Albania is the last secret of Europe

Albania is the last secret of Europe. Spanish travelers of a certain age remember that, for many decades, their passports indicated: " valid for all countries except for Albania, North Korea and Outer Mongolia ." To the most restless, that woke up an uncontrollable desire to discover what these forbidden countries hid. Of these banned countries, Albania was the closest, but until very recently it has remained away from the tourist map . Now Albanians want to show themselves to the world and teach their beauties, both cultural and natural. And it should be done before mass tourism discovers it.

This is how El Pais, the biggest Spanish newsletter starts its article about Albania, to recommend this unique place to all Spanish tourists. The article is recommending Albania to Spanish tourists, considering it as a "irresistible mixture of splendid beaches, dense forests and Ottoman cities where the trace of communism is still felt". The article is starting with Tirana, then with UNESCO sites, Berat, Gjirokastra, Butrint and the beautiful sandy beaches of Ksamil, Himara, the museal city of Kruja, then the experiences of other cities Korca and Shkodra.

Decades of isolation have made Albania, a somewhat smaller dimension than Catalonia or Galicia , a country different from the rest of its Balkan neighbors. It is not a destination for those looking for many comforts and a trip without unforeseen events. But perhaps there is the grace: to turn a trip into a little adventure. Thus, we will cross mountainous territories through winding roads; we will look out on a wild coast; we will walk through some towns that are like a Venetian mosaic of Byzantine churches with frescoes and naked mosques, tekke bektashíes (sanctuaries) and Ottoman houses of gleaming white, Kombinat mastodónticos (business conglomerates) of the Soviet era and tiny bunkers. But without a doubt, the most surprising discovery is its 400 kilometers of coastline where the Adriatic sand merges with the stones of the Ionian beaches..

See the full article here: https://elviajero.elpais.com/elviajero/2020/03/03/actualidad/1583238543_434831.html?fbclid=IwAR2Kj9vuLiVRtwhKJfZO-JE0uy6ygCMRZs4Y5xFK9HjBeXJwysmkd5hVUCQ

Where to go in 2020: an insiders’ guide - Albania is in the list!

Albania is listed by Financial Times as an excellent destination to visit in 2020.

“Montenegro was the star of 2019 but the whole region is on the rise,” says Jonny Bealby of Wild Frontiers, who reports bookings for 2020 up 15 per cent compared with the same point a year ago.

“Visitors are drawn to the mountains, canyons and rivers, the sparkling coastline, ancient towns, Greek and Roman ruins, Ottoman citadels and rural hospitality.”

Trekkers are finding the Accursed Mountains in the north of the country — off limits during the country’s years of communist isolationism and during the Kosovo war — offer an alternative to the Alps with almost no-tourist development.

Meanwhile, historical tours are taking growing numbers beyond the Unesco World Heritage site of Butrint to explore the numerous Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman sites throughout the country.


Read the full article here

Where to go in 2020: an insiders’ guide

By Financial times

1 Armenia

Georgia has enjoyed soaring visitor numbers, and a string of new airline routes, since it was tipped in the equivalent of this article two years ago. Visits by international tourists during the first 11 months of 2019 were up 19.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2017. Meanwhile its southern neighbour Armenia has remained relatively off the radar — attracting fewer than a quarter of Georgia’s visitor numbers — though that now seems to be on the verge of change.

Four members of our panel picked Armenia as one to watch in 2020 (Wild Frontiers says its forward bookings are up 100 per cent compared with a year go) and the country will get its first low-cost airline links with western Europe. Ryanair, Wizz and Air Baltic are all due to launch flights, connecting the capital Yerevan with cities including Milan, Rome, Berlin and Vienna. The main draw for visitors is the country’s extraordinary collection of medieval monasteries and churches, many of them set among dramatic mountains. Geghard monastery, for example, was cut into the rock of the Upper Azat valley and was completed in the 13th century. It is now a Unesco world heritage site, as are the monasteries at Haghpat and Sanahin.

But Yerevan and the wine-lands are also fascinating. “Yerevan is one of the region’s most exuberant and endearing cities,” says Justin Wateridge of Steppes Travel. “Both country and capital are an unexpected delight that you need to discover before the secret gets out.”

Tom Marchant of Black Tomato recommends the newly opened Alexander hotel in Yerevan, part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection, as well as stopping for a degustation at the Ararat Brandy Company.

