NATURE & TRADITION
Albania is a fascinating and unique country, whose beauty never fails to enchant the observer. This country touches the heart with its magnificent scenery and the warmth of its people. Today, its Mediterranean coast attracts large numbers of foreign visitors. But there is more to Albania than that, something perhaps much more interesting to discover – the mountains. Nowhere else in Europe is there such a wealth of pristine nature. Other parts of Europe have high mountains too, but nowhere are the valleys between them as broad. This makes the peaks seem still more impressive. One breathtaking mountain panorama follows another, and they are all beguiling. The mountains cast a spell on visitors, who feel an urge to soar up into them. You gaze down into one great valley; beyond, there is a chain of mountains and then another; then comes yet another and, in the haze, there is probably one more. It never ends. But then it never should, because you can easily become addicted to so much nature. In the valleys you feel almost locked in by the mountains. There are so many mountains everywhere; there really is no place in this country where you cannot see them. What’s more, the landscape is so diverse, even within the smallest area. This brochure is the product of a training course held in September 2015 for a group of writers, photographers and graphic designers, with the objective of producing brochures and advertising material for rural tourism. The project was run in cooperation between the National Tourism Agency and the project ‘Sustainable development of tourism in rural regions of Albania’, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Albania.
Kukës The region around Kukës in north-eastern Albania, on the border with Kosovo, is blessed with lush green mountains. At 2,484 m, the highest of them is Mount Gjallica. For a long time, the roads here were poor and the area was cut off from the rest of the country, but today the new motorway from Tirana to Kukës provides a quick and convenient transport route. This is one of the places where Albania’s development is most evident. The motorway is a great feat of engineering, for the surrounding mountains are incredibly high. Not only that – it passes through incredibly beautiful scenery. The Kukës of today is new, the old town having been lost to the waters when the River Drin was dammed in 1976. The new town was established a few kilometres along the river, in a magnificent natural setting. One of the town’s minor attractions is its airport, which is situated close to the village of Shtiqën in a vast open space surrounded by high mountains, which watch over it like sentinels. There was already an airstrip here in the interwar period, during the reign of King Zog. The airport was opened in 2010, but has yet to be used. During the Kosovo War in 1998-99, many Kosovo Albanians sought refuge on the site of the airport after being displaced from their own country. During those years, the kind and hospitable residents of Kukës opened their doors to more than 500,000 Kosovo Albanians. For this reason, in 2000 the whole town was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – the first time any town anywhere in the world had received such an accolade.
Fierza Lake The north-east of the country is dominated by the River Drin, with the Black Drin from Macedonia and the White Drin from Kosovo converging in KukĂŤs. Along 70 kilometres of river downstream from KukĂŤs, numerous dams have been built, with large-scale hydropower stations harnessing its energy. This has created beautiful lakes, such as Fierze, Koman and Vau-Deja. On its way to the Adriatic, the river has carved out many valleys of indescribable beauty. The splendid Lake Fierza forms part of this unique landscape. At the height of the summer, the water level in the lake is very low and symmetrical shapes, which look like ripples in the sand, form at its margins. Its bright green water softly reflects the surrounding mountains. From time to time, a lethargic seagull searching for food disturbs the smooth surface of the lake, awakening it from its apparent slumber. A small motorboat lying on the beach also seems to be at rest. It belongs to a hotel and is used for excursions, but now it is waiting for the water level to rise. The surrounding area is very fertile. The vegetable gardens are productive and the houses well kept. Cows, their cowbells jangling, wander down from their pastures to the lake to drink. They seem to invite visitors to join the cheerful atmosphere and become one with nature.
