Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

BunkArt - Conference Hall

Conference Room

"The aim of bourgeois-revisionist television is mass degeneration."

[caption id="attachment_2539" align="alignnone" width="660"]Conference Room Conference Room[/caption]

This conference room was quite spacious, considering that you are underground and you have to traverse seemingly endless tunnels. The colored domes on the scene are bunker replicas. The hall has been used this New Year's eve for a TV show. Acoustics are not bad and the temperature is constant. Air vents are fully restored and if you don't suffer from claustrophobia, you should totally visit BunkArt.

Monday, January 5, 2015

BunkArt - Inside some of the rooms

BunkArt

This is the most publicly hated guy in the last 25 years. He was hated even before but it was in private. Any attempt to show your hatred in public, resulted in a nice and long vacation to prison, your family moved to a shitty place and your whole genealogical tree deprived from higher education, comfortable job and even get them jail time if the prosecutor felt like they had fed your hatred. He was one good looking motherfucker though (while young). I present you, Enver Hoxha, Kim Jong Il's equivalent.


To give Caesar's his due though, this guy built post-war Albania. He eradicated malaria, illiteracy, blood feud, homelessness, unemployment etc... It looks to good to be true, hence the hatred. It all happened with a cost. We didn't have democracy, multi-party elections, free movement abroad, economic relations with the west and all that flows behind that, like technology, medicine etc etc...


I could go on and on but let's leave that for another time, if beers included :D



BunkArt


Notcie the walls, those are dressed with some kind of fiber. Behind the fiber there are metallic sheets and then concrete. The fiber and the metallic sheets are to prevent stone chips in case of strong explosion from outside. This fiber was very expensive back then, hence only his room is dressed with that. The next room was the bedroom but nothing important in there, just a bed.


BunkArt


This Sonra, German radio, was by his desk. The lamp though must be made in Albania. I remember during communism, all our household items were like mass produced. All neighbors had the same lamps, the same carpets, the same clothes and even the same TVs. We used to produce black and white TVs, did you know that?


BunkArt


This was supposed to be his toilet. There was this huge bathroom and this red toilet at the corner. I think this was a bad executed joke on the museum's curators side. A red toilet for a communism dictator? Come on!!! The cap is also missing. Either things got lost during the last 25 years and they couldn't replicate his bathroom, or they just didn't care. - What's there? Just a toilet? Nothing else? Fuck it, paint it red.


BunkArt

This room is prime minister's room. This TV is made in Albania. Notice the walls? No fibers here, too expensive.

BunkArt

Here is the photo of Enver Hoxha, over the PM's desk. The previous photo was in Hoxha's desk. I guess they used the one in military uniform to  aspire people to fight.

BunkArt

This is PM's Mimoza radio, made in Czechoslovakia. I had that very same lamp in my room. I remember my father bought like 3 of them and used the glass part for ceiling light, hanged upside down with thin cable.

BunkArt

Albania's map. Not much to say about this except the part that we used to recognize Kosovo as part of Jugoslavia. No particular mention on the map.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

BunkArt

[caption id="attachment_2517" align="alignnone" width="660"]Russian Car Russian Car[/caption]

Bunk'Art is a bunker turned into an art gallery & museum. It is located in the foots of Dajti Mountain, under a hill and inside a military zone (as expected). It was built by the communism regime during the cold war era, when we truly believed that America or any other powerful nation wanted to assault us with nuclear weapons to destroy our happiness...


To reach it is fairly easy. If you're going by public transport, go to Scanderbeg Square and ask for Tufina's bus. When on the bus, ask the ticket guy to warn you when close to Bunk'Art. I guess the bus station will be on the main road while the military base is at the end of a secondary road. There are signs though, hard to miss if you're not driving.


If by car, just ask around for the Dibra Street. It is fairly famous because the main hospital and the military school are on it. After the military school, the Dibra's Street divides into Aleksander Moisiu and Teki Selnica. The first one takes you to the Albanian Film Archive, that's another institution I'll cover in one of my future posts. Just take Teki Selnica, the one on your left and drive some 500 meters and keep an eye for signs to Bunkart.


