© Lonely Planet Publications 39 ALBANIA Albania RAFAEL ESTEFANIA © Lonely Planet Publications 40 www.lonelyplanet.com ALBANIA Highlights 41 HIGHLIGHTS ALBANIA HOW MUCH? The wild colour schemes and all-hours café culture of Tirana ( p52 ) Shot of mulberry raki ALBANIA Albania Skanderbeg’s spectacular castle ( p63 ) at (a local spirit) 100 lek Kruja; perched against a mountain wall of rock with views over the Adriatic Sea Bunker-shaped ashtrays (great souvenirs!) 500 lek The sunny ‘museum city’ of Berati ( p64 ) and its gorgeous citadel Short taxi ride 300 lek The mountainous Mediterranean nation of Albania is taking off into a well-earned era of The south’s dramatic Ionian Coast, from Loaf of bread 50 lek confidence, vitality and decent plumbing. Once known as a shadowy communist prison the beaches of Dhërmiu ( p70 ) to the jungly Fërgesë Tiranë ruins of Butrinti ( p72 ) state, Shqipëria, as the locals call it, is emerging from a hugely difficult transition period. (traditional Tirana dish) 300 lek Travel here still has a few rough edges, but enduring bumpy bus rides and scratchy phone The city-turned-village of Voskopoja ( p76 ), deep in the southern highlands lines will be amply repaid with generous hospitality, gorgeous mountain scenery and sights LONELY PLANET INDEX you can savour without any tourist bustle and hustle. ITINERARIES Litre of petrol 100 lek One week Spend two days in Tirana, Litre of bottled water 50 lek The capital Tirana, once a byword for torpid communism, has reinvented itself into a checking out museums, markets and the buzzing young city, which artists have literally redecorated. The old grey Stalinist apart- burgeoning dining and nightlife scenes. Tirana beer 150 lek ment buildings are vibrant canvases for pastels and primary colours. Tirana’s evening xhiro Take a day trip out to Kruja for magnifi- Souvenir T-shirt 800 lek cent views out over the Adriatic Sea, as (stroll) is becoming the beginning of a night out, rather than the end of the day. In the Street snack (byrek) 30 lek well as some intriguing museums and mountains of the north, castles guard the valleys and proud old tribesmen and women a cute little bazaar. Then hop on a bus still wear traditional dress, while the south has a wonderful mix of Muslim and Christian or furgon (minibus) to Berati, Albania’s shrines, a spectacular coastline along the Ionian Sea and several classical cities hidden in loveliest Ottoman-era town, for two days out Saranda and Butrinti, then cruise the countryside. of tramping around the town’s old quar- up to Gjirokastra to explore another ters. Next, make your way to Saranda by Ottoman-era town. Next comes adven- Albania’s economy has been booming since the start of the new century, and the the sea and do a day trip to the wonderful ture on the stunning road to Korça – country has officially shrugged off its tag as Europe’s poorest country (sorry, Moldova). Few jungly ruins of Butrinti. not an easy ride but an unforgettable one. Two weeks Spend three days in Tirana with Korça has a lovely museum and the old visitors find that the challenges of rapid development (ripped-up footpaths and roads being a day trip to Kruja, then head to Durrësi village of Voskopoja is a wonderful day relaid) impede their enjoyment of a country beginning to appreciate a period of hard-won for the excellent Archaeological Museum trip. At the end of it all, head back to prosperity and freedom. and seaside bar-restaurants. From Dur- Tirana for some R and R. rësi take a trip to the ruins of Apollonia near Fieri. After this, spend two days at CLIMATE & WHEN TO GO FAST FACTS Berati, maybe with a day trip up to Mt Coastal Albania has a pleasant Mediterra- Area 28,748 sq km Tomorri. Catch a bus down to Vlora, nean climate. In Tirana and other inland and head on to Llogaraja Pass if you like towns on the plains there is plenty of rain- Capital Tirana mountain scenery, or to the beaches at fall during the winter, but temperatures Currency lek; €1 = 122 lek; US$1= 101 lek; Dhërmiu, Vuno or Himara on the Ionian below freezing are rare. The high moun- UK£1 = 178 lek; A$1 = 77 lek; ¥100 = 91 lek; Coast if the sea is more your thing. Check tains often experience heavy snow between NZ$1 = 71 lek Famous for being ‘mysterious’, concrete A SHORT LESSON ON ALBANIAN GRAMMAR bunkers, unique language One of the more complicated things about Albania is that there are two common ways of spelling Key phrases tungjatjeta/allo (hello), place names. The ‘proper’ name of Albania’s most beautiful Ottoman town is Berati, but road lamtumirë (goodbye) signs and many maps show ‘Berat’. The difference is because in Albanian grammar, the definite