Weekend escape (part 2)

Before leaving Tushemis, a couple hundred feet away from our hotel, I re-visited the fish farm I had seen in the year 2000.

The entire place was refurbished. Like all new constructions that stand out from the air, or from the ground, as one travels above or around Albania, water tanks, and solar panels are noticeable on every roof.

This establishment contains a modern hotel, a restaurant that surrounds a large pond with ducks and swans, and thousands of ‘koran’ fishes.



The area of Pogradeç is blessed with a natural, pure , and never ending supply of water from the surrounding mountains. This place, called ‘Ritja e Koranit’ takes advantage of this resource and raises his “precious" korans on its own premises. Its man built pond is fed by an entire system of water viaducts with a variety of gates that separate the fishes according to their sizes and stages of development. The largest ones end up in the pond from which they are retrieved for cooking at the latest moment.

The 'koran', called by some a trout, is not a salt water fish, although it belongs to the salmon family; it’s pink in color and absolutely delicious! It’s typical only of Lake Ohrid, and is not found anywhere else in the world, according to Unesco. This very large lake is shared between Albania and Macedonia, and it’s difficult to buy this fish elsewhere, even along the Macedonian side. On many occasions Queen Elisabeth has ordered a supply of this delicacy from Pogradeç, which was flown to her all the way to England.

At the border, private vehicles must purchase insurance coverage for all passengers, using euro, and then proceed, after a short neutral ground, through the Macedonian customs and passport control. The currency of this state is the dinar.

The lake views accompanied us along a nicely paved, but narrow, winding road, while we headed toward the town of Ohrid, which lends its name to the lake. Midway we visited "Shen Naum" park and tourist resort, which is an exact replica of "Volorec" in Albania (mentioned in part 1 below).

We found this place thriving with visitors from everywhere, and we climbed the hilly grounds to also see the old Orthodox church and monastery, now converted into a hotel, complete of facilities such as a gym, massage rooms, and a health spa.


On the ground a few peacocks, with their screeching calls and their gorgeous plumage, were attracting much of the visitors' attention.


Beyond one of the old gates, some refreshing water cascades, and further down the hill a calm and cool small lake with its own touring boats, and rustic cafes.




After Ohrid, we proceeded to Struga, a very Albanian town in Macedonia, and located along the lake, which by now we had circled around for almost 3/4 of its shores. Here, the lake feeds a large river that crosses the town, where we enjoyed some ice cream.

As we reentered Albania via the border pass of Qafe Thane, located 80km SE of Tirana, I realized that we actually encircled Lake Ohrid in its entirety.

We stopped for a late lunch on Albanian soil, where the old 'bunkers' came very much back into sight.

In the new restaurant of Hotel Odessa, along the highway, we found the waiters scrambling to serve all the unexpected customers that included an entire busload of French seniors.

The return to Tirana was shortened by about 40km, but it entailed driving over high mountain, very narrow, steep roads, many, many sharp curves, and no guard railings anywhere. Although my friends didn't particularly care to drive this route, which requires special concentration on the part of the driver, they took it to avoid the expected heavy traffic and road work when getting near the capital.

At one point, they even dared to make a brief stop along the edge of the road to buy cherries, for which this area is well known. They are sold by local people or children, who pack them around live tree branches in a very unusual way, using fine nylon thread, one by one.

They are sweet and delicious and the perfect ending of a wonderful weekend!

Weekend escape (part 1)

Tirana is extremely hot these days, and we haven’t seen any rain lately. Additionally, since last week, I’ve been experiencing a couple of environmental problems in our building: lack of water for most of the day, and the a/c unit’s malfunction, which drips condensation water inside the apartment, instead of outside! All these occurrences, on top of other business related tribulations, made me more prone to accept a friendly invitation to flee the stress of Tirana and relax for a few hours in more pleasurable settings. The mere fact of riding in my friends’ comfortable, powerful, and well equipped car is a real bliss.

We encountered very heavy traffic when we left Tirana, on the way to Durres, also due to lots of ongoing road work. In that city we made a short stop for drinks and began to enjoy the refreshing sea breeze under the canopy of one of the many bars along the coast, while watching the beach activities and the swimmers. In perfect English, and with business card in hand, a gentleman even approached us offering a complete apartment, if we decided to stay.



We, instead, proceeded eastward toward the town of Pogradeç, on lake Ohrid, where we planned to lodge overnight. I had been there 9 years ago, as part of an American delegation, passing through on a business visit, and remembered only a nice restaurant where we were treated for lunch by the town Mayor, who was a woman at that time.

