Korca – Pogradec (Lake Ohrid) – Elbasan – Tirana

Tuesday, April 30

After breakfast we walked to see the old Orthodox Cathedral, whose presence was hidden by the concrete façade of the Culture Palace during the dictatorship.  It’s still an active church and its iconostasis contains the largest icons in the country; in addition, the smaller icons of the upper level have been moved to a nearby museum.  Korca is a center of iconography, home to the Zografi Brothers (icon masters) and their successors.

 

We also visited the new Cathedral – multi-domed, brightly lit, and well-adorned with icons; it dominates a public square at one end of the pedestrian promenade we walked along last night. 

Our last stop in Korca was the National Museum of Medieval Art, where icons from the 13^th century onward are displayed and restored.  The works of the Onufri and the Zografi masters are displayed in several galleries, the most striking of which is a two-story space hung from floor to ceiling with the glowing images: it was a dazzling display.

By noon, we were in Pogradec, on the shores of the huge Lake Ohrid, which sits between Albania and Macedonia (now officially known as North Macedonia after many years of conflict with Greece over the use of the name Macedonia).  It was a windy day, and after a walk along the downtown beach and waterfront park, we were glad to retreat for espressos in a café with picture-window views of the scene.  We drove along the shore to another park on the lake that had once been the preserve of the dictator and party leaders.  With the fall of the dictatorship, the original villa was looted and damaged; it’s since been restored and expanded as a high-end restaurant.  The properties along the lake are lined with a series of regularly-spaced bunkers, a continuation of the dictator’s obsession with security and defense we’ve seen everywhere in Albania.  Here, in a border region frequented by the country’s powers-that-were, that preoccupation is impossible to ignore.

Leaving Pogradec, we continued on a lake shore road until beginning to climb into the mountains.  The road followed a river and the original Egnatian Road  of the Romans and we stopped for lunch at a traditional restaurant with a lovely view of the river’s rushing waters.  We’ve come to trust Enea’s menu suggestions and he’s never led us astray.  We’ve had great meals this week – delicious, abundant, and cheap.

Our last visit was to the fortress of Elbasan.  Unlike the other castles we’ve toured, this fortification was not on a hilltop; it originated as a stop on the Egnatian Road and was not fortified until the 5^th century, as the Roman Empire declined.  After attacks by the Ostrogoths, Huns and Slavs, the original settlement was abandoned.  With the coming of the Ottomans in the 15^th century, much higher walls were built upon the remains of the original walls, the fortress was used in the campaigns against Skanderbeg.  The Ottoman era saw the development of commercial activity with the growth of manufacturing and a trading center.  Today, there is still much activity inside the castle walls; there are restaurants, inns, shops and active residences within.

There is a new road between Elbasan and Tirana, what used to be an hour’s drive is now about half that, thanks to a mountain tunnel.  Only the left lane of the tunnel is in use, by decree of the current left-wing government; when the party of the right is in control, the right lane is the go-to option. Enea swears this is true!

Back in Tirana, we checked into our hotel and took a walk around before going out for dinner with Enea and his wife, Tina.  We went to a seafood restaurant in the bazaar area of Tirana and shared a most amazing meal with them.  The food was terrific (especially the out-of-this-world grilled octopus!), the wine and conversation flowed and the laughs came easily and often.  We hatched a few plans/dreams for the future: a Rick Steves collaboration with Enea to open up Albanian tourism for Americans; a finder’s fee/agent’s cut for MER; and travel for Enea, Tina and their sons to see the Grand Canyon.)  It would have been impossible to imagine all of this just a week ago; we’ve learned so much and feel so fortunate to have found Enea to guide us through the homeland that he loves.  To have had the chance to meet Tina and spend this relaxed evening together as new friends was the icing on the cake for us!

