<meta http-equiv="Pragma" content="no-cache"> <meta name="Keywords" content="travel"> <meta name="Description" content="travel"> </HEAD> <body background="bg_soft.jpg"> <div align=center style="z-index:1000; position:relative;"> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </div> <h1 align="center">Albania</h1> <h2 align="center">September 2000</h2> <h2 align="center"><img border="0" src="albania_flag.gif" width="68" height="50"></h2> <hr> <p align="center"><i>Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version of the photo. Return to this page by using your browser's "Back" button.</i></p> <p align="center"><a href="index.htm"><img border="0" src="home_button.gif" width="48" height="27"></a></p> <table border="0" width="100%" align="left" cellpadding="3"> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_skanderbeg.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_skanderbeg_small.jpg" alt="tirana_skanderbeg.jpg (43518 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Tirana - Skanderbeg Square, named for Albania's national hero <a href="http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/4165/skenderbeu.html">Skanderbeg</a> (1405-68), who united the Albanians against Ottoman rule; this square was laid out in the 1950s after bombing in World War II destroyed the old center of the city.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_museum.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_museum_small.jpg" alt="tirana_museum.jpg (48752 bytes)" width="100" height="67"></a> <p>Tirana - the National Historical Museum. Note the great socialist realist mural over the entrance, which shows Illyrian peasants, Albanian nationalists, and modern Partisans fighting for Albania's freedom.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_mosque.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_mosque_small.jpg" alt="tirana_mosque.jpg (55643 bytes)" width="100" height="72"></a> <p>Tirana - Mosque of Etem Bey. Built between 1794 and 1821, it is considered one of the finest mosques in Albania. During the communist period, and particularly after 1967, religion was banned from public life. </td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_library.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_library_small.jpg" alt="tirana_library.jpg (54170 bytes)" width="100" height="71"></a> <p>Tirana - front of the National Library, which was severely damaged in rioting in 1991 and 1997. The detritus in the picture is discarded campaign posters from elections which took place during my visit. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_zogbldgs.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_zogbldgs_small.jpg" alt="tirana_zogbldgs.jpg (38865 bytes)" width="100" height="71"></a> <p>Tirana - this complex of government buildings lies just off Skanderbeg Square, and was built in the reign of <a href="http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/3/0,5716,119653+10+110556,00.html">Ahmed Bey Zogu</a>, who ruled Albania first as president (1925-8) then as King Zog (1928-39).</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_street.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_street_small.jpg" alt="tirana_street.jpg (71432 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Tirana - street scene. This was one of the more elegant streets (actually, the only elegant one) in the Albanian capital.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_hoxha.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_hoxha_small.jpg" alt="tirana_hoxha.jpg (55126 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Tirana - the former Enver Hoxha Memorial. Prior to 1991, this weird structure was a museum to the life of the communist dictator <a href="http://ac.clubs.byu.edu/mfhoxha.htm">Enver Hoxha</a> (1908-85). It now serves as an exhibition hall and trade center.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_roomview.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_roomview_small.jpg" alt="tirana_roomview.jpg (43760 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Tirana - the view from my hotel. At least at this height, Tirana appears as an attractive and typically Mediterranean city.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_friends.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_friends_small.jpg" alt="tirana_friends.jpg (48259 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Tirana - Terry, Maria, Mary Margaret, and an unidentified "friend" following a gruelling Sunday afternoon hike through the mountains which surround the city.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_boys.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_boys_small.jpg" alt="tirana_boys.jpg (43390 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Tirana - these two didn't hike with us, but no doubt would have if we had met them sooner!</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_lakeside01.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_lakeside01_small.jpg" alt="tirana_lakeside01.jpg (53281 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Tirana - this peaceful small reservoir was in a large park on the southern edge of the city, near the university.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="tirana_lakeside02.jpg"><img border="2" src="tirana_lakeside02_small.jpg" alt="tirana_lakeside02.jpg (58539 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Tirana - another view by the reservoir.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja01.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja01_small.jpg" alt="kruja01.jpg (61449 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Kruja - this small town lies some 30kms north of Tirana, and is famous as the location of the citadel of the national hero Skanderbeg.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja02.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja02_small.jpg" alt="kruja02.jpg (81258 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Kruja - view of the town from the castle promontory. Kruja was settled as early as the 6C BC.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja03.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja03_small.jpg" alt="kruja03.jpg (46852 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Kruja - Skanderbeg Castle (Citadel). Built originally in the late 13C, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt several times during its turbulent history, and was most recently restored in 1982.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja04.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja04_small.jpg" alt="kruja04.jpg (71070 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Kruja - these are examples of noblemen's houses in the Citadel complex which have recently been restored and are now house shops and restaurants.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja06.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja06_small.jpg" alt="kruja06.jpg (56678 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Kruja - another view of the restored noblemen's houses.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja05.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja05_small.jpg" alt="kruja05.jpg (52992 bytes)" width="100" height="71"></a> <p>Kruja - this view from atop the Citadel is looking away from the main part of the town.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja_boys.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja_boys_small.jpg" alt="kruja_boys.jpg (78038 bytes)" width="100" height="71"></a> <p>Kruja - some of the eager "tour guides" which accompanied me during my stay in Kruja.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="kruja_street.jpg"><img border="2" src="kruja_street_small.jpg" alt="kruja_street.jpg (57138 bytes)" width="100" height="169"></a> <p>Kruja - the Bazaar, a typically Ottoman commercial street, recently restored.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_view.