Sightseeing
The new Namazgah Mosque in central Tirana
Tirana’s strengths lie not in landmark sights to be crossed off a bucket list, but in its vibrancy and the warmth of the people who live in it, qualities many better-known cities lack. Tirana is very much a city for the flâneur, a chaotic urban concoction, bursting with unexpected sights and sounds that are best appreciated whilst strolling its streets in a leisurely fashion. If you must see a must-see, make it the Et’hem Bey Mosque.
PLACES OF INTEREST BULEVARDI DËSHMORËT E KOMBIT The “Boulevard of the Martyrs of the Nation” is a wide and impressive kilometre-long road stretching northsouth between Sheshi Skënderbej and Sheshi Nënë Tereza. The work of the Italian architect and engineer Gherardo Bosio (1903-1941) and still featuring many of the original examples of fascist architecture that were built along its edges and around its squares, the street dates from 1939-1941 and is the only thoroughfare in the city that gives any sense of Tirana being anything other than a typical medium-sized Balkan town. Several of the city’s better museums can be found along it, among them the National Archaeological Museum, the National Art Gallery and, at its furthest northern point, the mosaic-clad National History Museum. With the addition of the Et’hem Bey Mosque and new office blocks springing up along its length, the street offers something of a condensed history lesson of the city in one architectural ensemble.QC‑4, I‑5. MOSAIC OF TIRANA (MOZAIKU I TIRANËS) Thought by many to be the remains of a Byzantine-era Roman villa built on this site in the 3rd century AD and uncovered in 1972, this small but recommended attraction features not only some well preserved mosaic floors as the name suggests but also a collection of beautiful carved stones complete with religious motifs that have 20 Tirana In Your Pocket
led some to believe the original building that stood here was in fact a church. The jury is still out, and for the average visitor the debate is of little importance. Well worth an hour or so of anyone’s time, despite the lack of explanations in English and the fact that it’s in the middle of a residential area.QE‑2, Rr. Naim Frashëri, tel. +355 4 222 60 05. Open 08:00-17:00; closed Sun. Admission free. THE BLLOKU ‘The block’ is a relatively small patchwork of streets in southwest central Tirana, saturated with some of the best bars, restaurants and shops in the city. After the war, the area was full of factories that were cleared to make way for an enclosed and guarded complex of luxury residential buildings for the exclusive use of the country’s ruling elite. Opened to the public during the political changes of the early 1990s, the Blloku is the place to come for fine dining, people-watching from one of the countless outdoor terraces, endlessly driving around in circles in expensive cars, and generally showing off.QH‑4. THE PYRAMID (PIRAMIDA) The pyramid, as it’s popularly known, opened in 1988 as a museum dedicated to the recently deceased Albanian dictator-cum-pharaoh Enver Hoxha. Designed by Hoxha’s daughter Pranvera, the building was reportedly the most expensive ever constructed in Albania. After the regime collapsed, the place became a conference centre and location of a club (called The Mummy, what else?). Demonstrations prevented plans to demolish the structure and currently it is being converted into an educational centre for children - with a publicly accessible rooftop area. After it’s finished, we may be able to view the Peace Bell in front of the building again, an installation from 1999 that’s a memorial to peace made by the children of Shkodra. The metal for the bell came from thousands of bullet cartridges fired off during the lawless 1990s.QG‑5, Blv. Bajram Curri.