Permeti – Germenji National Park – Korca

Monday, April 29

Today we spent traveling through some very remote and beautiful areas of Albania.  Traveling out of Gjiokastra through the valley of a glittering river, we soon headed for a mountain pass.  Before leaving the main road, Enea’s attempt to stop for gas was thwarted when  the old attendant decided he didn’t feel like getting up from his seat to accommodate us, so off we went, chuckling at the prevailing (non) work ethic.

Once through the pass, we began to follow the course of the Vjosa River’s blue waters, which cut a gorge through the countryside.  The fields and slopes lining the riverbank gave evidence of a very different work ethic.  Rows of neatly ordered vineyards, shepherds and goatherds tending their flocks, and farmers manually tilling and tending fertile fields between small mountain villages all gave silent but powerful testimony to a rigorous way of life.  The scenery was absolutely spectacular – forested green slopes accented with flowering fruit trees and yellow blossoms, the watery ribbon below and snowy peaks high above; we couldn’t help thinking about how it reminded us of Switzerland or Austria. 
 

We stopped in the pretty town of Permeti(“Albania’s Cleanest City”), which overlooks the river, is planted with many well-tended flower beds, has a large public square with a monument to the Partisan heroes of the resistance, and whose local landmark is the Rock of the City, a huge bolder that broke off from the mountains that form the city’s backdrop and landed at the river’s edge.  We could see people who are heartier than we are taking in the view from the top of the rock.

Then we were back on the less-than-wonderful road through more stunning scenery along the river, which eventually became the border with Greece.  We could have thrown a stone on and launched it on an international journey, but resisted that temptation.  Enea said that he is often stopped in the area by border police checking passports and searching for people entering the country illegally.  Our ride continued through Germenji National Park, a pine-forested, mountainous area, where we stopped along the way to enjoy the spinach and leek pies that Enea and picked up in Permeti.

In the town of Erseke, we stopped for a look at the recently re-designed central square, which contains several examples of public spending that particularly irk Enea.  It lacks any cohesive elements, any architecture that reflects of a sense of purpose, or any characteristics that tie it to the local culture.  Here, at Permeti, and other places we’ve visited, Enea sees lots of money spent on superficial appearances that do nothing to improve the lives of the citizens whose taxes paid for them.  Similarly, in many Albanian towns and along country roads, we’ve seen monuments commemorating the anti-fascist efforts of the Communists, while nearby buildings and roads crumble and unemployment rates are sky high. 

We continued our switchback route uphill to today’s ultimate destination, Korca.  We checked into our hotel in the Old Town, then walked around the pedestrian promenade of the city center and the lanes of the old bazaar before having dinner with Enea in a lovely restaurant facing the quiet courtyard of a traditional inn.  We’ll see a few more of the town’s sites tomorrow morning.

Albania has struggled to rebound after the years of dictatorship and has remained a very poor country, largely unknown to the outside world.  During our time here, we’ve been struck by the potential for the development of a healthy tourism industry; with its beautiful coastline, extensive archeological treasures, mountain trails, and possibility of winter sports centers, Albania has some important natural advantages in place.  Of course, there are enormous obstacles to growth – the infrastructure is weak, there seems to be an entrenched system of political corruption and insider dealing, as well as a severe lack of development funds or internal investors.  So, no pie in the sky or magic wand to wave here, but still…  Enea has already written a textbook for tourism faculty, and we’d previously told him about the difficulty we’d had finding English-language guide books for visitors Albania, suggesting that he write one.  Today, we were telling him about the travel empire Rick Steves has developed and his huge following among American travelers to Europe; we think Rick should check out Albania – and Enea!

Butrint – Blue Eye Spring – Gjirokaster

Sunday, April 28

Our streak of wonderful breakfasts continued this morning on the rooftop terrace of our hotel.  The sun was shining, the water and skies were blue and the views of Saranda, the bay, and across the water to Corfu were right off a travel poster – if there is such a thing anymore!

