A discovery tour through the most "mysterious" communist country. Now a vibrant democracy that can finally show its beauty and history to the world.
Day 1 - Arrive Tirana "Mother Teresa" airport and transfer to the hotel.
Enjoy the rest of the day on our own or join us for a walking tour of the neighborhood.
In the evening, we celebrate our first dinner in Albania.
Overnight Tirana - Dinner
Day 2 - Tirana
The sightseeing tour of the capital of Albania includes visits to the Martyrs' Cemetery,
Tanners Bridge, the Mosque of Et'hem Bej, the Clock Tower and the National History Museum.
After lunch we visit two typical Tirana houses: the Buneci House built in 17th century and
the house of the master painter Sali Shijaku. Followed by "high tea" on Mt.Dajti,
to be reached reach via a cable car.
Overnight Tirana - Breakfast, Lunch.
Day 3 - Tirana - Durres.
After breakfast, a short drive takes us to the Adriatic Sea and the harbor of Durres.
The city was founded as Epidamnos in 627 BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra.
Its geographical position was highly advantageous, making the city very difficult to attack
from either land or sea. Epidamnos was noted for being a politically advanced society,
prompting the ancient philosopher Aristotle to praise its political system.
However, Corinth and Corcyra quarrelled over the city, helping to precipitate the
Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. In the past few decades, the Albanian name of the city,
Durrës (Durrësi), has gradually replaced the widespread use of the Italian name Durazzo.
On the Durres beaches, as in other parts of Albania, the communist regime built numerous concrete bunkers to defend the country from a supposed foreign attack from either the West or the Warsaw Pact which never happened; Albania now has an estimated 700,000 bunkers, some of them being transformed into discos and beach bars. So we'll have a beach party in Albania!! Followed by a more academic visit to the largest amphitheatre in the Balkans with a capacity of 15,000 spectators - one of the biggest and most exquisite monument surviving from the antiquity. Afternoon return to the city.
Overnight Tirana - Breakfast, Bunker Lunch
Day 4 - Tirana - Shkodra - "the sould of Albania"
After breakfast, we drive to Shkodra - the most ancient city in Albania, founded around
the 4th century BC, as the site of the Illyrian tribe Labeates. Our first visit takes us
to the legendary Castle of Rozafa "Built during the Illyrian reign, the castle has sprouted
a legend explaining the keeping of a promise - Rozafa, the bride of the youngest of three
brothers, was walled up alive in the mortar of the walls of the castle to ward off evil that
was destroying them each night. The calcareous water passing through the stones at the main
entrance is connected in the folk fantasy with the milk of the bosom of Rozafa, which she
requested be left available to nurse her newborn baby boy. She also requested that one foot be
used to rock his cradle and one arm to lull him to sleep. Inside the ancient walls is a museum
dedicated to the history and legends of the castle".
Overnight Tirana - Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5 - Pogradec
After breakfast, early morning departure to Pogradec. Visit the city and its surrounding area,
dominated by the fantastic Ohrid Lake, surrounded by green fields and picturesque mountains.
We enjoy lunch on the terrace of the Drilon tourist resort, named for the fresh water springs
of Drilon River.
Overnight Pogradec - Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6 - Pogradec -Macedonia.
Early morning drive to the Macedonian border, for a short trip to Sait Naum monastery,
located at the south shore of Ohrid Lake. Built on the rocky hill right above the lake,
St. Naum is one of the most beautiful monasteries in Macedonia. Visit the monastery,
the small chapel of St. Petka with its famous healing water spring, and the springs of the
river Crni Drim.
Overnight Pogradec - Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 - Korca
After breakfast, drive to Korca.Visit the Medieval Museum, the Orthodox Cathedral,
Mirahori Mosque, the Bazaar and the Museum of First Albanian School. Continue to Voskopoja
village, 21 km from Korca. Visit one of the most beautiful places in this part of the
Balkans - In a region rich with large conifer forests and wide-open countryside you find
seven churches, adorned with some remarkable fresco paintings.
Overnight Korca - Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8 - Saranda
After breakfast, early morning drive to Saranda. We stop en route to visit Gjirokastra.
"The stone city" - presently part of UNESCO World Heritage Patrimony. Visit the Fortress
and Ethnographic museum (former family home of dictator Enva Hoxha).
Afternoon arrival in Saranda, that is well known for having the clearest waters in the
Ionian Sea. During the long communist era in Albania, Saranda was the favorite holiday
sport of the communist nomenklatura - so much of its original charm was maintained.
Overnight Saranda - Breakfast, Lunch.
Day 9 - Saranda - ButrintEarly drive to visit the ancient city of Butrint, originally a Greek colony. Known under its Greek name - Bouthroton, and Roman name of Buthrotum.
