East of Tirana[/caption]This album is a delayed one, the trip took time on August 22nd. I was thinking to post some of the photos as standalone images but then I thought this way would be more helpful for future travelers.
Baba (Father) Tomor is a mythological figure in the Albanian folklore. He is regarded as the father of gods and humans, like some sort of Zeus but no similarities with the latter. His home was on top of Mount Tomorr, in Berat (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and he lived there with his wife, Earthly Beauty. From 20-25 August, he top of Mount Tomorr is also a pilgrimage site for Bektashis, an Islamic Sufi Order. Their world headquarters are located in Tirana. Albanians are not that religious and most of us embraced Bektashism because it allows you to drink alcohol and it allows you to drink yogurt while fasting. Pretty cool huh? I'm not sure though, that's what I heard from people claiming to belong to this order.
Ok, that was a short intro about the mountain, the legend and the religion. We decided to visit the top of Tomorr during those days for a couple of reasons. It would be easy to find a ride to the top because my car stood no chance to those unpaved roads. It would be safe since there were a lot of people with tents sleeping for 4-5 days there. It would be easy to find food and water, although we knew beforehand that there are many springs around that area. Last but not least, there would be the perfect conditions for astrophotography, like clear skies, visible milky way and zero light pollution. And so me, my wife and 2 other couples begun the trip from Tirana to Kucove. The rest will follow in the next days.
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Somewhere in Belsh[/caption]If you ask around, the most common answer regarding directions from Tirana to Berat is to go via Durres, Rrogozhine, Lushnje and then Berat. That's too long and most of the people don't know there is a shortcut via Belsh, an area full of small lakes. It looks beautiful on Google Maps. I couldn't manage to get any cool pics of lakes though. :(
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Burning Grass[/caption][caption id="attachment_2311" align="alignnone" width="660"]
Oil Pumps[/caption]The city of Kucove is an industrial town where the first oil hole in Albania was drilled. The oil pump seen in this picture is a very common sight around that area.
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Kucove[/caption]This must have been a big factory, if you google it it shows up as Fabrika.
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Kucove[/caption][caption id="attachment_2316" align="alignnone" width="660"]
Kucove[/caption]The rest of the trip continues in the following days.
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