In lack of hat and sunglasses

Enjoying sunshine

[caption id="attachment_2631" align="alignnone" width="660"] Enjoying sunshine[/caption]

Spring Day - Dita e Veres

Spring Day (we actually call it Summer Day) is celebrated every 14 March in Albania.

According to some sources, Dita e Verës derives from the Arbëreshë, an Albanian community that lives in Italy since the fifteenth century. On 14 March, the Arbëreshë of the Italian coast, collect a tuft of grass roots and soil, bringing it home to commemorate the anniversary of their emigration from Albania. In fact, some sources date back this celebration to the ancient Illyria. At that time, the feast was celebrated on 1 March, which according to the Julian calendar, corresponded to the first day of the year.

Friendship

And so, a new friendship was born...

A photo of a photo

[caption id="attachment_2596" align="alignnone" width="660"] A photo of a photo[/caption]

My father taking a photo of me climbing the watchtower.

Still feels like Autumn

Like father like son

Son watching mom during second pregnancy

Perhaps not the best way to announce to everybody that we're expecting a baby...

Me

This is a photo of me from last summer, taken by a friend of mine testing his camera.

Never melting snow of Tomorr

They say it is snow that never melts and sure enough, this year it looks like it will endure the last days of summer. (Photos were taken on August 23rd.)

Sacrifices

The following images show animal sacrifice therefore consider yourself warned. 

If you can't sacrifice your own sheep or ram, you can buy one up here. Conditions in which the animals are kept, are not that good. Animals are also under constant stress since every minute there are sheep being slaughtered in open areas.

The view behind the hedge reminds the holocaust or the massacres of ISIS. Hundreds of animals get slaughtered each day and all their innards are just thrown down there. It smells like death and God knows what happens after Sunday when people leave the holy shrine for another year. I guess there begins the vultures feast.

The ritual demands blood and that you shall slaughter your own animal. That means no one feels responsible for the mess they leave behind. On the other hand, even if they want to clean up the mess, there are no garbage bins or whatever. Irresponsibility begins from the local government.



An artistic impression of the situation.



Someone slaughtered a lamb at the shrine's inner yard, on the east side. Maybe you must face the rising sun before you do the deed... Maybe, deep inside our subconsciousness, sun is the one true god.

The Shrine of Abbas Ali

[caption id="attachment_2361" align="alignnone" width="660"] Shrine of Abbas ibn Ali[/caption]

This is the top of Mount Tomorr, the Partisan's Peak, the Shrine of Abbas Ibn Ali. The shrine has a tomb inside but Abbas wasn't buried there. He is actually buried at that ground where he fell from his horse in Karbalā, Iraq. The tomb is covered by gifts, clothes and money. It is said that the money that gets collected up here and down at the holy ground (look my previous posts), is transported via helicopter (needs citation, I have no source besides word of mouth). I suppose it goes to the Bektashis Community but I don't have further info on how it is spent. Never heard them financing anything but then again, never heard them living la vida loca either.

The weather is clear, the air is cold, I guess some 5-10 degrees Celsius. The people are not wearing heavy clothes because down the mountain is quite hot. They just visit the shrine for a couple of minutes.

[caption id="attachment_2359" align="alignnone" width="660"] Abbas ibn Ali[/caption]

Here is the statue of Abbas ibn Ali, on his horse and with two children (the other one is behind the horse's head). The statue's size is lifelike. The sculptor must have been on acid I guess. look them eyes :D The statue is also seen on the far left of the next photo.

[caption id="attachment_2360" align="alignnone" width="660"] Praying[/caption]

The people here are burning candles and praying for their loved ones, dead or alive. Although Albanians don't pray much on their dead, it isn't our custom. We pray for health and money (Albanian: Shnet e Pare).

As you can see, the parking place is not a parking actually. The road ends here and cars are parked on both sides of the road. When you step out of the car, if anyone approaches you to ask for money for parking, don't pay. You can give money if you want someone to look after your car not to get scratched (accidentally) or blocked by other cars (due to small space) but this is entirely up to you. There might be beggars as well, I wonder how they get up here. Perhaps they collect enough money to pay the ride which is fairly expensive.

Waiting for the sunrise

[caption id="attachment_2343" align="alignnone" width="660"] Waiting for the sunrise[/caption]

After a long, cold and very windy night, we woke up too early (we barely slept to be sincere).



Now I understand why old Egyptians worshiped the Sun. It warms your body and soul, it warms your heart.

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="alignnone" width="660"] Our Tents[/caption]

We had built two tents, a large one and a smaller one. At the large one we were laying down like sardines. I had brought an air mattress with my but I forgot to bring a pump to fill it up. I tried with my lungs but it was an impossible task. Needless to say, we slept on the ground. It wasn't that cold because we had brought blankets and warm clothes but the main problem was the wind. It wasn't constantly windy, there were moments of absolute silence too. At some point, in the middle of the night, the guy next to me wakes up and says: Nick, Nick, there is someone outside!!! I knew there was no one outside because I wasn't sleeping at all. He heard some noise and mistook it as someone walking by... We didn't get outside to check though, no one was man enough.

Trip to Baba Tomor - Part 2

[caption id="attachment_2322" align="alignnone" width="660"] Tomorr[/caption]

I've been quite a few times in Berat and this time I avoided taking photos, I was again on the wheel. Here is a gigapan photo, the most detailed one you could ever find. After Berat there is Polican, a small city famous for its ammunition factory, hence the nickname Ghost Town. We used to produce there Kalashnikov - Made In Albania... Polican is surrounded by nature, is quite small and very quiet. If you're driving with a small car, you should definitely park here because the road to the top of the mountain is very very very rocky. We managed to rent a Land Rover Defender for some 120$ to take us to the pilgrimage site on Saturday morning and then come back Sunday morning to take us to the top of the mountain (2,416M) and then back to Polican. We found the driver through a common friend so the price may not be the normal rate they charge for the exact service. However, it is impossible to find cheaper than that. They usually charge 90$ only for a round trip to the pilgrimage site (which is midway to the top).

Rain

It started raining out of nowhere. In just a couple of minutes it looked like Venice.

A short trip to Phoenice

Phoenice was an ancient city, capital of the Chaonians. It is located on your right hand when you travel from Gjirokaster to Saranda, or on your left when you travel from Vlore to Saranda via the sea side.

I was always fascinated with the look of this hill. You've got mountains on both sides and in the middle there lies this hill like the back of a fish. You can't see anything from the main road but there are plenty of signs showing the way to the archaeological park. 

Paraglider

[caption id="attachment_2229" align="alignnone" width="660"] Paraglider[/caption]

Future pilot perhaps?

[caption id="attachment_2226" align="alignnone" width="660"] Future pilot perhaps?[/caption]

It wouldn't be a surprise though. His grandfather from his mother's side is a retired flight engineer (worked all his life with Mi4 helicopters). His uncle is an amateur pilot, flying mostly with gliders, and his mother recognizes most of the airplanes and helicopters by model. :)

My name is Bond, James Bond

[caption id="attachment_2220" align="alignnone" width="660"] My name is Bond, James Bond[/caption]

Oh hai

[caption id="attachment_2214" align="alignnone" width="660"] Oh Hai[/caption]

This photo is from the summer days. I have been absent due to a trip that I had. Photos of that trip coming very soon :)