2 Chad

For travellers who really want to get off the beaten track, Chad is ideal. More than five times the size of the UK, the entire country gets fewer visitors in a year than Tate Modern gets in a week. And that is despite glorious desert and mountain scenery, fascinating ancient rock art and the closest “big five” safari park to Europe.

The bad news is that there is a reason for such a dearth of visitors: the UK Foreign Office advises against “all but essential” travel to most of the country, and “all travel” to the rest, highlighting the potential risk of crime and terrorism; the US State Department suggests potential visitors “reconsider”.

Despite that, several tour operators tip it as a rising destination for the coming year, a recommendation that is largely down to the work of African Parks, a South African-based non-profit conservation organisation. In 2010 it was invited by the Chadian government to sign a long-term agreement to manage Zakouma National Park, a 1,200 sq mile park in the south-east of the country that had been ransacked by horseback-riding poaching gangs.

With the help of EU funding, African Parks restored security (elephant deaths fell from 4,000 in the eight years to 2010, to just 24 since then), opened 17 schools and created employment at the three tourist camps.

In 2017, the government put an expanded area around the park into African Parks control, then in February 2018 the organisation was given responsibility for the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, a 15,500 sq mile expanse of sandstone mountains in the north of the country, filled with dramatic canyons, cliffs and arches as well as rock art that dates back 7,000 years. “Declared a World Heritage Site in 2016, the Ennedi is a vast wilderness with a savage beauty,” says Will Jones of Journeys By Design.

3  UK

Britain may be preparing to leave the EU, but the British national tourism agency is predicting a record year in 2020. Visit Britain says international tourist numbers will hit 39.7m, the highest ever and almost 5 per cent up on 2018. Particularly important to the growth are emerging tourism markets in the east — Visit Britain’s data shows flight bookings to the UK for the first half of the year are up 33 per cent from China, and 22 per cent from south Asia. 

While the reduced value of sterling has helped make the UK cheaper, the big draw this year is likely to be the country’s literary and artistic heritage. 2020 is the 250th anniversary of William Wordsworth’s birth (marked by a £6.2m project to expand the museum at his former home, Dove Cottage at Grasmere in the Lake District) and the 150th anniversary of Charles Dicken’s death (with a five-day festival in Rochester among many others). Meanwhile the lack of a significant anniversary does not seem to have deterred Jane Austen fans: a 10-day festival is planned in Bath in September, there is a nine-day festival in Hampshire in June, and yet another film version of Emma is due for release in February, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and a string of fabulous stately homes.

4 Norway

A growing awareness of climate change has brought the Arctic regions to the forefront of many minds. On one hand, the vulnerability of the ice caps, wildlife and traditional ways of life inspires an increasingly emotional reaction — the endangered glaciers pitied in the same way as the elephants and rhinos of east Africa. On the other, in a warming world, spending a summer holiday somewhere cold rather than hot seems increasingly attractive.

Above all, the Arctic has become so much more visible: consider, for example, that in 48 hours over Christmas, the BBC’s output included radio broadcasts from Greenland and Iceland, a two-hour “slow TV” programme following a Sami sleigh ride through Arctic Norway, and a film about the disappearing skills of the Inuit, “an elegy to the world that is melting away”.

Even Hollywood is leveraging the appeal of the north: Disney’s new children’s movie Frozen 2 draws heavily on Sami culture, myths and landscapes while the forthcoming James Bond movie No Time to Die, out in April, includes snowy sequences filmed in Norway.

While countries across the north are experiencing growing visitor numbers, Norway is especially well placed to benefit, with infrastructure that makes it straightforward to reach the Arctic, and an abundance of fjords, mountains and islands. Set among them are a growing number of landmark architectural projects by the Oslo-based practice Snohetta, a master at creating buildings that manage to be both appropriate to the stark beauty of their surroundings as well as catnip for social media.

Among them are Europe’s first underwater restaurant, launched in March 2019, the National Opera house in Oslo, a remote pavilion for watching passing reindeer at Hjerkinn, and the forthcoming Svart, a circular hotel just above the Arctic Circle, which isn’t due to open until 2022 but is already generating a buzz.

“Interest in all things Nordic continues to grow,” says Georgina Hancock at Discover the World, who tips Senja Island, to the west of Tromso, as “a quieter, under-explored alternative to the well-trodden Lofoten Islands”.

