Tyranny Over Tirana, Albania
Experiencing life in Albania's capital and largest city while learning even more about communism's devastating impact on the country's people.
November 16-19, 2022
Usually, when we take a bus from one city to another, we get dropped off at a bus station close to the city’s center. This was not the case when we arrived in Tirana, Albania. Our bus from Shkodёr (400 Lek = $3.61) dropped us off on a busy road about an hour’s walk away from our Airbnb. This is just another example proving that no matter how much you try to plan ahead when backpacking, you have to be prepared for the unpredictable. You must learn to expect the unexpected...and never knowing what lies ahead of you can be quite invigorating.
With the heavy rush-hour traffic, we decided to walk all the way to our Airbnb instead of getting a taxi which would likely take even longer. After sitting on two buses that day (one from Theth to Shkodёr and then from Shkodёr to Tirana), getting some exercise seemed more appealing anyways.
However, since Tirana is the capital of Albania and about 1/3 of the country’s population resides there (approximately 1 million people in the metropolitan area), we soon discovered that it was not quite as easily navigable by foot. Even so, we sucked it up and hauled our 30 lbs of baggage for an hour on the heel-toe express to our Airbnb.
Side note: We chose to stay in an Airbnb as opposed to a hostel because, by this point in the trip, our clothes were in need of a good cleaning. It was a more cost-effective option considering that the flat had a washing machine and it was only about 15 dollars per person per night.
On our first morning in Tirana, we walked about 20 minutes from our Airbnb into the city center to join a free walking tour. For the next two hours, we walked all over the city stopping at Skanderbeg Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral, Et`hem Bey Mosque, the dictator’s old house (unoccupied but relatively maintained), and even stopped at a few fighting bunkers within the city.
We also walked down a street lined with the flags of another country that changes every week to promote learning about other countries and cultures. I thought this was commendable considering Albania had been sheltered from the rest of the world for so long. We may have freedom of exposure to the world in the U.S., but learning about other countries and their cultures is still not commonly promoted.
We then paused under the Cloud sculpture (a temporary art piece) and listened to the tour guide talk about communism in Albania. This was one of my favorite parts of the tour. It’s far too much to share here, but one of the most interesting facts that I learned was that communism was not brought to Albania by an external force. Instead, it was internally elected by the people of Albania following the occupation of Italy and Germany.
After becoming allies with Russia and copying a lot of the soviet communist ideals, the dictator, Enver Hoxha, decided that Russia was not “communist enough” and eventually broke ties. Albania then allied with China but later decided they also weren’t “communist enough” and severed connections there too.
Learning about what life was like after communism fell was even more fascinating, considering so much of the outside world had changed during this time period that it brought serious culture shock for Albanians following total isolation.
After communism ended in 1991, two of the most exciting new imports were Coca-Cola and bananas. Bananas were so exotic that some people initially thought that they would need a special device just to open them. Coca-Cola became a prized possession that families would sometimes even display on their mantels with pride.
Our tour guide told us a story from his own family’s experience. As the story goes, one day his grandfather asked someone to go out and get him bananas from the store. After returning with the fruit, his grandfather looked displeased and immediately said, “No, not these bananas, I want the RED bananas!” Apparently, he assumed that the word bananas was not specific to the fruit but was an all-encompassing term for new imports… What he was really referring to was Coca-Cola.
Part of Albania’s history that really speaks to the character of the people is the overwhelming religious tolerance succeeding the dissolution of the harsh communist regime. Under the tyranny of Enver Hoxha, practicing any religion was made illegal and Albania became the first official atheist country in the world. All religious buildings were destroyed and those who refused to give up their religion were brutally reprimanded and some were even killed.
Once religion was no longer banned after the communist era, all of the religious buildings in Tirana waited for one another to rebuild before opening together on a single day. There seems to be a general consensus to respect and treat every religion equally so that religion is no longer divisive in Albania as it is in so much of the world.
