her head, and driving like a crazy person. We spotted another taxi and told her to ask him if he knew where to go. He did. We transferred to his taxi and he promptly took us to our location. The original taxi still took our money, and gave herself a tip. The new taxi quoted us 5 Euro but insisted on 10 when he dropped us off. All taxi drivers are crooks!! But what choice do you have at midnight in a strange country?

The apartment was lovely and we slept like the dead. The next morning we discovered we were around the corner from the New Bazaar and literally 10 steps from the Conad grocery store. It was a perfect location and within walking distance of everything my trusty GPSmyCity app suggested to see. We ate brunch in a nice restaurant (Nur) across from the bazaar. It was like lasagne but made with potatoes instead of pasta and was absolutely delicious. It was called Mousaka.

From there we headed toward Skanderbeg Square. It is a massive open space surrounded by the most interesting modern buildings.

One even looks like a face.

The square itself is slightly domed. I imagine it is for water drainage. It has a statue of Gjergj Skanderbeg, a 15^th century military leader who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. A few days later we crossed the Square again. Where previously we were almost alone in the square, this day it was full of people. Some kind of rally was being held.

In one corner of the square is the Et’hem Bey Mosque. It was built in 1791. The interior is hand painted with themes rarely seen in Islamic art – trees, waterfalls and bridges.

It used to be the main mosque, but as number of Muslims grew, the small mosque (60 persons capacity) could not handle it. Worshippers were filling nearby Skanderbeg Square during Islamic holidays. In 2015 Namazgah Mosque was built. It is now the largest mosque in the Balkans.

Behind the mosque is the clock tower. It was built in 1822 and is 35 metres (115 feet) tall.

We came across the tomb of Kapllan Pasha, a former 17^th century ruler of Tirana. It was built in 1817. He founded the settlement of Tirana and built one of the first mosques in Albania.

The mosque was damaged in WWII, but the minaret remained. Communist dictator Evner Hoxha, wanting to erase any and all former legacies, had it torn down and replaced it with the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.

Pasha’s remains were repatriated back to Istanbul, Turkey. Thankfully, his tomb, albeit empty, remains. It is protected by an elegant, curved wooden roof.

Bunk’Art 2 is an underground bunker that has 40 rooms showing the history of Albania Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1912-1991. It is focused on telling the story of the horrors of the communist regime, under dictator Enver Hoxha, revealing the secrets of “Sigurimi, Hoxha’s vicious political police.

Some of the rooms that stuck out for me were the decontamination room that were to be used for everyone who came from the outside and could be contaminated by chemical weapons or radioactivity. There was also a handle that blocked air entering from outside of the bunker, to keep out air potentially polluted with poisons or radioactivity from entering into the tunnels.

One room explained how they had more than 200 dogs trained to attack people who tried to escape the country, an offence punishable by death. Illegal immigrants were also in danger of the death penalty. (Why would anyone want to enter Albania during this time?) These dogs were considered so important that if one got sick, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs was informed. Nearly 1000 people died trying to cross the border.

The most interesting room was the manipulation room. It was a room that showed how the communist regime used manipulation to shape the perception of reality. “Through a series of examples and installations, you will discover how the art of propaganda surprisingly blends with the art of illusion, creating a distorted yet convincing reality.” It really had us looking at the parallel with the current Donald Trump administration and the way they spin reality.

We took a stroll along Murat Toptani Road. It is a tree-lined pedestrian street with beautiful open air restaurants filled with fountains, flowers and sculptures.

At the end of Murat Topani Road is the Tirana Castle. We were expecting an actual castle, but in reality only a bit of the original wall remains, the rest is a narrow, winding street filled with shops and restaurants.

Outside the Castle gate that we saw a Princess carriage. I felt like Cinderella, in my hiking boots, sitting with Prince Pierre Charming.

We ducked into a side street and saw life behind the glamorous scenes, It hinted at what life was like during the communist regime.

We wandered from place to place and came across some interesting finds. Tanners Bridge is a lovely 18^th century footbridge. It’s name comes from being located close to Tanners Mosque, which was located near the butcher and leather workers.

Vodafone bridge basically advertises the fact that Vodafone offers free WiFi downtown. It is an attractive bridge over a lovely canal, and quite a few people were taking selfies under the distinctive Vodafone arches.

