Today is national poppy day in America. They are as numerous as our dandelions!! It is the unofficial flower of Albania as well!
A local tour guide named Eugene gave us a walking tour and was very knowledgeable. Since it is very hilly here, he advertised that one must be able to ascend and descend the terrain with ease.
I decided to wear the knee brace that I brought since my kneecap had popped out of place several months ago, and I knew that this day might be challenging . He took one look at me and said that I should not go. “Give me a chance.” After seeing me keep up with the group, he changed his mind. Phew!!
Eugene welcomed us to the previous North Korea of Europe.
Gjirokastër is the birthplace of their communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. He was poor and the house he grew up in has been destroyed, but on the location a museum of ethnology has been built.
Hoxha killed anyone who was close to him or helped him. He got rid of roommates, etc. He didn’t want anyone to speak about him … like a tell all book. Hoxha purged many of his close associates and others perceived as disloyal or as a threat to his absolute power.
Hoxha died in 1985, and one of his close friends, Ramiz Alia, took over. When the Soviet Union broke up, many of the separate counties had elections. Albania was the last country in Europe to be released from communism.
Once Albania had a democracy and could vote, at first they still voted for the communist candidate. They were scared not to do that, or perhaps it was better to vote for the known over the unknown. They had been taught to fear the unknown. But then after a resounding defeat at the polls, Alia resigned.
From 1991 to 2005, Albania was like the Wild West. There was too much freedom: corruption, guns, speeding cars, etc. In 2005, if they wanted to join the EU, they needed to become free of corruption. This is the year that Gjirokastër became a UNESCO site.
In 1997 everyone had guns. There were no police. They sent their weapons to Kosovo in order for them to get independence from Serbia.
Albanians didn’t understand roundabouts. They thought that it was about who is fastest. One can find memorials in roundabouts.
Albanians are very superstitious. They will tell you that your baby is ugly because if they say that she is beautiful, evil will soon follow.
Albania is the world leader in the chrome industry.
Some people are nostalgic about the time of communism. Everyone was equal. “To be, not to have.” Capitalism was the opposite. Here in Albania there was no crime, but they were not living in a normal situation.
Albanian involvement in WWI was not much. They weren’t sure who they were as a country since they had just gotten independence in 1912 and were not aligned with a world power.
In the 1930’s, there was a lot of contact with Italians. There were direct flights.
During Ottoman times, if you were Muslim, there were no taxes. Many were forced to become Muslim but did so in name only.
Albanians are very tolerant and have decided to treat all four religions as equal: Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and Bektashi. I had never heard of the latter. Eugene said that they are a more liberal form of Muslim and borrow elements from the other religions. They drink alcohol, and men and women are equal and not separated during prayers at the mosque. One peculiarity is that they don’t eat rabbit.
Bektashis want to establish a global center in Tirana much like the Vatican. Their religion is believed to have originated during the 13th century in the Anatolian frontier regions and was introduced to Albania by the Janissaries, the sultan’s elite mercenary fighting force.
With all of the holidays, “We don’t work that much.”
I am surprised that the Albanians have been able to keep their language. It was only oral for many years.
Through most of the Byzantine and Ottoman eras, education was the sole responsibility of religious institutions, who taught in Latin, Greek or Turkish. In the late 19th century, however, the growing nationalist movement pushed for education in Albanian which had been strictly banned by the authorities. One man Koto Hoxhi was imprisoned for teaching Albanian.
The Albanian alphabet has 36 letters: a, b, c, ç, d, dh, e, ë, f, g, gj, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, nj, o, p, q, r, rr, s, sh, t, th, u, v, x, xh, y, z, zh.
We finished our tour UP. Eugene said that if you are up, stay up so we decided to visit the castle overlooking Gjirokastër.
The festival stage inside the castle is the home of the National Folk Festival held in Gjirokastër every four or five years. It attracts participants from Albania, its diaspora, and all over the world. The last festival was in 2023. Our daughter Amy was here then.
Albanian polyphonic music is recognised by UNESCO. The unique music consists of two or more solo parts sung in melody and counter-melody with a choral drone.
The Seven Windows Prison was notorious for housing perceived enemies of the state. Here is a plaque commemorating those who lived and died there.
Because of its mild climate and diverse geography, thousands of birds use the Drino Valley like a highway for their annual migration.
I had never heard of a chamois. All I knew before I googled it was that it lived in the mountains with the bears. (Hint: a type of antelope.)
Our hosts at Hotel Fantasy are very attentive. We were sitting in the main gathering room on our phones and they brought us a complimentary dessert.
I asked the English-challenged waiter for some butter for my baked potato. With a quizzical look, he agreed. This is what I was served:
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