At Red Savannah, George Morgan-Grenville reports forward bookings for Norway up 33 per cent compared with this point a year ago. Both agree about the appeal of Svalbard, which in 2020 marks 100 years of Norwegian sovereignty, and offers the chance to visit the world’s northernmost city, school, museum, piano and much more. “Nowhere is more wild,” says Morgan-Grenville.

5 Turkey

Tourism in Turkey collapsed in 2015 and 2016 in response to terrorist attacks and political instability, with visitor numbers falling almost 40 per cent. Those security fears have now eased, and tourist numbers are rebounding — helped by a significant devaluation of the lira (a euro currently buys about 6.6 Turkish lira, up from about 2 lira a decade ago).

That exchange rate has made citybreaks more affordable in Istanbul, with its constantly expanding roster of luxury hotels. Recent additions include Sofitel on Taksim square, which opened in November complete with 33 Hermés-designed suites) and the Six Senses Kocataş Mansions, which soft-launched the same month, housed in two 19th-century mansions and with far-reaching views over the Bosphorus. The longer term trend, however, is for adventure-seeking tourists to look beyond Istanbul and the Mediterranean seaside resorts. Steppes highlight the move of the World Nomad Games this year from a remote yurt village in Kyrgyzstan to the Turkish city of Bursa, making it far easier for international visitors to watch events including kok-boru, a sort of central Asian equivalent of rugby, with competitors on horseback and a headless goat in place of a ball (the date for the event has yet to be announced).  

In the far east, the ancient archaeological sites of Upper Mesopotamia are attracting growing interest, with numerous operators offering expert-led group tours. Meanwhile skiers in search of perfect powder and a complete absence of crowds are travelling to Turkey Heliski’s base in Ayder, close to the south-eastern shore of the Black Sea, where visitors this winter are expected to include the star Swiss free-rider Sam Anthamatten.

6 Japan

Data from eDreams ODIGEO, which claims to be Europe’s biggest online travel agency, suggests a surge in the number of European travellers heading to Tokyo in 2020. Across its various websites, forward bookings are up 90 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. There is one obvious reason: the Olympics and Paralympics, due to take place in late July and early August. Some estimates suggest the Games might attract an additional 10m visitors, and there has been a rush of hotel openings in expectation.

Tourism in the country is already soaring: 31.2m foreign travellers visited in 2018, up from 8.6m in 2010. In 2016 the government set a target of reaching 40m visitors by 2020, and 60m by 2030. The downside has been the concentration of visitors in the honeypot sites of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, something the national tourist office has tried to counter with publicity campaigns promoting lesser-known regions, and which should be helped by new flight routes including, for example, Finnair’s direct service to Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, which launched last month.

“Quite apart from the Olympics, Japan is increasingly on the radar of those seeking alternative, experiential travel and a completely unhomogenised cultural identity,” says George Morgan-Grenville of Red Savannah. He suggests 2020 hotspots will include the Samurai districts of Kanazawa, the scenic coastline of Noto, and the art museums of Naoshima Island.

7 Uruguay

“Uruguay has always been considered a seasonal destination, but is just as special outside the December/January rush,” says Harry Hastings of Plan South America. “It’s ideal for ‘slow travel’, with cycling and riding trips through olive groves, vineyards, fishing villages and the open farmland of the south, stopping for sea swims, picnics, wine tasting and visits to artists’ studios.”

Home to fewer than 3.5m people, the country has long been in the shadow of its neighbours, Brazil and Argentina, with only the sceney seaside resorts of Punta del Este and José Ignacio attracting much international attention, and even then only in summer.

Now, though, small numbers of visitors are beginning to look beyond those hotspots, to the remote beaches of Rocha state, the surfer hang-out of La Pedrera, the old Portuguese city of Colonia del Sacramento and sleepy Carmelo, surrounded by vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms and known by some as South America’s answer to Tuscany.

Visitors should explore rich, full-bodied reds made with Tannat grapes, produced from vines descended from cuttings across the Atlantic in the 19th century before phylloxera devastated the originals in southern France.

The journey I’m really excited about next summer is a road trip from Alaska to California. I’ll be in Alaska in August giving a talk on board the QE2 and I’ve given myself a couple of weeks in between jobs to travel down the west coast of Canada and the US to San Francisco before I head to the Burning Man festival with some friends.