As we rode along the new road that follows the contours of the mountains, we could see the rail line that is still functioning, but was built during communist time thanks to everyone’s labor. Both my friends (husband and wife) were pointing out to me the places where they actually worked as teenagers, in the steel mills and in laying down the rail beds, assisting specialized crews that were drilling the mountains tunnels.

These old factories are now completely broken down and unusable, especially after the looting and riots that erupted in the 1990’s. They are an eerie sight that repeats itself in many parts of Albania.

In the area of Librash, we stopped for a late lunch in a lonely, rustic restaurant, called ‘Gjaktari’, perched up along the Shkumbin river. The name of this place means “Hunters”, and their specialties are based on all sorts of meats, indeed excellent, whether grilled, baked, or cooked on the rotating spit. My friends, as usual, invited me to try new dishes. This time I enjoyed tasting the ‘terrine’ of corn bread, which is soaked in chicken broth, topped with chicken livers and baked in terracotta. Taste wise, it reminded me a lot about a very flavorful ‘Italian polenta’. The outdoor setting was very peaceful, and while we ate we watched children playing in the river.


Before reaching our overnight destination, we visited a resort, called Volorec, which is an idyllic place, in a large shaded park, with small lakes, touring boats, and beautiful swans completing the picture.

Here, we were pretty close to Macedonia, and I was informed that a duplicate of this site is now part of that state to which it was ‘donated’ by the ex King Zog of Albania around the 1930’s.


The town of Pogradeç is now much larger than I remember it. The shore line is flanked by many hotels on one side, and by lovely trees, benches, and gardens on the other. As we rode along it we witnessed a never ending stream of the evening strollers!


In the outskirts of the town proper, we reached our hotel, located in the village of Tushemis, not too far from the Macedonian border.

pastoral setting in back of hotel

After a refreshing shower and rest in the comfy brand new hotel (we were in a new wing just completed a month ago) at 10pm we crossed the street to consume a light dinner in the restaurant owned by the same proprietor. Both the restaurant and the hotel were filled with Albanians (many were the cars with Tirana plates), quite a few foreign tourists, and a dozen German business men.

The hotel bedding was extremely comfortable, the bathroom facilities and the a/c performing beautifully, and the place’s quietness super! In the morning, when I opened the balcony’s curtains, I noticed a large number of swallows that kept coming and going around the hotel. I thus realized the serenity of this area was perfect. No swallows would lodge in highly trafficked places, as I well remembered since my early years in Italy. In my grandparents house they would re-appear every spring, and rebuild their nests in exactly the same places that they knew they were completely undisturbed.


After a walk along the beach where the lake gentle waves pushed an unfortunate garbage pile up, I and my friends had a lovely, unhurried breakfast, right over the water, and under the shades of brightly colored umbrellas.


Meantime, the hotel personnel was busy watering down and sweeping the street along the property, and collecting the garbage along the water edge.


Another gorgeous day was ahead of us (more details and pictures in the next entry)!

Good and bad

As optimistic news, an Italian company is building an energy park in Albania:
http://www.emportal.rs/en/news/region/88700.html
but, on a darker end, still looms the obscurity of old prison systems....
http://www.makfax.com.mk/en-Us/Details.aspx?itemID=4501

On a personal side, I take this opportunity to inform friends and relatives that read me here that the above title applies also in my current situation. While life in Albania is very pleasant and my work continues to progress well in Tirana, I have to postpone my return to NY by another 10 days or so, and thus delay some of my commitments in the U.S. Efficient Lufthansa has been very accommodating, as usual, in making this change. Will be in touch soon again!

Sounds in Tirana

It’s a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, but all open windows in my apartment are providing a comfortable cross ventilation. A group of young boys are playing soccer down below in the street, and their squeals and energetic outbursts remind me of a comment from the Italian friends, who recently visited me here. It’s an unusual sight these days, in any city, to see children having fun on the street and not in front of a tv tube, or computer. This brings to mind that, here in Tirana, I also experience different sounds unheard of elsewhere.

The noise of the chaotic vehicular traffic starts early in the day (~7am), but subsides after 3pm, when most of the city and state offices close their doors for the day, and most people go home for a late lunch. A siesta atmosphere sets in afterward, for a couple of hours of an almost eerie silence, and then people begin to stroll for a late afternoon walk, when the temperature is also ideal, and there is no wind, like in NY.

