Tirana.

--OAT: "The city was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha, who was drawn there by its location at the crossroads of caravan routes, and flourished until the 19th century, when the death of the founder's grand-nephew, Kaplan Pasha, left the city under the control of a megalomaniac, Esat Toptani. It was not until Tirana was named the capital of Albania in 1920 that it began to thrive again."

We started the day with a lecture and discussion with a local expert on the past and present of Albania. He has studied, earned a PHD, and taught in the U.S. Although we were in a small room, he spoke excellent English as kept us rapt with his well-placed words. Quite interesting and insightful. We then appropriately visited the National History Museum to learn about Albania's turbulent history before and after World War II, along with the country's post-war difficulties under a Communist regime.

Motivated perhaps by a turbulent history, Albania built a lot of concrete bunkers to defend against invaders. We visited one of the biggest built into the ground in the outskirts of Tirana. It took six years to build and was completed in 1978. The bunker was never used in a war situation and is now a museum. We got to walk through the narrow hallways and enter rooms along the way where displays and recreations were. Interesting, but depressing in a way.

For lunch, we took a 20-minute tram ride up and over a wooded hillside with rock outcroppings to a restaurant near the top of Dajti Mountain (1,000 meters). The view from the top was a bit hazy, but cool nevertheless… then hopped back on the tram for the ride back down. For dinner, we all met down in the dining area near the lobby. Basil and Fanis broke out some wine purchased in the wine growing regions of Greece to go with pizza. The special treat for the evening was our tour compatriots, Rich and Marion, dressing in traditional 100 year-old Albanian garb provided by Erion… pictures were taken all around.

Quick Photo Links: Pyramid of Tirana | Skanderbeg Square | Bunk'Art | Tram Ride