I’ve been to California before, but never seen the rest of the west coast so I’m looking forward to exploring, particularly Oregon and the Rockies and seeing Mount Washington in the flesh, spotting bears and experiencing some real wilderness.

8 Dominica

The mountainous Caribbean island has staged a remarkable recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, while promotional campaigns billing it as “the nature island” seem more in tune with the times than some of its glitzier neighbors.

Rather than white sands and smart restaurants, the draw here is the pristine rainforests, remote mountain gorges and waterfalls. The tourist board is keen to distinguish it as a place for adventure travellers and in particular as a place for hiking: the country is home to the longest walking route in the Caribbean, the 185km Waitukubuli trail and a system of free “hike passports” was introduced in 2019 for visitors to record their walks.

The government has been working to restore trails damaged in the hurricane, while also introducing a string of environmental policies (plastic straws and cutlery were banned last year; plastic bags are due to be banned outright in 2020).

While eco-tourism remains the focus, the accommodation options are moving increasingly upmarket. Secret Bay, a glorious clifftop retreat that closed when the hurricane struck, reopened in November 2018 with major upgrades. It now comprises six villas built from sustainably sourced tropical hardwood, each of which has a private plunge pool and sea-views from the covered terraces.

The Kempinski group’s Cabrits Resort, a five-star beach hotel surrounded by the tropical forest of Cabrits National Park, opened in October 2019 while the Anichi Resort, part of Marriott’s Autograph collection, is due to open in 2020.

9 Albania

“Montenegro was the star of 2019 but the whole region is on the rise,” says Jonny Bealby of Wild Frontiers, who reports bookings for 2020 up 15 per cent compared with the same point a year ago. “Visitors are drawn to the mountains, canyons and rivers, the sparkling coastline, ancient towns, Greek and Roman ruins, Ottoman citadels and rural hospitality.”

Trekkers are finding the Accursed Mountains in the north of the country — off limits during the country’s years of communist isolationism and during the Kosovo war — offer an alternative to the Alps with almost no-tourist development. 

Meanwhile, historical tours are taking growing numbers beyond the Unesco World Heritage site of Butrint to explore the numerous Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman sites throughout the country.

And, on a totally different note, the Kala music festival, a week-long seaside party on the southern coast at Dhërmi, is putting Albania on the map for young travellers, in the same way events such as the Garden, Outlook and Sonus festivals did for Croatia. It is a measure of the Albanian authorities’ enthusiasm for tourism that prime minister Edi Rama attended the first Kala festival in 2018. “People think of it as a place where you get robbed or killed,” Rama told a poolside press conference, The Guardian reported. “But the stigma has helped us. When someone visits and gets out alive, they realise it’s paradise!” The figures appear to back him up: foreign visitor numbers for the first 11 months of 2019 topped 6.1m, up 8.3 per cent on the same period in 2018, and up from 1.9m for the full year of 2009.

Read more >>> Financial Times   

Albania Holidays and its overseas partners contribute in earthquake relief

On November 26, Albania was rocked by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, killing 51 people, and leaving thousands with homes destroyed and uninhabitable. Homes, schools, hospitals, churches were destroyed or severely damaged.

Albania Holidays apart from donating direct relief funds did also raise awareness among its partners throughout the world. Grand Circle Corporation and Overseas Adventure Travel reacted with lightning speed and through their Grand Circle Foundation made clear their willingness to help.

In less than 48 hours they dispatched to Albania their Director of Corporate Air Travel and Contracting Mr. Josif Goga, who is originally from Albania. In Albania he meet with our team and together we started to plan where we can put the relief funds. 

Josif stated” Upon arrival, I realized that the situation was way worse that I could have ever imagined. All these families left with nothing but their clothes on their back and a plastic tent to live in. The amount of misery was indescribable and beyond any stretch of my imagination. Families living in the cold, humid tents, with rain water running underneath their beds, and mud everywhere they stepped on”

So, together we went over several options on how we could help these people. Food and tents were already being provided by the neighboring countries (Italy and Turkey).We decided that the best help we could offer, was providing wood stoves, as the winter had arrived and these families had no heat in their tents, and no means to cook.

