Landing in the once-hermetically sealed, xenophobic Albania, we found that immigration control was only a quick stamp in our passport and a $14 (10 euro) tax. No customs station exists in the small Mother Theresa International Airport of the capital Tirana.
Albania, once generally regarded as the poorest country in Europe with the most stringent Stalinist form of communism, had a literal ox-cart economy that was primarily agricultural, wherein all farms were collective or state-owned. As in all communist countries, the few cars available were for the exclusive use of Party and government officials.
Today, Tirana is a flood of cars and traffic jams. The predominant vehicle is the Mercedes-Benz, needed for the rough secondary roads. Upon emancipation from Communism, our guides said the first national mania was to get a strong car, with a used Mercedes costing $5,000 to $6,000.
Shops, cafes and small businesses abound everywhere. The first-floor apartments of many buildings have been converted into various enterprises, many of which were purchased by the occupant for $30 when communism ended, according to college students from the UNESCO-connected organization MAEFT (meaning “enough”).
The old, drab, decrepit Tirana tourists saw previously when touring the Iron Curtain countries has been eradicated in the past six years. According to the students, Tirana?s popular mayor, previously an artist, had practically every building in Tirana resurfaced and vividly repainted.
There has also been an infusion of energy into religion, with young people seeking their roots and identity, our guides noted. An estimated 70 percent are Moslem ? almost all secular, 20 percent Christian Orthodox and 10 percent Catholic. Fifty years of official atheism reportedly have failed here.
Hotels and restaurants are fine.
Our five-star Sheraton Tirana was world-class and located near the university and good restaurants. We had traditional Albanian food in the attractive Juvenilja Castelo, a short walk away. Two other nearby five-star hotels are the Tirana International Hotel and the Euro Park Hotel.
Our guides said small villages on the Adriatic Sea are gearing up for tourists, and once-sleepy Albania may eventually become an international hotspot.