There is no need for me to generally look at the clock in Tirana because the call to prayer beams out from the minaret of a nearby mosque five times a day, right on the dot, just like the sounds of church bells did when I lived in Italy during my youth. Then, even I enjoyed a lot playing in the street with my school friends.

A decade ago the broadcasting from the minarets were quite loud, but now they are barely heard, and the bells of the Catholic churches here are small and their sound noticeable only if you are located nearby.

A couple more sounds are typical here at night. Once in a while someone decides to ignite some fire works, just for fun I guess, and some abandoned dogs, unfortunately still roaming the streets of this city, bark and howl….who knows…...at the moon!

"The Archaeology of Violence"

This is the title of an interesting conference that took place at the University of Buffalo (N.Y.) on April 18-19, 2009.

The following excerpts are taken from the site of the Institute of European and Mediterranean Archaeology of The State University of New York, which documents this conference that includes studies made in Albania by Michael Galaty, Ph. D., Associated Professor of Anthropology at Millsaps College, in Jackson. MS.

"The Archaeology of Violence:
An integrated approach to the study of violence and conflict"

Today, violence is an everyday occurrence and we are always reminded that violent encounters are never that far away. As a result, people have come to expect violence as part of everyday life. Whether experienced at the group or individual level, the ‘emotional, economic, demographic, logistic and political impact of violence reaches well beyond its physical location’ (Shiels et al. 2008).

This conference aims to consider the causes, actions and effects of violence through the study of skeletal remains, identity, literature, iconography, ritual behavior, and landscapes. Violence plays an important role in the development of social-political systems in the past and therefore, its archaeological identification is an essential part of our understanding of social change, both on a micro- as well as the macro-scale. Studying the material remains of violence allows us ‘to consider the importance of violent interaction and its impact upon family and settlement units; and to explore the function, causes and consequences of violent interaction in different groups and societies’ (Shiels et al. 2008).

The interdisciplinary nature of this conference will allow for a variety of research to be presented and will highlight the diversity of approaches to violence and the consequences for understanding social, political and economic relationships between individuals, kin, communities and society as a whole.

> Shiels, D., L. Fibiger, W.O. Frazer and C. Murphy. 2008. Abstract for Session at WAC-6 “Changing identities: exploring the materiality of conflict I”.

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Michael L. Galaty, Department of Anthropology, Millsaps College, MS
“An offense to honor is never forgiven…”: Violence and Landscape Archaeology in Highland Northern Albania

Northern Albania is the only place in southern Europe where tribal societies survived intact into the 20th century, including tribal councils and chiefs, an oral customary law code (the Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjini), and blood feuds and warfare. Since 2004 the Shala Valley Project (SVP) has studied one of these tribes, the Shala, whose tribal territory encompasses the upper reaches of the Shala River. The SVP supports interdisciplinary programs of archaeological, ethnographic, and ethno- and archival historical research. In three seasons of fieldwork (2005-2007), 999 fields were subjected to intensive archaeological survey, 580 structures were mapped and fully documented, and 36 heads of household participated in detailed formal interviews. Three historians accessed documents pertaining to northern Albania housed in Albania, Austria, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Taken together, these data paint an interesting picture of the origins and evolution of the Shala tribe, beginning in the 15th century AD through the present day. Fully interpreting this picture, however, is almost impossible without considering the effects of violence. In this paper I consider the various ways Shala’s tribal system and shifting settlement patterns are reflected in the regional landscape, and how these responded to endemic violence, including feud and warfare. It seems likely that violence worked to relieve demographic and economic pressure, which was critically important given Shala’s harsh environment, but that contests between individuals and clans, for access to social and political power, underpinned most incidents of feud and decisions to go to war. Our work in Shala helps demonstrate the various impacts violence may have had on settlement and landscape the world over, in periods of prehistory and history, and demonstrates the power of integrated approaches to violence and conflict to inform archaeological data.

Aquatic tourism in Albania

Canyon rafting: http://hollydekorte.blogspot.com/2009/05/canyon-rafting.html

and a new Marina: http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/1195

Ladies night out

To close an intense week of activities, a relaxing dinner at a nearby restaurant.

This eatery has greatly improved over the past few years in food offering, better trilingual service, and ambience. The outside garden, a secluded, but very pleasant spot, is immersed in greenery, flowers, and cages of all sizes, filled with all sorts of exotic birds.



A couple of freely roaming around peacocks greet the customers upon entering this premise.