Landscapes
and
Villages
The endless mountains dance before your eyes in everchanging colours. They tower over everything: to the right, to the left, in front of you and behind – everywhere. The mountains seem impossibly high and have a mysterious air, sometimes almost threatening, sometimes serene. It’s as if you belong to them, as if they could do whatever they want with you. And in winter they do: the people here are snowed in, unable to leave for months at a time as the roads are impassable. The long cold winter envelopes the peaks in a white cloak of snow and for a long time they remain quiet and full of wisdom. What an impact nature has on people’s temperaments here, permeating their souls! The tiny individual is almost lost in this landscape. In earlier times, news was shared by men calling from slope to slope, from village to village. Today, power lines connect the mountains with each other. Thankfully, many of the villages in this region have retained their traditional character. Many of the older houses still exist, encircled by high walls beautifully crafted from great blocks of stone. Here too, nature is in the ascendant everywhere. The sight of the ancient fig and olive trees immediately draws the visitor into a fairy-tale world. The calm of the villages is beguiling. Nothing can be heard but the babbling of a small stream, the wind in the trees and the occasional mooing of a cow. Not much happens here, so the children come running whenever strangers appear.
Bicaj The people here depend on their livestock and agriculture. Everywhere, you can see fields of maize. Haystacks in front of every house catch the eye: food for the animals, gathered in summer to help the people cope with the long winter and cold snow. In the village of Bicaj the voices of children coming home from school can be heard. They are talking about their free time, which they’ll spend either playing football or with their parents in the sheep pens up in the hills. The adults are proud of the food from the Kukës region. They talk about the famous potatoes from Shishtavec, the Luma sheep, and the famous goats from Tropoje, otherwise known as the ‘Caporja from Dragobi’. The sweet chestnuts named after the Virgin Mary also come in for praise, as do the Tropoje plums. And the people say that you shouldn’t leave the area without taking with you a bag of sage or wild black bilberries, which are typical of the region. In the village lanes you see plenty of the typical tower-shaped houses with their small square windows. Some of the houses look lonely, giving the impression that no one lives there. But there are fresh log piles in the gardens, clothes on the line, and in the background you can hear the barking of a faithful dog guarding his home.
The Kukës–Peshkopi
road
The asphalt roads that snake up and down the mountains in serpentine bends – like a beautiful woman’s unruly locks of hair – are truly remarkable feats of construction. One of the most delightful links Kukës to Peshkopi, passing through a spectacular landscape and taking in a host of tourist attractions along the way. In all directions, all you can see is green. Along the route is one of the country’s many hydropower stations. The Bushtrica power station is one of the smaller ones, but even here the water from the top of the mountain plunges down the pipes with tremendous force before falling into the small river, where it then flows gently onwards. Along the river, there is a small, well-kept hotel. On its top floor, there is still one of the traditional ‘men’s chambers’ (‘oda e burrave’) typical of northern Albania. The most striking feature of this room is the welcoming fireplace, where you can sit cross-legged for hours, talking and munching on the sweet chestnuts found everywhere in the Kukës region. The colourful carpets and sheepskins covering the floor entice you to stretch out and laze around. On the terrace just outside you can sample some Pasterma (salty smoked meat), accompanied by a local brandy. Add to that some of the famous ‘flia’ (a layered pancake from northern Albania and Kosovo), and listen to the sound of the water and the birdsong, and soon you will lose yourself in your dreams. The friendly waiter rouses his guests with a smile and offers them a dish of goat’s meat, another local speciality.
Peshkopi Peshkopi, a northern town on the slopes of Mt Korab, Albania’s highest mountain, emerges after a long journey through a picturesque green landscape. It is a small and quiet provincial town, where cows wander through the streets and wild horsemen can be seen galloping through the traffic. The town’s atmosphere owes much to its avenues of chestnut and lime trees. Everything is unhurried. The old women wear white headscarves. The main boulevard is mostly populated by men, who stroll around with their hands clasped at their backs or sit deep in conversation in the bars on either side of the street. Their Gegerisht dialect sounds soft and warm, like the sunshine that is lacking here most of the time. One thing sparks your curiosity: where are the town’s girls and women, who are said to be so beautiful? In the ancient centre stand the houses of the town’s two oldest families, the Bardulla and the Shehu.
43-year-old Neta invites us up to the roof of her house where she is watering the roses. She explains that the street below us leads to the town’s therapeutic spas. ‘They’re still in operation, ever since communist times, and people believe that the water there can work miracles. Not just for the body but also for the soul.’ Now Aldi arrives with the inexhaustible curiosity of any six-year-old. It is impossible not to smile when he sits down with us. And we talk on until our conversation is interrupted by the prayers emanating from the minaret of the 200-year-old mosque. The harshness of nature and the mountains all around the town stands in stark contrast to the gentleness of the people here. The reasons why the region is famed for its generosity and hospitality soon become clear to anyone who visits.