The Pyramid of Tirana is a former museum that opened in 1988 – while Albania was still communist. In 1991, after the collapse of Communism, it became a conference centre. During the Kosovo war in 1999, it was used as a NATO base. Today it is a youth IT centre for Creative Technologies with a focus on computer programming and robotics. There are 115 steps to the top, where one can have an impressive birds-eye view of the city.

The next day we walked 4.5 km to Bunk’Art 1. We passed through a tunnel until we came to the huge nuclear bunker that was intended as a shelter for dictator Enver Hoxha and his inner-most circle of government. In 2014 this once secret facility was refurbished and opened as a museum.

Hoxha was paranoid with the idea of the Cold War turning to nuclear war. He had around 168,000 pillbox nuclear bunkers built throughout the country. He built the biggest and best for himself. This bunker was five levels deep, had 106 offices and even a cinema/assembly hall. His suite had an anteroom for his personal secretary, a working office, a bedroom and bathroom. It also had carpet on the floor and fibre walls. He never slept there.

There were boxes throughout the entire complex that “made” oxygen in case of long-term lockdown. There were 5 tablets that, when crushed, would react with the air and, supposedly, create oxygen. Considering the precautions that were in place in the handling of these tablets, suggested there was no guarantees of healthiness.

He was also obsessed with the possibility of a chemical attack from the USA or Russia (in retaliation for breaking from them). He had gas masks distributed to the entire population and held drills, similar to fire drills in school, to make sure they knew what to do.

House of Leaves was originally a private obstetrics clinic. It was used by the Gestapo during the German occupation. Today it is a museum “dedicated to the innocent people who were spied on, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and executed during the communist regime”. It served as the Sigurimi’s headquarters. It got its name because of the climbing plants that cover its facade.

During the communist rule, EVERY aspect of an individual’s life was under control of the government. They planted “bugs” anywhere and everywhere to spy on people. The furniture was all made in government factories; everyone got the same kind of chair, table and cupboard. It is not a stretch to assume bugs were built right into the furniture.

There was a room where the government tested documents suspicious of being written in invisible ink. Another room displayed numerous items used in the spying of its own citizens.

Hotel rooms and foreign embassies were bugged as well. Another room showed how they indoctrinated children in school. Posters, TV shows and advertisements all depicted a wonderful life. It was all propaganda. Rallies were held where it was mandatory to attend and put on a happy face. Statistics were kept on the demographics of subservient people and how the numbers fluctuated from year to year.

It is amazing that, on one hand, Hoxha was so concerned for the well-being of the population that he built bunker and distributed gas masks, and on the other hand, he spied, tortured and killed many innocent civilians.

Resurrection of Christ Cathedral is one of the largest Orthodox churches in the Balkans. It is very new and modern looking. It was built in 2012. It has a 32.2 metre (105.6 ft) dome and a 46 metre (151 ft) bell tower, with 16 bells.

Grand Park of Tirana is a huge park with an artificial lake where people can take a run or walk or simply take a break from the hectic city. It has memorials to several Albanian personalities. We did not walk far into the park, as we already had a 10+ km walking day. We did see the Memorial to Albanian Selflessness toward Jews during WWII. It honours those Albanians who put their own lives at risk by sheltering Jews.

Other stand-out moments or observations:

People park wherever they can fit. There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason. They double park all over the place. Park, get out and go for coffee.

There are at least 10 coffee shops for every restaurant.

The canals are beautifully lined with green parks.

There were unusual sculptures on one canal bridge.

There was lots of interesting buildings. I read a quote that said something like “If we have to rebuild, let us rebuild with beauty.”

One building had round glass pieces embedded into the concrete.

We saw a mobile washing machine. Very curious.

We saw lots of parks filled with old men playing dominoes, cards or checkers. Ah, the life of the retired! Oh wait! I AM retired!

Most of the motorcycles had “hoodies”

The street lights go all the way down the pole.

Driving to the airport I saw a house on top of a huge building. Weird….

The strawberries and grapes were huge and absolutely delicious.

We rented a car and hit the road. We stopped in some towns to rest and have a meal. We took the opportunity to sight-see a bit. I will consolidate those breaks in a separate blog. ON THE ROAD.