Our first stop this morning was Butrint, Albania’s first UNESCO designation.  On a peninsula surrounded by a lake and the Vivari Channel, the site contains both standing ruins and unexcavated areas.  Because the presence of a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing, many traveled to Butrint in search of comfort and cures during Hellenic times.  The Greek theater has been beautifully revealed, and one of its walls contains several stones inscribed with declarations freeing named slaves and other public announcements.  Following the Greeks, the Romans arrived in the area and extended the area and the structures within the city and its suburbs. Remnants of a forum, shrines, baths, an aqueduct, cisterns, a baptistery, mosaics, necropolis, and basilica from the Roman period have been excavated here.  Subsequent occupiers and builders at the site included the Byzantines, Normans, Venetians, Angevins, Napoleon, and the Ottomans – the full complement of the usual suspects.  It’s a remarkable timeline of successive eras and was a very popular destination on this gorgeous day.  We arrived early when things were quiet, but by the time we left, there were tour groups and other visitors everywhere.  

We stopped for cold drinks on a patio overlooking a beach, several islands, including Corfu, and the crystal clear aqua and navy waters of a white-capped bay.  It was an idyllic scene, but the breeze must have made it chilly for those who were venturing into the water.

Heading inland, we stopped to see the Blue Eye Spring, where clear blue water gushes forth from a depth of at least 150 feet.  The spot quickly forms a fast-flowing river, propels a power plant, supplies water to towns and cities downstream, and eventually reaches the Ionian Sea; it’s quite a phenomenon and attracts lots of visitors.

We continued to Gjirokaster, where we climbed a long way to its hilltop fortress, which dates from at least the 13^th century.  Its 19^th century restoration and expansion by Ali Pasha is an expression of power and monumentality.  Before and during World War II, the Italians and Germans occupied the fortress, the Italians adapting it as a prison at the request of  Albanian King Zog; it once held 5,000 prisoners.  The end of the war created a power vacuum, which the Communists took advantage of to seize control of the town and castle until the fall of the dictatorship in the 1990s. 

The old town of Gjirokaster is a UNESCO-listed site, designated for its heritage as an Ottoman town.  It’s known as the City of Stones, for the main construction material of the old town -- everything from the streets and sidewalks to the roofs of the houses.  Unfortunately, the streets and sidewalks in the old town have all been torn up and the stones are being reset; it’s quite a mess and walking is pretty treacherous.  The shops of the old center, with their wooden and glass storefronts and uniform signage are quite lovely, but they’re dealing with significant disruption to the ambience.

We had a late afternoon late lunch/early dinner just outside town at a restaurant owned by one of Enea’s cousins in the village where Enea’s mother grew up.  We’re far south in Albania, very near the Greek border, and many of the villages here are home to ethnic Greek populations.  

We returned to Gjirokaster’s old town, where we’re spending the night.

A couple of things I forgot to mention about Enea in yesterday’s post.  In a country known for terrible drivers, where traffic “does battle with itself and with pedestrians,” according to one guide book, Enea is the one you’d want behind the wheel.  He never gets flustered, takes it all in stride, and is a really careful driver.  Also, he teaches in a school that trains national guides and everywhere we go, he greets former students, museum curators, restaurateurs, and hotel managers and others.  He also once worked as the chief of staff to the mayor of a municipality, and pilots a boat for tourists, both of which afford him another raft of contacts.  I’ve asked him – only half in jest -- if he knows absolutely everyone in Albania!  We’re in great hands!

Berat – Apollonia – Saranda

Saturday, April 27

After our hostess,Vassilika’s (too) abundant and delicious breakfast, we took a walk down to Berat’s riverside, as Enea had advised that the morning light would be good for more photographs of the town’s thousand windows.  (Note: Our room has eight of those windows!)  

As we left the old town of Berat, we passed a man with a live lamb in a burlap sack slung over his shoulder.  Tomorrow is the Orthodox Christian Easter and the little wooly one was destined to spend the holiday roasting on a spit for the traditional Easter dinner.  

