Illyria was a region well established from ancient times. There are signs of the earliest Illyrians from the 10th century BC but it was around the 4th century BC that their cities began to rise. On strategic hilltops, fortified walls built of massive limestone blocks surrounded settlements as civilised as any of those in contemporary Greek states. The Illyrians were tribal and fierce in their mountain fastnesses but also had civic spaces, meeting places, shops and theatres and baths. But where, you might ask, was it?
The Illyrian coastline faces that of eastern Italy. Nowadays, this side of the Adriatic touches on three countries: southern Croatia, Montenegro and, overwhelmingly, Albania. Albania’s coastline, like those of its neighbours to the north, is a delight – charming sandy bays and coves and islands like Sazan, now contentiously planned for development by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Currently, it is uninhabited except for flamingos – hence the protests to keep it as a nature sanctuary. It also, however, has landmines, laid by the country’s dictator, Hoxha, who kept the country effectively closed to the outside world for some 40 years.
Now, though it is being rediscovered by visitors and, while cruise ships occasionally dock in Sarandë on the Albanian Riviera and Durrës, closer to the capital, Tirana, increasingly the country is being explored in depth. I joined one such tour with Martin Randall Travel to discover Albania’s tumultuous history, pretty, unspoilt towns and archaeological sites that, compared to many more famous European examples from the ancient world, are almost empty. Of course, for many of us, exploring an ancient Roman city can be fascinating and puzzling in equal measure. How do you know what the purpose of a building was when you’re looking at its foundations? A former temple might appear to the unpractised eye nothing more than a heap of stones.
Fortunately, the tour (there are just 15 of us) has Carolyn Metkola, who had until moving to Albania eight years ago, taught ancient history at Queen Mary College, University of London. She can not only explain the sites in detail, she also brings the past to life in stories. My favourites was as we walked the stoa (paved street) of Apollonia. When the 18-year-old Octavius, later the Emperor Augustus, was informed of the assassination of his uncle, Julius Caesar, he was studying rhetoric in Apollonia with his friend, Agrippa. When the boys met a famous fortune teller there, he foretold Agrippa’s glorious future as a general. When he came to the destiny of the future emperor, he simply fell to his knees before him. Walking over the same stones today, that promixate sense of history can send a shiver down the spine.
Though they were fierce fighters, as this story shows, the Illyrians eventually became part of the Roman empire and their country was then known as Illyricum. The Romans were followed by Macedonians and Serbs, Goths and Vandals. The most influential, though, were the Ottomans. Albania’s national hero, Skanderbeg, held the mighty Ottoman Army at bay for 25 years from his fortress in Kruja until his death in 1468. The castle had already stood for a thousand years when the sieges took place and it still sits on its rocky promontory, high above the town, flying the Albanian flag, a black double-headed eagle on a red background that was Skanderbeg’s own standard.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kruja itself was, like many Albanian historic towns, reimagined by the Ottomans when they did finally conquer. At the heart of these towns is the bazaar and, in Albania, these tend to be the central street rather than a covered market though they usually have deep, overhanging eaves to protect the shoppers from rain and sun.
The Ottomans remained in Albania until 1912 and, during their long rule, many people took the incentives (tax breaks and job opportunities) offered if they converted to Islam. However, perhaps surprisingly, other religions continued to flourish: in the north, Albanians were mostly Catholic, while in the south orthodox churches remain to this day. It was, in fact, only under the communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, that religion was banned and many religious buildings were destroyed or repurposed. Restoration is now underway and it is possible now to visit the tiny Byzantine churches of Berat or see the extraordinary iconostasis of one of Albania’s oldest churches dating back to the 6th century, Labova of the Cross, its gilded and painted wood and ancient icons miraculously still standing.
Tirana itself as the country’s capital is modernising fast, its architecture a blend of socialist brutalism, a few remnants of Ottoman heritage and a surge of contemporary building, with tower blocks like vertical forests. There are wide tree-lined avenues and open squares but there’s also a plan to triple green areas by the end of the decade with a forest of some two million trees surrounding the city.
Elsewhere, this is already a very green country. There are dense forests and plentiful agriculture, wild rivers and parks – indeed, the Vjosa River is Europe’s first Wild River National Park. Albania’s natural environment is remarkably diverse and contains nearly 30% of Europe’s total biodiversity. The north – sadly beyond my itinerary on this visit – is famed for its wild mountains. The Albanian Alps (also known as the Accursed Mountains!) feature jagged peaks up to 2,694m, deep, glacial valleys and vast lakes. They are home to bears and wolves, wild boars and golden eagles. Surely, it’s a must-have for the bucket list? There’s nothing for it, I’ll just have to go back…
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