Albania : Updates
Readers who visit Albania regularly will know that as soon as one takes one's eye off the country for five minutes, some fairly major change will take place. 2009 was no exception. The first thing foreigners entering the country will notice is that the ten euro entry tax is no more. This tax used to be levied on holders of most Western passports — including the European Union, the United States and Canada — and while it probably did not deter anyone from visiting Albania, its collection slowed things up through passport control, especially when people in the queue did not have euros, or had only high-denomination notes. It was a nuisance, frankly, and its demise will not be mourned.
Accommodation
Another positive development is the emergence of backpackers' hostels outside Tirana. In Saranda, the Hairy Lemon and the Hostel Saranda are a welcome addition to the rather limited range of cheap accommodation in the town. The Hostel Saranda is right in the centre, just a couple of minutes' walk from the bus station, in the multi-coloured apartment building known as the Rainbow Block: cel: 069 312 7924; email: hostelsaranda@gmail.com. The Hairy Lemon is out of town, beyond the port (and beyond the Andon Lapa i Parë hotel): cel: 069 355 9317; email: saranda@hairylemonhostel.com; web: www.hairylemonhostel.com. Berati also has a hostel now, the Berat Backpackers, in a lovely old Ottoman house in Gorica, about 150 metres from the footbridge over the Osumi River: cel: 069 305 4429; email: info@beratbackpackers.com; web: www.beratbackpackers.com. All three of these hostels provide bed-linen, internet access and kitchen facilities; thanks to Bruce Logan for these details. Meanwhile, in Tirana, the pioneers who opened Albania's first Backpacker Hostel on Rruga e Elbasanit have now added a second hostel to their portfolio, on the other side of the city centre on Rruga e Kavajës. Information about both hostels can be found at www.tiranahostel.com.
Travellers who fancy taking the rough back road from Saranda to Gjirokastra may find it useful to know of a small hotel in Delvina, which has been recommended by Cristián Pérez. The Shameti hotel ($; tel: 0815 22380) is right in the centre of the village, the rooms are simple but clean and have lovely views.
Cultural Heritage
Throughout Albania, the woeful state of much of the country's rich cultural heritage is beginning to improve. The outstanding archeological site at Byllis now has interpretative materials to help visitors to understand the remains. The access road has been improved and a minibus now runs hourly up to the site from the junction with the main road (thanks to James Pettifer and Cristián Pérez for this information). Readers who do not have the updated (May 2009) reprint of Albania will also like to know about the Kamenica Tumulus, a recently discovered group of prehistoric burial mounds 8km south of Korça which has an excellent visitors' centre. The site's web page, www.kamenicatumulus.org, has full details, including the centre's opening hours. The historic centre of Shkodra has been cleaned up and some of the traditional houses have been restored, making them less likely to collapse on top of the passers-by. And finally, the National Historical Museum in Tirana has at last begun to label its exhibits, in English and Albanian.
Cycling
Bruce Logan, who cycled in southern and central Albania in the summer of 2009, advises that the road between Këlcyra and Berati, over the Gllava Pass, is not useable in wet weather. Summer in southern Albania is usually so dry that this is not usually a problem, but the atrocious weather last June and July meant that the cobbled surface became impossibly muddy and slippery. In the end, Mr Logan and his companion had to turn back and cycle the long way round to Berati.
Politics
Politically, 2009 saw two big events. Albania is now a full member of NATO, which has been a long-held dream of the Albanian political class and of many ordinary Albanians. The country's support for the Western military alliance during the latter's bombing of Yugoslavia in 1998-9, when Albania ceded temporary control of its airspace to NATO, has finally paid off. Albania has been contributing troops to NATO operations for several years and Albanian soldiers have seen active service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Parliamentary elections took place in June, as scheduled. The Democratic Party was returned as the largest party in parliament and the outgoing Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, was reconfirmed as head of government.
Gillian Gloyer
2nd January 2010