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Urban Sunset

Nature taking over

Is there any logical explanation as to why the municipality police is not collecting such abandoned vehicles? This one is only steps away from Tirana's city center where finding a parking place is a nightmare Freddy Krueger would be jealous of.

Afternoon Reflections

Elections are coming

[caption id="attachment_2640" align="alignnone" width="660"] Elections are coming[/caption]

Now they planted palm trees, built bike lanes, changed light poles with new ones and demolished illegal constructions. This is just a part of this 5 km street which starts from Dajlani bridge and ends at Plepat (Poplars). Let's see if they'll keep it till the end.

View from balcony

The view from our summer apartment. Shamelessly I'll promote it here as well, in case anyone is visiting Albania this year. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5509812

Old Vs New

As I said in my previous post, here is an old standing villa from the old times, built perhaps during the second world war. Further on the left there is a restored one, painted and with roof semi-fixed. As you see, the beach now is full of apartment buildings, restaurants and hotels, each one different from the next.

Illyria Beach, Durres

Durres city can be seen at the hills feet. If you get the chance, visit it before it's lost, swallowed entirely by new residential buildings.



I climbed a watch tower to take a photo of both sides. What you see is approx. 3.5 km long walk. After the white dome on the second photo is the government residence (for summer vacations) guarded by light military. Then there is Golem, another endless zone/beach of sand and small hotels.

It cannot be seen in these photos but a little bit further the yellow restaurant on the second pic there is the first 5* hotel in Albania, Adriatic Hotel. It was built during communism, in a time where all this beach was empty and there were only a few villas here and there (I'll show you a remaining one tomorrow).

Smoke in the sky

[caption id="attachment_2548" align="alignnone" width="660"] Smoke in the sky[/caption]

Nothing serious, perhaps burning plastic or tires. Last time there was smoking in the sky, it was in 2008. Bad times... I remember I was at my fiancee's house, laying on the bed (doing nothing actually). Suddenly a thunder like sound and earthquake like tremors swept through for a fraction of a second. A couple of minutes later all TV stations stopped broadcasting their regular programs and there were breaking news about a large explosion some 15 km away.

Long story short, some 21 year old guy from The States had won a contract with Pentagon to supply Afghan troops with ammunition. Sneaky motherfucker that he was, came here and bought Chinese and Soviet ammunition that was being prepared for dismantling. And funny thing is that US forces had contributed monetary for the dismantling process. So, this guy and his Albanian counterparts (including ex PM's son) would sell to Pentagon the same ammunition Pentagon was paying Albanians to dismantle. Also, there is some sort of embargo against using Chinese and Soviet ammunition for American purposes. So they would repack it as Made In Albania and fly it to Afghanistan.

All this process was uncovered from a partner of the American guy, whom they pushed outside the business. Some time later he was found dead in an hunting accident but it is clear he got executed from ex PM's people.

This was a black page in Albania's history and the now-PM vowed to make things right. Unfortunately that was a political stunt and now, 7 years later, together with 26 souls, everything lays under the dusty mantle of  forgetfulness...

January 8th

[caption id="attachment_2545" align="alignnone" width="660"] January 8th[/caption]

Not much to say today. I haven't been out to take photos due to the cold.

BunkArt - Tunnels

Entrance to the bunker. After the 4-5 concrete and metallic doors, there is this short tunnel which leads to more tunnels. Between them there are stairs and you get the impression that you go like 5 floors deep underground. In reality, you don't go deep underground, you just walk along the hill at a descending angle. So, you enter at the tunnel at ground level and you go like 4-5 floors down and when you get out you are still at ground level. That's because the way to the entrance is in some sort of U shape, like walking in a large trench. It's just that the tunnel is way deep horizontally. Here is a 3D rendering of it. 

When you enter, the first apartments you encounter are those of Enver Hoxha, the highest figure and then officers and that of Mehmet Shehu, ex-PM who allegedly committed suicide sometime in 1981. The first question that comes in your mind is why are the most important figures at the beginning of the tunnel? In fact, that is the end of the tunnel but it is being used as an entrance so people won't have to go upwards while inside the tunnel. That means that if someone entered the tunnel from the real entrance, it would give enough time to the commanders to leave toward safety. Or, if there was no hope leaving, they would be the last men standing.

Some tunnels are closed to the public, because the rooms are empty and there is nothing to show yet.



Maybe there are other secret levels, who knows...

Cold Mornings

[caption id="attachment_2508" align="alignnone" width="660"] Cold Mornings[/caption]

I don't know what to name this

Fortress of Bashtove - The Inside

The fortress is in the middle of a field. It is not guarded, it doesn't have information tables around or inside. Looks like it fell from the sky.



Only the walls remain. It is completely stripped from everything else.



You can play football inside, you can have a pick-nick or whatever. It is very flat and wind-proof :)



It looks like a small passage but it's a window actually. The other side is blocked by vegetation.



Two of the towers are still standing. The other two have disappeared. There are stairs to climb on the wall and walk around.



A tower-less angle.

My car, Polo Variant :) Plenty of space for luggage. I might start my own tour guiding business/service.

This photo and the next one are taken from the same position. This is the road leading to the castle. The asphalt ends at the tower.

 

Another tower-less angle.

Walking on the walls and looking around to find a reason why was this fortress built. There are hills only some hundred meters away. I guess this was not an actual fortress overseeing the area or something similar. It must have been some sort of a storage for goods like animals, what or corn. The river is close by and the sea is only a couple hundred meters further. Maybe people stopped here to wait for ships or whatever. In the mean time they must have stayed here to avoid pirates or thieves...

Fortress of Bashtove

[caption id="attachment_2459" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Fortress of Bashtove[/caption]

I've seen photos of this fortress on a great Air Photography Album by Alket Islami, the first Albanian para-glider. I got my hands on the album but didn't catch the name of the fortress at that time. At first I thought it was a fortress close to Butrint but things didn't match. This one is in the middle of a field while the other one is in some sort of swamp. After a couple of years I saw other pictures of a friend of mine, biking there. It meant the fortress was accessible by car and not far from Tirana. I got the name, checked Google maps and planned for Sunday morning.

[caption id="attachment_2460" align="alignnone" width="660"] Fortress of Bashtove[/caption]

Getting there is fairly easy and the road is asphalted. If you're driving from Tirana, take the SH2 to Durres and then take the SH4 to Fier. Careful, after crossing Kavaje keep your eyes for Gose village. At the moment, it is found at the point where the new highway crosses the old highway, there is some sort of overpass and also a guy selling potatoes and apples in large quantities. If you see the guy or the overpass, turn right at an almost invisible roundabout and just follow the asphalted road. After some 15 minutes you will see the castle on your left. If directions unclear, give me a call beforehand and I'll be glad to accompany you there if not busy with other things.

[caption id="attachment_2461" align="alignnone" width="660"] Fortress of Bashtove[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2462" align="alignnone" width="660"] Fortress of Bashtove[/caption]

Dervican, Gjirokaster, Albania

[caption id="attachment_2423" align="alignnone" width="660"] Dervican[/caption]

Early Morning

[caption id="attachment_2420" align="alignnone" width="660"] Early Morning[/caption]

Coffee with Gods

[caption id="attachment_2387" align="alignnone" width="660"] Coffee with Gods[/caption]

We're still on the summit of Tomorr. The white background is actually clouds. Beware if you sit on the edge...

Trip to Baba Tomor - Part 1

[caption id="attachment_2312" align="alignnone" width="660"] 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.