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_view_small.jpg" alt="durres_view.jpg (44937 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Durres - known as Epidamnus to the ancient Greeks and Dyrrachium to the Romans, this city on the Adriatic is Albania's main port, and was the capital from Albania's creation in 1918 until 1921.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_street01.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_street01_small.jpg" alt="durres_street01.jpg (48267 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Durres - a typical street scene. As in all Albanian cities and towns, there is a considerable quantity of ugly concrete boxes erected during the communist era.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_mosque.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_mosque_small.jpg" alt="durres_mosque.jpg (41806 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Durres - the Mosque of Fatih, dating from the 17C. It was almost totally vandalized during the communist period, but has recently been restored and reopened for worship. It was built atop an earlier Byzantine church.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_ruins.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_ruins_small.jpg" alt="durres_ruins.jpg (64865 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Durres - these Roman ruins lie just off the main square. These may have been foundations of ancient houses.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_theater01.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_theater01_small.jpg" alt="durres_theater01.jpg (63563 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Durres - Roman amphitheater. Dating from the 2C, this is one of the largest structures of its kind in the Balkans, with seating for 15,000 spectators.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_theater02.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_theater02_small.jpg" alt="durres_theater02.jpg (54990 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Durres - another view of the Roman amphitheater, which is still only partly excavated.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="durres_partisan.jpg"><img border="2" src="durres_partisan_small.jpg" alt="durres_partisan.jpg (45110 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Durres - statue of a Partisan fighter. This ponderously ugly and tacky monument along a polluted stretch of beach typifies the style of Socialist Realism.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_view01.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_view01_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_view01.jpg (45123 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Shkoder - view of the city's main mosque, which opened in 1995. Formerly known as Scutari, this is Albania's third largest city, and is just south of the Montenegrin border.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_view02.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_view02_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_view02.jpg (51575 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>Shkoder - another view of the city. This city suffered more than most under communism because of its large population of dissidents, intellectuals, and Catholics.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_view03.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_view03_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_view03.jpg (57329 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Shkoder - a view of the Partisan monument in the city's main traffic roundabout.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_street02.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_street02_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_street02.jpg (57304 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Shkoder - formerly known as Enver Hoxha Street, this is the city's main commercial thoroughfare.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_street01.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_street01_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_street01.jpg (58182 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Shkoder - where everyday is market day!</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_street03.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_street03_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_street03.jpg (50285 bytes)" width="100" height="69"></a> <p>Shkoder - a street in the city's modern section.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castle02.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castle02_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castle02.jpg (40742 bytes)" width="100" height="66"></a> <p>Shkoder Castle - the Citadel of Rosafat occupies a stretgic outcropping 3km south of the city. It was the scene of countless battles, the most famous of which was against the Turks in 1479.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castle01.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castle01_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castle01.jpg (48120 bytes)" width="100" height="157"></a> <p>Shkoder Castle - one of many such entryways.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castle03.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castle03_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castle03.jpg (55571 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Shkoder Castle - remains of St Stephens Cathedral, built in 1319 and converted to a mosque after the Turkish victory in 1479.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castle04.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castle04_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castle04.jpg (51245 bytes)" width="100" height="71"></a> <p>Shkoder Castle - example of arches in the ruins of St Stephens Cathedral.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castle05.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castle05_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castle05.jpg (53196 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>Shkoder castle - the buildings known as the prison complex lie on a small promontory overlooking the lower portion which contain the ruins of St Stephens Cathedral.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castleview01.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castleview01_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castleview01.jpg (45065 bytes)" width="100" height="68"></a> <p>View from Shkoder Castle of the Buna River looking west.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castleview02.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castleview02_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castleview02.jpg (49400 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>View from Shkoder Castle looking southeast. The small mosque was the scene of violence in the first free elections in 1991, when paramilitaries fired on worshippers inside.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="shkoder_castleview03.jpg"><img border="2" src="shkoder_castleview03_small.jpg" alt="shkoder_castleview03.jpg (44191 bytes)" width="100" height="70"></a> <p>View from Shkoder Castle looking south. The highway runs to the capital Tirana.</td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="albania_map.jpg"><img border="2" src="albania_map_small.jpg" alt="albania_map.jpg (96662 bytes)" width="100" height="107"></a> <p>Map courtesy of <i><a href="http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html">The World Factbook</a>.</i> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"> <p align="left"><a href="albania.htm"><img border="0" src="pointer.gif" width="13" height="7"></a></td> <td width="50%" align="center" valign="top"> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"> </p> </body> </html>