Basics
Tirana’s main drag, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit
THE ALBANIANS A matter of considerable academic dispute, the origin of today’s Albanian people almost certainly lies somewhere in the time before Christ when the Illyrians settled the region. The first written references to a specific Albanian race date back to historical records from the 11th century. Contemporary Albanians run on the mixed blood of several races who’ve all in one way or another had considerable influence on the nation, the only thing truly uniting them being besa, the unique Albanian honour code that insists on the well-being of honoured guests no matter who they are. Besa, which famously left Nazi-occupied Albania with a larger Jewish population at the end of WWII than at the beginning, is reason enough to visit the country. Warm, friendly, funny and inquisitive, mixing with the Albanians is guaranteed to have a lasting and positive effect on everyone who visits the country. ALCOHOL As is pretty much the same throughout the Balkans, the local firewater of choice in Albania comes in the form of a fruit-based brandy known as raki (or rakia). Distilled using anything from grapes to plums and even mulberries, commercially produced raki contains around 40% alcohol, although you may well encounter illicit moonshine containing at least twice as much as this. Be careful! At the other end of the scale, Albania’s birra production is dominated by the two national brands Birra Tirana and Birra Korça, both are lager-type concoctions that are absolutely fine to drink. Alcoholism and drunkenness in the streets are minor problems compared to many other countries in Eastern Europe. EMERGENCY NUMBERS Ambulance Tel. 127 / Fire Tel. 128 / Police Tel. 129 tirana.inyourpocket.com
COMMUNISM There are still plenty of communist-era relics to see in Tirana, by far the largest and most impressive being the gargantuan Socialist Realist mosaic adorning the façade of the National History Museum. Between 1944 and 1991 Albania was one of the most isolated countries in the world, a violent and paranoid police state that used coercion, torture, false psychological imprisonment and religious persecution as ways of maintaining law and order. Although it’s now three decades since Albania threw off its Marxist-Leninist shackles, many of its citizens still carry around the various internal scars associated with a violent and dysfunctional recent past. It would be something of an exaggeration to claim that Albania is suffering from the effects of some kind of collective, post-traumatic stress syndrome, although there is at least an element of truth in this supposition. In the meantime, the younger generation of locals is now exploiting Albania’s former communist past with various museums, tours and themed bars.
EXPAT ACTIVITIES Tirana’s local expat community is both long-standing and ever-growing, with many regular meet-ups. The most famous group Expats in Albania (www.expatsinalbania. com) hosts get-togethers at changing venues; Dine-Out on Tuesday nights, Coffee Catch-Ups on Wednesday mornings and Friday Night Drinks; their Facebook page has regular updates. Local food blog HaPiTirana (www. hapitirana.com) also regularly hosts expat events such as karaoke or cultural nights, which often include free food and drinks. For those interested in the outstanding work being done by the expat community, head to the Rogner Hotel at 10:30 on Friday morning to mingle and attend a presentation of the International Friends in Tirana (see their Facebook page for details). 2022
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