The local authorities were very responsive (surprisingly) in providing the names and addresses of families who were affected the most and with no means to provide for their kids.

With the funds put together we purchased 35 wood stoves, including the accessories that come with them, and delivered them ourselves to these people in their tents. The combined feeling of joy and desperation in their eyes was a very touching moment. These people had been already living in the tents for weeks, and these stoves we provided a much-needed ray of hope in these people’s eyes, and through them, it warmed our hearts as well.

In total, we helped 35 families (almost 200 people) keep warm this winter. Gratitude to our partners Grand Circle Corporation and everyone else involved.

‘Kongres’ magazine: Tirana is a great tourism meeting destination

Tirana has changed a lot and transformation can be seen by anyone. Gone are the days when the capital city of Albania was neglected as tourism meeting destination. “Kongres’ is a magazine for the central and southeast Europe meetings industry. The magazine writes about certain myths about Tirana regarding as a meeting destination. One of them is: “Incentive programmes in Tirana are not developed”. As “Kongres” explains this is not true and they mention Albania Holidays as a great example.

Credits: Visit Tirana

“DMC Agencies in Tirana have developed a number of incentive programmes that can be combined into different lengthy programmes. These vary from culinary adventures to exploring the socialist past and adrenaline experiences. Check agency programmes such as Albania Holidays DMC and others. In addition, Tirana is full of special venues that will leave your partners speechless.”

Albania Holidays DMC ( Destination Management Company) is a professional DMC & PCO which offers creative and logistic support in the organization of conferences, events, incentive and special group programs to Albania since 2005.

Read full article here: https://kongres-magazine.eu/2018/11/tirana-meet-busters/

The Sun: Swap Corfu for Dhermi in Albania

Albanian Riviera has attracted quite a lot the attention of world-known medias and travel magazines. This time, the coastal town of Dhermi beats the Greek Corfu island.

The prestigious British media “The Sun” recommends to its readers the budget destinations in Europe, among them is Dhermi Albania.

Photo: Getty Images

Dhermi over Corfu

Corfu is a classic destination for Brits to head to, but it has a much more affordable neighbor.

The Albanian Ionian coast is just across from that of the Greek island of Corfu and you can glimpse Albania from the shore in Corfu – and its beaches are just as idyllic.

But if you want to mix things up then why not visit Albania?

A plus point is that it’s far cheaper than that of its much-loved but tourist-packed neighbour.

With a pint costing as little as 58p in Albania as opposed to £1.80 in Corfu, it’s a no-brainer.

Read full article here!

Kala Festival-hundreds of young people gathered in Albanian Riviera

Kala Festival, an international music festival was organized in Albania for the first time from 20-27 June 2018.

Kala was set at a seaside location in the Albanian Riviera where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea. The 7-day summer festival was a full success. Albania Holidays, one of the best incoming tour operator in Albania was the local partner of this big event. 

Photo: Kala Festival

Dhermi was packed with young people from Europe and region to celebrate this summer festival.

A British tourist was noted saying:"I came to Albania for the festival, but the expectations went beyond. Albanian Riviera is stunning, the food is amazing and the friendly people always dressed with a smile. One of the organizer at Albania Holidays office said: "It was so difficult to accommodate 1500 people in small places like Dhermi, where there are only small hotels and guest houses, and we had to deal with all of them. But, I am happy we did it at the end and the festival turned into great event, the only of its kind in Albania"

Photo: Kala Festival

Kala, debuted this year on the Albanian coast, and the festival lasted seven days of dancing by a gorgeous beach and a lineup featuring exactly the kinds of music you’d want to hear in the sunshine: from deep house DJ Jayda G to legendary reggae crew Trojan Sound System, not to mention the man behind one of the greatest summer anthems of all time, Roy Ayers “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” .

Photo: Kala Festival

Following such a huge success, a Kala 2 is planned for the next year. Stay tuned with Albania Holidays.

Photo: Kala Festival

Albania reborn: What to see and do in Europe’s newest holiday hotspot- Daily Express

“So rich in treasures and sensational sights, everyone has wanted a piece of Albania over the centuries. Maisha Frost discovers a mysterious beauty coming out of the shadows and longing to welcome the world.” This is how the renowned British media “Daily Express” describes Albania in a long article.

Every first time visitor in Albania is impressed by so many things that you can find attractive and worth a visit in this forgotten corner of Europe.