Going Tech

"Albanians use Facebook to organize protest against nuclear plant"

Vacation time over !

Sunday was the last day in Tirana for the visiting friends from Italy. In the morning we rode up the Dajti mountain that overlooks the capital and had coffee in a brand new restaurant-cafe` that offers a breathtaking view of Tirana and its suburbs (the green area seen in this picture) all ready to be developed!).

The day was gorgeous, but somehow my camera produced a funny colored picture!

I wanted us to ride by car all the way up to the Dajti National Park, as I had done in 1995, but I was dissuaded by my Albanian friends, who told me the roads currently are in very bad condition. The new cable car system, instead, installed just a few years ago, now easily transfers visitors to the mountain top in 1/2 hour, directly from the edge of the city. I used it 3 years ago, when I found that top area under great development.

other views in my blog entry of Nov. 26, 2006
Now it probably has more places to lodge and eat. The ride is comfortable and offers great views of the various mountain levels and their environment. From there, in a clear day, one can see all the way down to the Adriatic sea.

But today our hosts wanted to take us, instead, north of Tirana toward the town of Lesha, where the area called Patok with its lagoon, offers the best fish around. After traveling about 25 miles, we stopped in a rustic restaurant they patronize frequently. The place was bustling with activities and people, mostly eating outdoors, family style, in wooden, gazebo-type, dining areas. A table was ready for us upon arrival because our hosts had called ahead and made all the arrangements.

Another fabulous and unhurried fish luncheon, consumed outside in a quiet, pleasant, and comfortably warm atmosphere!

On the way back to Tirana, it was time again for another 'espresso', but dark clouds were intensifying on the horizon. We hurried to our cars, after drinking our "Illy cafe`". When we reached the outskirts of the capital, we were riding under a deluge of water. It was the perfect time to have a rest!

Around 7pm my friends came to my place for aperitifs and snacks. and then we had our last dinner together in an Italian restaurant in the new part of Tirana. We practically had the place to ourselves due to the end of the long holiday weekend and the inclement weather. In the morning they return to Milan, but, I believe, they have enjoyed their first Albanian experience.

Berat in the PM

To continue about our trip on Saturday, from Apollonia we rode across a different part of central Albania, known for its oil deposits, and a richer population that profited from its resources. My Italian friends couldn't stop remarking about the enormous number of new homes and businesses everywhere we went. The flourishing of a variety of activities is evident.

We finally reached the millenian city of Berat, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is built on both sides of the Osum river. Its old Byzantine citadel overlooks the modern part of town that spreads out on terraced terrain where several are the churches containing works by the well known, 16th century painter Onufri.

Before visiting the local sights, we had a late, but marvelous lunch at Castle Park, a new establishment on one of the hilly sides of the town, on the road to Gorica, where we sampled a few of the dishes typical of this area. The stuffed olives, eggplants, grape leaves with rice, the roasted lamb and grilled meats had extremely delicate flavors and were totally delectable!


After re-crossing the river we ascended to the old part of town and its towering fortress. I then realized that we were entering this area from the opposite site that was used 13 years ago during my first visit here. Through a large, arched passage we began to climb on foot the white and yellow stone, polished, narrow streets in search of the Onufri Museum.

It's not easy to walk steep uphills after a full meal, but the effort was worth it! We spent a considerable amount of time here, especially inside the Cathedral of St. Nicholas where we received extensive explanations from a woman that also runs the nearby souvenir shop.



the elaborate pulpit

The exquisite, intricate, and elaborate woodwork covered with layers of gold is the result of dedicated years of work on the part of 45 artists (click on any picture to see details)

the main altar wall



Innumerable are the icons of all sizes, and outstanding is the one below by Onufri, dating back to the 1600's, of the "Madonna and Child". It's interestingly odd that the the 'child' here is depicted on the right arm, instead of the usual left.

Onufri was a master of the technique of frescos and icons, and the first to use the pink color in painting, which the French named "Onufri's Red".

Berat is an Ottoman town, considered one of the oldest in Albania with settlements dating back to at least to the 6th century B.C.. It's known as the "Town of a Thousand Windows" due to the peculiar type of architecture of its houses, most of which have upper windows overhanging the ones at the lower level.



Trinity Church


As the evening was setting in and the bright, orange color sun was disappearing in the western horizon, we started our return to Tirana, via another route, and covered the 94km to the capital in about 2 1/2 hours. It was a long, but perfect day overall.