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14 December 2017

El Hedonista: Albania, miracles exist

“The most closed country opens itself to tourism. You have to go now! Albania has a lot to offer”.  This is how El Hedonista describes Albania. The Spanish media has dedicated a long article about Albania’s highlights.
In what was the first country in the world declared atheist today, the muezzins are heard calling for prayer and priests ringing the bells of orthodox and catholic churches. But the miracle is not that, but having survived the 41 years of Stalinist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha with a smile and open arms to tourism.
Albania is a beautiful country with a miserable history that is shaken off in a hurry. The characteristic gray of communism barely appears under the layers of paint on the facades of their cities. The impressive beech and oak forests gradually cover the thousands of cement bunkers scattered everywhere.
© Alberto y Ana Cañizal

The terraces of Tirana
Tirana has flourished like a happy capital full of terraces where people chat animatedly in front of a café or its rich local beers. You breathe freedom.
Skanderbeg square is located in the heart of Tirana, named after the national hero who lived in the fifteenth century. The square is surrounded by beautiful attractions, the national museum, the palace of culture, the mosque of Ethem Bey, the clock tower.  
There is much to see in Tirana and enough to enjoy. A couple of days or three is not taken away from anyone. Then you can choose between touring its impressive offer of natural parks, lakes and rivers; visit Greek, Roman sites and World Heritage sites; spend a few days dedicated to the softness on its fine sandy beaches ... Or better, of course, all together.
© Alberto y Ana Cañizal

A paradise for lovers of stones
The remote ancestors of the Albanians were the Illyrians , and there are still many remains from centuries before our era. Then they were conquered by the Romans, who also left their mark. And then the Byzantines arrived. But the most visible are still the Turks, who were in Albania from the fifteenth century until 1912, the glorious year of their independence. Despite the rage that Enver Hoxha put on destroying mosques and churches, some of special historical value have been preserved.
 

© Alberto y Ana Cañizal
There is also a breathtaking place for its beauty: Butrint , declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992. The area, inhabited since prehistoric times, Greek colony, Roman city, Byzantine enclave and Venetian conquest, is an archaeological site remains of all periods, to which more beautiful, the oldest of the fourth century a. of C., and between them it thrills a door in cyclopean walls with a lion devouring a bull.

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