Following the tour, we ate lunch at an Albanian restaurant called Oda which someone on the tour recommended to us. It was so good that we ended up going back the very next day for lunch again.
We also went to a farmer’s market, Markata E Fruta Perimeve, and perused the lines of stands and picked up some strawberries. The market seemed to be near closing, so the stands were starting to clear out. The market is situated under a nicely designed pavilion and is definitely worth checking out.
However, as far as street prices go for fruit, you can find cheaper stands elsewhere. There are hundreds of smaller fruit and vegetable stands lining Tirana's streets, so you can’t miss them. For reference, we purchased a sizeable bunch of grapes, 4 persimmons, and a basket of strawberries all for about 880 Lek which is about $8. Not to mention, we were also given a bunch of bananas and a few pomegranates for free.
On our second full day in Tirana, we took the bus (40 Lek = $0.38) to the outskirts of town to go to Bunk’Art 1. This is one of the most highly recommended activities in Tirana. Bunk’Art 1 is a museum housed in the superfluous military bunker that was built to protect the paranoid dictator, Enver Hoxha, and other military officials in case of a nuclear attack.
Even after the fall of communism in Albania in 1991, this bunker had been kept a secret up until the early 2000s and was actively used for military drills until it was exposed and eventually transformed into a museum open to the public in 2014.
We had extremely high expectations for this experience. Caroline and I purchased one ticket including an audio guide to share and one normal ticket and split the cost evenly, so we each spent about 575 Lek ($5.31).
In hindsight, I would not recommend purchasing the audio guide as it just narrates the informational signs posted on the walls instead of adding more information which was a bit disappointing (unless you really don’t feel like reading). That being said, I have never been to a more informationally dense museum in my entire life. It was like reading a textbook that covered almost all of Albania’s modern history. It certainly could have been condensed and summarized a bit more.
When I go into a museum, I want to feel like I have a good understanding of what I’m reading within a greater context. But this museum contained too much information to keep track of so it was hard to stay engaged without getting lost and having questions. We eventually became very fatigued from reading so much and trying to piece all the complex components together.
It was definitely a surreal experience being inside the eerie bunker itself and I would say that it’s worth the visit, but come prepared and account for at least a few hours if you want to walk away with a thorough understanding. Overall, I didn’t even learn much more than I had already learned from the walking tour and speaking with locals. I felt even more grateful for having been exposed to the information prior in more casual settings.
There is also a Bunk’Art 2, but Bunk’Art 1 is the main attraction and is recommended over the second if you have to choose. After our experience at Bunk’Art 1, we didn’t have much desire to visit Bunk’Art 2– though maybe that one was more digestible.
My favorite activity during our time in Tirana was visiting the Museum of Secret Surveillance, better known as the “House of Leaves” (700 Lek = $6.52). Focusing on espionage and the use of civilian informants during the communist era, the museum displays all the equipment that was used for spying and exhibits different tactics.
It really put into perspective the number of people involved in assisting the dictatorship by spying on fellow citizens and also how many people were personally impacted or killed as a result. Because of this, it was an extremely heavy museum, especially in the rooms where all the names of the victims of the ruthless dictatorship completely covered the walls in small font.
I wish we had more time to spend there because there were extensive video testimonials and clips of propaganda television content that we only had a few minutes to delve into. However, we had to go check out of our Airbnb and catch a bus to our next destination.
Thus far on the trip, Tirana was the biggest city I had been to in Europe. Compared to Theth and Shkoder, it was a stark contrast and exposed another side of Albania that we hadn’t yet experienced. But, seeing as I’ve been to far bigger cities elsewhere, it was not very impressive to me in that regard except for the vibrantly colorful buildings. However, for the sake of a well-rounded experience of all that Albania has to offer (especially if you are intrigued by its communist past), Tirana is a must-see city.
No better moment of appreciation for having only a single backpack of belongings than when faced with an impromptu 3 mile walk!