A Little Piece of Tirana

Come along with me on a little tour of lovely Tirana where we'll stop and see a few of the highlights this beautiful city has to offer. To start, we'll walk along the Lana River (read: ditch) that runs through the center of town. The Lana is lined with huge apartment buildings that have been painted various colors as part of the mayor's plan to brighten up the city.


Before it was painted, it probably looked something like this.



Along the same ditch road we meet up with a local truck driver. This transport mechanism consists of the rear 3/4 of a motorcycle attached to a pushcart, wherein the driver uses the handle of the cart to steer the vehicle. Other versions of this device include a bicycle in place of the motorcycle and most of these are powered more by push than by the non-functioning motor that otherwise weighs them down. These carts are typically seen carrying fruits and vegetables or scrap metal. (Bonus: note the painted buildings in the background.)


In the heart of the city lies Wal-Mart, which consists of 2.5 block-long alleyways stocked full of everything. Although they don't have a people greeter, the friendly sales associates will happily assist you to meet your shopping needs as you casually browse their unique wares. (Editors note: The above statement is a complete lie. Although the sales people are disturbingly not pushy about selling their cheap junk, they're also very unhelpful when you actually want to buy something.)

Located in the city's nightlife district sits the main junction point (read: tree) for all telephone wires, internet connections, and electrical cables (most of which are likely stolen and rerouted from nearby junction boxes). Albanians are very good at using every resource available to them.

A few blocks from our church sits an unattended building that is now used by gypsy squatters. I'm curious as to the back story for this building, but I'll bet it goes something like this: one day the then-ruling government party decided this building--which was likely built by a friend of somebody in the opposition government party--was in violation of its space and decided to knock down the offending portion. Just enough damage was done to the building that the owner couldn't afford to either fix it or tear it down (and he probably didn't own the land it's built on in the first place), so it sits neglected for who knows how many years...at least one.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of the city. Come visit some time.

(There are many other wonderful sights around the city--the street with cement light poles running through the middle of it and the trashed car abandoned at the corner of a major urban intersection (for two years) into which people throw their garbage--however, I'm without a camera at the moment and cannot share them with you.)