Kruja citadel: Getty Images

“Ancient Greeks, then jeweler-loving Illyrians, the ancestors of many of today’s Albanians, were followed by Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans who all seized, settled and surrendered here in a relentless game of thrones.

Today’s democratic Albania is transforming fast in other ways: the power blackouts and potholes are in retreat and the young as stylish as their European counterparts. Few too would have predicted the land’s dividend from a failed state that never saw through its plans for collective farms. Albania’s small family-run farms stayed largely pesticide-free and its wildernesses untouched.  Today that means organic havens for produce and wildlife, a place for taste delighting foodies and ramblers, with lots for the locals to shout about.

What to see in Albania:

Tirana - Capital of many colours

The capital Tirana is lively and safe, but with an understated, surreal side that often leaves visitors wondering what to make of it.

Part Mediterranean town, part Soviet relic its rainbow-coloured apartment blocks, painted on the orders of a former mayor to bring some cheer, are more faded pastel these days.

For good reason perhaps Tirana’s citizens seem to have a Pythonesque talent for looking on the bright side of life. Ask them about Albania’s reputation as a gangster factory and they promise – only half joking - “there’s no trouble here, we’ve exported all the criminals”.

The city’s cultural highlights include a triumphalist history mural guarding the entrance to the classical artefact-packed national museum and the pretty 18th century Et’hem Bey mosque’s minaret and rare floral mosaics.

 

Tirana: Getty Images

Kruja: A land of thrones

More weird and wonderful Albania unfolds during the hour’s drive from Tirana to the medieval citadel of Kruja.

Vacant buildings in various stages of abandonment stand beside the highway, some half built or decaying shells and some brand new but desolate and often for sale.

Through a great stone archway lies a long bazaar, its low, long-eaved timbered houses and busy cobbled alleyways a lot like an episode from the TV medieval fantasy.

Beautiful Berat

South of Tirana a great gorge splits the mountains and you come to Unesco world heritage site and Albania’s poster girl Berat.

Dating back to the 4th century BC, the city’s seven-arch Gorica bridge, a favourite Ottoman masterpiece, spans the Osum river and tiers of white gabled houses climb steep cliffs to its citadel.

There towering walls form a hilltop cradle for ancient mosques and eight medieval churches, one housing a stunning collection of icons by 16th century master Onufri, famous for the luscious ruby coloured paint he used.

Berat- Maisha Frost

Wilderness walks and ancient ways

Wild nature is never far away in Albania and as I followed herders’ trails for a morning’s ramble in the sweet air high in the hills above Berat I was surrounded by slopes thick with poppies, campion, delicate blue lilies and wild orchids peeping among the tall grasses.

The crowds have not caught up yet either with the country’s archaeological sites, rated among the best in Europe.

Layers of history are densely packed in Durres, the port city and transit point for the ancient Via Egnatia route to the west of Tirana.

Although this does not have the manicured magnificence of Rome’s Colosseum, the stark suburban setting and details like the pens for lions and the steps deliberately made uneven for crowd control made me more aware somehow of history’s relentless tide.

Different again is pastoral Apollonia, a remote Pompeii-without-the-people hilltop site dating from 588 BC that was once a Greek city state served by slaves and then a Roman cultural centre.

At the entrance a Byzantine monastery’s stone walled galleries are dripping with classic bronzes, busts, vases and coins and across the cobbles gargoyles erupt from a 13th century frescoed church.

As I wandered deeper among its towering ancient pillars and olive groves, red rump swallows and bee eaters flitted by and I was suddenly in a moment only Albania could deliver.

In the distance rose the outlines of a mosque’s minaret and the hump of a bunker, then an unseen church bell began to toll.

Scenic view of Albania
Photo: Maisha Frost

See original article here!

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.

See full article: https://elhedonista.es/hallazgos/escapadas/viaje-a-albania-106233/

Momondo: Explore one of Europe’s best kept secret - Albania

“Albania is an untouched and undiscovered piece of Europe’s complex puzzle. Filled with fairy-tale landscapes, eye-boggling views, rich culture and incredibly hospitable locals, Albania should be considered one of the top destinations to visit for an authentic travel experience. Travel writer Anita Hendrieka has set about to discover the country’s finest experiences.”- writes Momondo.