Official language Albanian form is ‘Berati’, meaning ‘the Berati’, while the indefinite form, eg ‘to Berati’, changes the spelling Population 3.56 million to ‘Berat’. So when a road sign reads ‘Berat – 25km’, it means ‘to Berati – 25km’. Make sense? We hope so. In this book, we have used the definite form for place names, even when it goes Telephone codes country code %355; against the usual foreign usage. ‘Durrës’ is nearly always used on maps printed outside the country international access code %00 rather than ‘Durrësi’. Names ending in ‘i’ and ‘u’ lose that letter in the indefinite form, eg Durrësi Visas no visa needed for citizens of the EU, becomes Durrës and Dhërmiu – Dhërmi; names ending in ‘a’ change to ë, eg Tirana – Tiranë and Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada; Saranda – Sarandë, and names ending in ‘ra’ change to ‘ër’, eg Shkodra – Shkodër and Gjirokastra – see p82 for details Gjirokastër. Apologies for any confusion, we’re just trying to be consistent. 42 ALBANIA www.lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com ALBANIA History 43 ALBANIA 0 60 km November and March, and towns such as in the mountains of northern Albania and ALBANIA 0 30 miles Lim Korça become icy. Roads and tracks to the adjacent areas of Kosovo and Monte- Ri Ostrog ver Prishtina Monastery E65 Djeravica Peja mountain villages can be blocked by snow negro. The populace slowly replaced the old ALBANIA (2656m) MONTENEGRO Moraca for months. gods with the new Christian faith cham- V Canyon a c a E762 Z a l In the summer Tirana swelters, especially pioned by the Emperor Constantine the r b Risan e r e Gnjilane t o a o v M i n Perast R e E65 in August when temperatures reach the Great. Three early Byzantine emperors – Cem Mt Jezerca Tropoja Kosovo Kotor Podgorica er (2694m) Ðakovica Tivat Cetinje Riv Bajram Uroševac high 30s, and even in the mountain towns Anastasius I, Justin I and Justinian I – E65 Hani i Thethi Mt Lovcén Curri (1749m) Hoti the mercury frequently rises to 40°C. The were of Illyrian origin. E65 in Virpazar r i Ri E851 Budva E762 D ve temperatures on the coast are milder. See In 1344 Albania was annexed by Serbia, Lake r Sveti Stefan Fierza Prizren Skadar Lake Lake Kruma Climate Charts, p388 . but after the defeat of Serbia by the Turks Petrovac Shkodra Fierza Vrbnica Lake Morina The best time to visit Albania is spring in 1389 the whole region was open to Otto- Velipoja Komani E851 Kukësi Bar Skopje NP Shkodra or autumn, particularly May and September, man attack. The Venetians occupied some Puka E851 E65 Sukobin when you can sightsee in the mild sunshine. coastal towns, and from 1443 to 1468 the r Muriqani Tetovo E851 e v i national hero Skanderbeg (Gjergj Kastrioti) R Ulcinj a n u HISTORY led Albanian resistance to the Turks from B Mt Korab (2751m) Gostivar Albanians call their country Shqipëria (pro- his castle at Kruja. Skanderbeg won all 25 Shëngjini Rresheni Lezha ska ov nounced something like schip-ree-ya), and battles he fought against the Turks, and Kuna-Valni ALBANIA Peshkopia vr r a e NP iv M R trace their roots to the ancient tribal Illyr- even Sultan Mehmet-Fatih, the conqueror Miloti ska ov Laci d r E65 ians. The Albanian language is descended of Constantinople, could not take Kruja. ADRIATIC Burreli a ve J i SEA Blato R Debar Kicevo from Illyrian, making it a rare survivor of The Ottomans finally overwhelmed Alba- Kruja Klosi Bulqiza D E851 r the Slavic and Roman influx and a European nian resistance in 1479, 26 years after they in MACEDONIA Mt Dajti i Rinasi M Kraste R at linguistic oddity on a par with Basque. The had captured Constantinople. Albanians (1611m) i R iv ive e r r Prilep Sopotnica Illyrians occupied the Western Balkans dur- proudly assert that Skanderbeg’s resistance Shijak Tirana Durrësi ing the 2nd millennium BC. They built sub- saved Europe from Ottoman conquest, stantial fortified cities, mastered silver and because their courageous ancestors engaged Librazhdi Struga Kavaja E852 copper mining and became adept at sailing the attentions of the Ottoman army during E853 Kafa San Ohrid Lake C E65 r the Mediterranean. The Greeks arrived in the one of its strongest periods of conquest. Elbasani n Ohrid a Prrenjasi R Bitola e 7th century BC to establish self-governing After the conquest many Catholic Albani- Shku ver k mbini Ri a Devolli River Mt Shpat (1830m) Sveti Naum Lake colonies at Epidamnos (now Durrësi), Apol- ans moved to southern Italy, particularly Lushnja Pogradeci Stenje Prespa lonia and Butrinti. to the Catanzaro Mountains of Calabria Tushëmishti Gramshi In the second half of the 3rd century BC, and the region around Palermo in Sicily.