Albania is one of those countries I never expected to visit. When we first started traveling, back in the 70’s, it was more of a hermit kingdom than North Korea. For 50 years, the country was virtually closed off from the rest of the world. The communist dictatorship even breaking ties with Russia and China. Carefully limiting information the population received, an active secret police to turn in any doubters and emphasizing how the world wanted to take away the “good life” Albanians enjoyed by building 700,000 bunkers for the population to hide in (1 for every 3 Albanians) this is a country struggling to be ready for prime time. Now, almost 20 years after the fall of the communist regime, Albania struggles to build infrastructure and industry to bring their people out of the dark days of communism.
We visited the old Albanian capital of Kruje. Our stop included a museum dedicated to Skanderbeg, a national hero from the 1400’s who held back the attempted invasion of Albania by the Ottomans and a delightful Ethnographic Museum that preserved an 18th century Ottoman house – yes, the Turks finally made it into Albania.
After a Sunday spent wandering the old capitol, On Monday we visited the UNESCO world heritage site of Burint. This archaeological site tells the history of the area from the Illyrians and Greeks on to the Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottoman Turks. There is still much to be excavated, so mysteries hidden for up to 2500 years remain. Sarande is attempting to become a tourist destination, however between the illegally built structures the government is attempting to tear down and the lack of foreign investment due to the recession, Sarande has a long way to go. There are dozens of buildings under construction, with no sign that progress has been made in months, if not years.