The World Monument watch (WMF) lists both Butrint and Apollonia (founded in 588BC) as two of the "100 endangered sites". WMF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered architectural and cultural sites around the world. Since 1965 WMF has worked tirelessly to stop the loss of historic structures at more than 500 sites in 91 countries. In Butrint you will explore the remains of a Greek (later Roman) town that dates back to the 8th century BC. The Romans destroyed and rebuilt the city in the 2nd century BC. It fell to successive conquerors -Venetians and Normans among others - in various centuries and parts of the walls and fortifications of Butrint date from different times. The site remained under Ottoman rule until 1913 when Albania proclaimed its independence after almost 500 years of Turkish subjugation. At its peak Butrint had 10,00 residents.
Real excavation in Butrint began in the 18th century and resumed in earnest from 1927 to 1940 by an Italian prehistorian named Luigi Ugolini. Ugolini was a member of the Italian nobility who were staunch supporters of fascism and Mussolini. In point of fact, Butrin owes everything to Mussolini. In 1924 , anxious and jealous of the French archeological mission to Apollonia, Mussolini directed his Foreign Minister to sponsor an Italian expedition to Butrint, headed by Ugolini who, with his teams of both Italian and Albania workers began the serious excavations of a small hill uncovering the ruins that are seen today. He also uncovered a Byzantine baptistery having near perfect Mosaic pavements.
A 97 year old man who was a worker at the Butrint site as a youth recalls how Ugolini lined up the locally recruited workmen to give the fascist salute before dispatching them to trenches.
As an aside, during the Cold War the Soviet premier Nikita Kruschev , proposed to build a submarine base in Lake Butrint with a deepened canal connected to the straits of Corfu. But the vast undertaking would have necessitated the total destruction of Butrint so the Albanian Dictator Enver Hoxha simply said "no."
After 1990 Albanian archeologists terminated their excavations of Butrint permitting British archeologists to take over in 1993 whose further discoveries in 2002 included what is believed to be the first chess piece in Europe suggesting the game was played on the continent 500 years earlier than previously believed... Note: the entire passage on Butrint was graciously offered by Mr. Van Christo, the founder of the non-profit Frosina Foundation in Boston - who arrived in America at a very early age, never to forget his beloved country of birth - Albania.
Overnight Saranda - Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10 - Saranda - Corfu
A sail day by ferry to Corfu Island. During the communist regime the Albanian patrol
boats heavily monitored these waters and shot and killed many Albanians attempting to
swim to freedom to Corfu. But, now we spend the day touring the island and enjoying a
beach party at Glyfada.
Overnight Saranda - Breakfast, Beach Picnic
Day 11 - Vlora
This morning we drive to Vlora, through some breathtaking scenery along the Albanian Riviera -
Borshi, Qiparo, Jala, Himara,Vunoi and Dhermi beaches.
The ancient town of Vlore was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century, and it occupies an eminence near the Bay of Vlor, an inlet of the facing the Adriatic Sea. Almost surrounded by mountains, the port of Vlor is the closest in proximity to the port of Bari, Italy. The town has rather a pleasant appearance, rich with gardens and olive groves.
Overnight Vlora - Breakfast, Lunch
Day 12 - Berat - Apollonia.
Apollonia (Albanian: Apolonia or Apollonia, Greek: Aπολλωνία κατ' Επίδαμνον
or Απολλωνία προς Επιδάμνω), was located on the right bank of the Aous;
its ruins are situated in the Fier region, near the village of Pojan (Pojani). It was founded
in 588 BCE by Greek colonists from Kerkyra (Corfu) and Corinth, and was perhaps the most
important of the several classical towns known as Apollonia (Απολλωνία). The site was
already used by Corinthian traders and the Taulantii, an Illyrian tribe, who remained closely
involved with the settlement for centuries and lived alongside the Greek colonists. The city
was said to have originally been named Gylakeia after Gylax, its founder, but the name was
later changed to honor the god Apollo.( wikipedia)
From Apollonia we continue to Berat. Berat lies on the right bank of the river Osum. It is a remarkable Ottoman town, with a wealth of beautiful buildings of the highest architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomori mountains, provide a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut a 915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which the town was built on several river terraces.
According to legend, the Tomorr mountain was originally a giant, who fought with another giant, called Shpirag over a young woman. They killed each other and the girl drowned in her tears, which then became the Osum river. Mount Shpirag, named after the second giant, is on the left bank of the gorge, above the district of Gorica. Berati is known to Albanians as 'The City of a Thousand Windows' a similar epithet to that sometimes applied to Gjirokastra, The City of Two Thousand Steps, and has a mixture of Orthodox, Muslim inhabitants. It was proclaimed a 'Museum City' by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June 1961. Its population is almost entirely Albanian. (wikipedia)
Overnight Berat - Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13
We say good bye to Albania. Transfer to the airport and departure.