We returned to Berat’s fortress again, in order to see the church-turned-museum iconography.  The Church of the Assumption had been the cathedral and seat of the bishop of the Berat area and, though it has been built and rebuilt several times, it still contains some of the 16^th-century icon master, Onufri’s original masterpieces, along with reproductions and replicas of others. In 1967, during the dictatorship, it was closed down, along with all the churches in the country, and fell into disrepair. Because it is now a museum and not an active church, we were able to go behind the iconostasis to see the altar, the reverse side of the iconostasis, and the frescoes on the rear wall.  As we have come to expect, Enea added great value to our visit, explaining the symbolism of the calendar embedded in the floor of the central aisle.  We continued our Iconostasis 101 lesson in the exhibition galleries of the church-turned-museum.  We were glad to have returned to see all this this morning, especially as we were able to drive into the castle, park near the church, and lessen the climb! 

Leaving Berat, we drove through the countryside to the hilltop Monastery of Ardenica.  Before entering the active monastery complex, we stopped for a coffee at an adjacent café where we sat on a covered patio and enjoyed a view of the approaching rain across the plain below. Because national hero Skanderbeg was married at the monastery in the 15^th century, it was not destroyed during the Communist regime. For a time, it was used as a military barracks, and ultimately the recognition its important cultural status afforded it an official protected status.  Enea explained some of the secrets of the creation of the church’s frescoes, including their original (now hidden) layers, motifs and the techniques and materials that ensured their durability and resistance to the forces of time and nature.  As we ventured upstairs, he cautioned us to tread on designated areas of the 200-year-old wooden floor, so we could view the upper levels of the frescoes. 

As we left the monastery, it began to rain in earnest and it continued as we traveled to the Apollonia archeological site. We visited the museum there to get a sense of the history of the area, and the succession of its inhabitants – Ilyrians, Greek colonists, and Roman empire builders.  By the time we finished in the museum, the clouds have lifted and the rain was gone, so we were able to wander around the excavated site. The ancient city walls ran for 2 ½ miles and were thought to enclose about 60,000 inhabitants; a very small fraction of the city has been excavated.  What has been discovered is impressive enough; a temple dedicated to Apollo, a small theater (Odeon), Agora, small shrines and traces of the ancient irrigation system. 

After a quick stop for a lunch of local meat pies (across from an abandoned warehouse of a Marxist – Leninist agricultural collective), we were on the road.  On our afternoon ride through the countryside, we encountered numerous concrete “mushrooms” (bunkers) and we shared the road with horses, cows, sheep and goats.  We drove through a mountain pass in the Llogara National Park, a thickly forested area near the coast. The drive along the Ionian coast was particularly beautiful, with the road climbing and descending mountain slopes that ran right to the sea.  We passed through many small villages within sight of Corfu and several other Greek islands just a short distance off shore.  

Among the village we passed  through was the hometown of Enea, and he regaled us with local lore – everything from tales of bureaucratic bungling and corruption to the legends explaining everything from natural phenomena to the location of chapels, death dates, and the number of houses in a given village.  Enea is a gifted storyteller, very well educated, multilingual, devoted family man, and keen observer of the world we live in; he also has a great sense of humor and has added so much to our enjoyment of these days.

We stopped for a cold drink along Porto Palermo (or Panoramic Bay) with view of Ali Pasha’s fortress atop a hill on a spit of land in the bay.  From the vine-draped patio, the view of the castle above the sparkling water was panoramic, indeed.

The final leg of today’s trip brought us to the resort city of Saranda, on Albania’s southern coast.  Our hotel is right along the water and we enjoyed our happy hour on our balcony overlooking the bay and city lights.  After fresh fish for dinner at a nearby tavern, we walked along the seaside promenade and back to the hotel to stay up too late, once again.

At midnight we heard the bells and fireworks to celebrate Orthodox Easter here in Albania.