Rabdisht
Greva
The village of Rabdisht is just seven kilometres from Peshkopi. The road is mountainous, winding and stony. The journey through the delightful green scenery with its majestic mountains and impressive valleys is interrupted time and again by herds of sheep watched over by a busy shepherd and his faithful dog.
In the beautiful village of Greva, the old houses are built of brick and the log piles in the backyards are arranged almost artistically. The bubbling of water flowing down from the mountains can be heard everywhere.
Rabdisht consists of around 100 houses, built from large blocks of stone and roofed with slabs. The streets are narrow and rocky. Occasionally, a rider passes by or an inquisitive child approaches the visitors. One of the village’s older inhabitants, Lulja, tells us that although things are hard in the country, she would never swap her life here for one in the town. Her children are married now and have moved to the city. She visits occasionally, but refuses to live there. Ask the children what they like playing, and they answer shyly that their favourite games are football, dolls and Kala Dibrançe, a traditional game from Dibra. Lulja recollects happily how she played this game herself when she was a child, although it was a little different then from the one the children play today. The scent of baking bread – delicious, irresistible – wafts across from the wood-fired oven. Rarely do you feel as much at home as you do here, in a place you’ve never seen before. The houses all seem enriched by the people’s spirit, whose presence leaves an indelible trace in the memory. As they are throughout the region, the residents of this village are very hospitable and will not allow guests to leave empty-handed. One person offers us apples from his garden; another plies us with grapes. Lulja insists we join her for coffee and try the famous Jufka from Dibra before we go. Everyone is determined that visitors should leave the village happy, to be sure that they’ll return one day.
Greva has about 200 inhabitants. Xhemile Suite is one of them. She is around 100 years old. The burden of her years is etched deeply into the lines on her face, but despite her hard life, her smile has not lost the sweetness of a mother’s. And, surrounded by her family, including many grandchildren, her age doesn’t seem to matter to her. In Greva, you understand it’s not only the people who make nature and the place more beautiful, but also that the place can make the people more beautiful.
The Chamber
of
Diber
Once a year, Peshkopi is the beating heart of Albanian folklore. From all the areas where Albanians live – northeastern Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo – folklore groups come here to present their arts. Singers and dancers from Peshkopi, Mat, Skopje and Pristina perform together in one great celebration. No one can escape its thrall. The allure of the Oda Dibrane is as great as the hearts of the performers themselves. And the hearts of everyone present beat in time to the drums which, together with the Çifteli, accompany the traditional songs of Dibra, creating the rhythm for the marvellously synchronised movements of the dancers, whose movements are filled with pathos. The bright and elegant outfits worn by the girls and boys are a feast for the eyes. Everything is handmade: the men’s white fezzes, the girls’ colourful long socks and the dresses, most of them red. Zubejda, one of the dancers, proudly explains that she inherited her traditional dress from her mother, who had inherited it from her own mother. In this way, the love, pride and gratitude for the skills of the women who made these garments have been passed down from generation to generation. The Oda Dibrane is much more than just a successful celebration of heritage. It also testifies to the unity of Albanians across the different regions, with their traditions, folklore, songs and dances. The performers and the spectators leave the festival, their hearts brimming with joy, their souls enriched and their spirits uplifted.
Imprint Published by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Registered offices Bonn and Eschborn, Germany „ Sustainable development of tourism in Albania’s rural area“ Rruga „Skenderbej“ Nr 21/1 T +355 42 30414 https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/294.html February 2016 GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
List
of participants in training
Adnan Zyma - Adriatik Baba - Albert Myftaraj - Alkida Dede - Alter Cuca - Anila Hitaj - Diana Nasi - Elirë Mançaj Enea Zenuni - Ilirjan Qirjazi - Ina Cici - Lindita Bushgjokaj - Olta Lame
Trainer
Juergen Sieckmeyer - Photography / Doris Sieckmeyer - Text
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