kmazz

Shiqpëria (the “q” is silent) is the ancient name for Albania, a Republic since 1993. Before that, it was a brutal, feudal Communist dictatorship, before that a pawn between European powers who dismembered it, before that a colony of the Ottoman Empire and before that the home of Illyrian tribes who were crushed by the Romans. Most Americans seem never to have heard of it. Most people probably can’t place it on a map.

However, since becoming a Republic, Albania has been written about as the last country where one can see a country in a pure Mediterranean state. It is a claim I’ve taken to heart since the 1990s. Finally, I made a visit earlier this month, focusing on the north.

It was a delightful experience, despite the obvious fact that only a bit of old Albania is visible. The new nation is rapidly becoming well-integrated into the global economy and its concomitant prosperity. Tourists are flooding in.

Plenty of vestiges of traditional life remain, however, even in Tirana. Streets are lined with fig, magnolia, linden, balsam and pomegranate trees from which natural products are made. Vendors sell flowers, fresh herbs, mountain tea, and knitted socks on street corners across from Karl Lagerfeld and Max Mara. On a one and a half hour walk from dictator Enver Hoxha’s former bunker (he was paranoid) through ungentrified neighborhoods, I even walked a few unpaved roads. There, the wonderful vitality of local people going about their daily errands was infectious. Humans behaving like humans! Men smoking over espresso at cafés, garrulous women at butcher and cheese shops, grease covered men repairing bicycles, people snacking on byrek.

In contrast, skyscrapers and construction cranes are everywhere in the center, as well as road signs advertising soon-to-be-built luxury condos. Sigh. There goes the neighborhood.

Outside Tirana rural tradition is more intact.

That won’t be for long, however. The rugged, pristine hiker’s paradise of the Accursed Mountains is being developed for tourism. I did not go south or along the Adriatic coast but I assume the same sort of plans are underway there.

It was too much to expect that a country emerging from brutal oppression and enforced insularity wouldn’t rush headlong into the future. Bless them, Albanians want economic security and opportunity like the rest of us. As part of a global, climate and equality-aware culture, Albanian youth might demand a more sustainable path. If they stick around.

Many if not most Albanians still want to emigrate. Some blood feuds continue in the deep North. Tensions with Serbs over Kosovo simmer. Corruption by former reconstituted Communists who remain in power is a given. The country needs help to develop safely. It’s my hope Albania gets it. The people are friendly, the food is delicious and healthy, it has plenty of natural beauty and it is a safe country for visitors (the only police I saw were directing traffic in Tirana). I can’t wait to return.