 Momondo is a global travel search and comparison site, based in Copenhagen, Denmark and shares articles for different tourism destination all over the world. Albania, one of Europe’s most untraveled and charming gems is promoted with a long article, highlighting the best things to do in Albania. Splitting Albania between North and South, there are mesmerizing landscapes and breathtaking coastline,- the country has it all.

Source: Momondo

If you go to Southern Albania you will get natural and ancient wonders, like coastal towns of Saranda, Ksamil and Himara. But if you are looking for ancient towns, go to Berat and Gjirokastra.

“Further north towards the centre of Albania is beautiful Berat, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. With over 2400 years of history, Berat is a pearl of Albania’s past. A castle is perched overlooking the city, and leading up to it is an assortment of Ottoman influenced white houses, giving Berat its nickname: the “town with a thousand windows”.

© Pero Kvrzica

Gjirokastёr is often referred to as the twin city of Berat, but don’t be mistaken to think you can visit one and not the other. Like Berat, Gjirokastёr also has white Ottoman-styled houses, but with flatter stone roofs, and they’re so unique and well-preserved the city has been inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list. Come see its cobbled streets, small fortresses and stone houses, and relish in its culinary art, too.

© Serial Hikers

For culture and history buffs alike visit Tirana.

Albania’s lively capital Tirana is a melting pot of culture and the beating heart of this fascinating country. After communism fell in 1992 Tirana was given a makeover, and this once restricted and dull city was flipped upside down – it was painted with bright colours, streets were lined with bars and restaurants, and public squares popped up all over the city. A weekend in Tirana is best spent checking out the array of top-notch museums, admiring the murals that are scattered around the city and bar crawling. During winter it’s the centre of Albanian nightlife when locals return from their summer work elsewhere.

© a.dombrowski

Two other cities that are worth a visit are: Durresi and Shkodra. Durrёs is the most ancient city in Albania, dating back to the seventh century BC. It’s renowned for its ancient ruins, including the largest Roman amphitheater in the Balkans.

Close towards the border of Montenegro is Shkodёr, also known as the gateway to the Albanian Alps. Many writers, artists, photographers and painters were born here, and it’s known to be a culturally rich city.

See full article here

The Guardian picks Albania’s seaside for the gallery of the week

The  well-known newspaper Guardian chooses once a week the best gallery with photos of  a destination. This time, it was Albania. Jure Matičič the winning photographer of the week captures the Albanian seaside town of Durrës.  Matičič is a photographer from Ljubljana, Slovenia, and recently visited Durrës, Albania’s second largest city.

Photo credits: Jure Matičič 

Along the seafront, kids were playing on a statue commemorating Albanian resistance to the invasion by Mussolini’s Italian forces on 7 April 1939.

Photo credits: Jure Matičič 

About 35km west of Tirana, Durrës is a port and among the largest cities on the Adriatic. It’s also a popular seaside resort. For decades, under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, it was just about the only holiday destination available to Albanians.

Photo credits: Jure Matičič 

The city was, briefly, renamed Durrës-Enver Hoxha during the late 80s. Then (after the fall of communism) it became the location for mass migrations to Italy. In the past couple of decades, Durrës has had a facelift.

Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2017/sep/27/life-at-the-seaside-durres-albania-in-pictures#img-3

The Dutch Media "Volkskrant " promotes Albania

Volkskrant one of the oldest and the most popular newspaper in Netherlands has published an article about Albania. A writer and a photographer from Netherland visited Albania and share their experiences on this article.  Dutch media is now added to the list of other international media which recommend Albania as “must-visit-now” destination.  

Photo credits: Franky Verdickt 

 

They were looking for an azure sea, empty beach with no high-rise buildings around the beach and they discovered the south of Albania.

“This was the Mediterranean Sea, the sea where were often, but this time in another world. The concrete bunkers seemed to be left behind by decorative pieces from a science fiction film. The tomatoes and watermelons tastes so sweets and the coffee in Albania is sublime.”. 

Photo credits: Franky Verdickt  

The difference between Corfu Island and Saranda is that Corfu is very crowded and you don’t enjoy very much, in Albania’s southern beaches you will find relaxation in small hidden bays.

After exploring the Albanian Riviera they visited Gjirokastra, the UNESCO city where Enver Hoxha was born. This city is like a fairytale with steep streets, stone rooftops.

See full article here!