Or just let me know beforehand and I'll drive you there if I'm free. :)


At the entrance of the military base you will have to show an ID. For the moment the entrance is free of charge. Check at their website beforehand if situation has changed. However, even with a fee, it won't be more than 3-4 EUR I suppose.


Beware, the entrance of the bunker is far from the entrance of the military base, some 800 meters.




[caption id="attachment_2516" align="alignnone" width="660"]Russian Car ZIM-12 Russian Car[/caption]

This is a Zim 12 Russian car donated by Stalin to Enver Hoxha. Less than 22,000 were produced all in all and only 10 made it to Albania. This one is the only one remaining. The curators of the BunkArt are even having fun with it since they have put a traffic fine at the front window citing a broken light and parking on the sidewalk :D

[caption id="attachment_2514" align="alignnone" width="660"]Guzzi Bike Moto Guzzi[/caption]

This one's description was not too clear. It says that those bikes were used by the Italian Army during the 60s and then some were donated to the Albanian Army in 2002. I know Moto Guzzi is a great brand but hey, 40 years old bike belongs to collectors, not to an army. I bet Italians pushed the contract for their maintenance as well.

[caption id="attachment_2515" align="alignnone" width="660"]Entrance Entrance[/caption]

This is the entrance to the bunker. There are like 4-5 doors one after the other and the first ones are concrete and very thick. I guess the bunker was made to withstand a nuclear explosion in its front yard too...

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Left or Right, it doesn't matter. There is no choice.

Left or Right, it doesn't matter. There is no choice.

After leaving the fortress, we took the road to the seaside to see where the asphalt ended. We passed by a couple of snail farms and a nice restaurant which surprisingly didn't have snail based dishes. If you have a snail farm in front of you, is it difficult to put it in the menu? At least you'll be the first buying hand and the price will be too damn cheap! Anyways, as you can see, the road ended here and the sea was exactly 1 km straight ahead but we didn't went through. We took some photos and turned back home. Bought a sack of apples and potatoes at the guy I mentioned in my previous post. The apples were delicious but half of the potatoes were bad. Them crooks fill the sacks with half bad and half good potatoes, hence the cheap price. My mother had to throw half sack away.


During summer the road is enjoyable and the coast is very long, some 8-10 km with sandy beach. Beware though, there is no infrastructure like shops or restaurants. During high seasons there are canteens (food trucks) and even woody buildings that serve as restaurants but bring food and water with you, just to be safe.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Fortress of Bashtove - The Inside

Fortress of Bashtove

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.

Fortress of Bashtove

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

Fortress of Bashtove

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

Fortress of Bashtove

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

Fortress of Bashtove

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

Fortress of Bashtove

A tower-less angle.

Fortress of Bashtove Fortress of Bashtove Fortress of Bashtove

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


Fortress of Bashtove

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.


 Fortress of Bashtove

Another tower-less angle.

Fortress of Bashtove

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

Friday, December 19, 2014

Fortress of Bashtove

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

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

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Monday, December 8, 2014

Thursday, December 4, 2014

On the road again

On the road again

I wish all Albania's highways were like this one. They are getting better though. Roads have always been a problem here. They have also been the most common way to exploit public funds.

The above photo has been taken somewhere in Mallakaster, close to Pocem, midway from Fier to Tepelene.

On the road again

One other serious issue is the quality. The most famous (and the most expensive) highway of Albania, Rruga e Kombit (Nation's Highway) has many problems and now the government is thinking to give away its maintenance to private contractors. That means we will have to pay tolls soon enough. Let's hope whatever happens, will be for the better...

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Never melting snow of Tomorr

Snow

Snow

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.)

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Sacrifices

Sheep

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.

Slaughter

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.




Slaughter

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.

Slaughter

An artistic impression of the situation.

Blood

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.