Showing posts with label Mother Teresa airport. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Albania - what to see and do, from Mother Teresa to Castles, Beaches and Wineries

The flag of Albania shows the pair of black eagles from which mythology says Albanians are supposed to be descended.

Places to visit.

You will probably fly into Albania via Mother Theresa airport of Tirana.

1 Tirana, the capital is in the middle, inland The region is in the Northeast.

In Tirana you can visit Mother Teresa Square. It is near the Artificial Lake Park. Near the entrance is the Holocaust memorial. It was placed there as recently as 2020 which records how Albanians, Christians and Muslims, risked their lives to save the Jewish Albanians and refugees.

Two bunkers, bunker 1, and bunker 2, are massive art galleries and filled with oddities. Walking tour via Skandenbeg square.

Free tour leaves from 10 am in front of the opera house, for about two hours, tips appreciated.

2 To the west is the coastal region and the city of Durres. See the Roman amphitheatre. Also a Venetian tower.

South of Tirana is Berat.

3 Berat, is a UNESCO awarded historic town, whose name originally meant white city, partly on a cobbled hilltop with a 13th century castle, with losts of mosques and murals and Onufri museum. It is also called the town of a thousand windows.

Wine tasting tours take you to two of these: Nurellari Winery. Cobo . Luani Winery . Pupa /.Alpeta Agrotourism and Winery. (photos on Tripadvisor)

Shesh

The village of Shesh produces a grape of the same name. Taste locally made raki, a spirit (strong!) and olive oil.

You can book a tour from Tirana to both Berat and Torres above for about 60 dollars per person, if the group is large enough.

Going south along the coast, in the coastal region, you reach the Albanian riviera, where the coastal city of Dhermi is noted.

NORTH MACEDONIA

To the east of Albania is North Macedonia where you can see the statue and memorial to Mother Teresa.

Wiki says

The Mother Teresa Memorial House (Macedonian: Спомен-куќа на Мајка Тереза, Albanian: Shtëpia përkujtimore e Nënë Terezës) is dedicated to the Catholic saint and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa. It is located in her hometown Skopje, in North Macedonia, where she lived from 1910 to 1928.

USA

Mother Teresa Museum, Florida, USA.

Useful Websites

tripadvisor

wikitravel

wikivoyage

USA

https://motherteresaproject.org/museum/

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Albania - what to see in the Capital and on the Coast

Albania is on the coast, to the north of the west coast of Greece.

Surrounding countries include Greece to the south, which accounts for why some people in the south speak Greek. If you already know Greek, that might come in handy.

Albania has wineries and hiking trails. The capital is Tirana. Mother Teresa airport is 15 minutes from the city.

The capital, Tirana

The capital has a cathedral and three major museums.

The National Historical Museum

The National Historical Museums has nine rooms, arranged historically. Each section is for a different time period.

The House of Leaves

The House of Leaves is a pun or double entendre. Outside it was once covered in leaves, in a forest, to disguise it. Inside it contains leaves of books, about the Communist era, which used to keep records of everybody

The House of Ismail Kadare

The House of Isrmail Kadare features the author, who is still alive. His books have been made into films. The plots, or settings, sound rather grim. One is about Italian and German generals seeking the bodies of dead soldiers from a previous war to repatriate them. Another film, The Traitor's Niche, is about the display of heads of executed traitors.

However, in his books, the writing, both the thoughts and the metaphors, even in translation, are effective. Here are some examples:

The writer is always, to some extent, in exile, wherever he is, because he is somehow outside, separated from the others; there is always a distance.

In our city spring came from the sky, not from the soil.

Clouds dashed about in all directions ...

Shiny musical instruments wailed, their mouths open like lilies

The house has lots of quotations from the author, and his wife who is also an author.

Other Sights

See the old bridge.

Eat at the Yogurteri.

The Coast

The coast is known for its beaches.

Travelling Onwards

Tirana's airport is called Mother Teresa, so you can learn the word mother which looks not like mama but like nana.

Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza

On the Facebook page for the airport you can watch a video.

Wikipedia showed many airlines including BA (British Airways) going to and from Heathrow airport in London.

Skyscanner claimed to find us the cheapest flight on the date we suggested - it was Wizz Air to Luton.

Montenegro

As the country is adjacent to several others, you have several ways of doing a side trip. From Albania, you might wish to make a side trip or two centre stay seeing Montenegro which is north of Albania. Montenegro has two major attractions, the cliffside monastery, and the island of Sveti Stefan, which is a village turned into a hotel.