Almost no one knows anything about this country right in the south eastern part of Europe. It's small, it's sunny, it has beaches, mountains and friendly people, nice things to eat and wine and beer too. And it has gems like the Blue Eye of Albania named Syri i Kaltër is a cold, cold spring deep in a green jungle on the western slope of the Mali i Gjerë mountains.
We try to discover Albania, a small ghost under the all the nations on earth. By feet, of course, to have some adventures in Albania on mysterious ways - on rocky paths and empty places to the balcony of the Balkan.
Albania, a small state on the Adriatic Sea that was sealed off from the whole world like North Korea nowadays in the decades after World War II. No one was allowed in, no one was allowed out. That has changed in the meantime. But still the country with its population of not even three million is a piece of mysterious terra incognita in the middle of Europe. Part 1 of the story is here, part two here, three here and four + five + six
In the very south of Albania, where the EU almost begins again, lies a city that has everything that many consider pure horror. Saranda (Albanian also Sarandë; Greek Άγιοι Σαράντα Ágioi Saránta; Italian Santi Quaranta) is a port city in the extreme south of Albania, which normally has no more than 17,500 inhabitants.
A half hour from Corfu
It's beautiful here, just a few kilometers away from attractions like the Blue Eye of Albania, an abysmal spring of brilliant blue water. Saranda is located directly on a small bay, which is not yet part of the Albanian Riviera, but is not far away from the Greek holiday island of Corfu, which can be reached within just half an hour with the hourly ferry.
At first glance, it looks like a fairytale land: the city is only separated from a fertile plain in the east by a narrow range of hills, which stretches south to the Vivar Canal at Butrint, almost 20 kilometers away, and north of the city to 600 meters high mountains.
In the Middle Ages, a castle (called Kalaja e Lëkurësit) was built on the Mali i Lëkurësit, which is part of this range of hills and lies southeast of the city center. On a hill further north above the city are the ruins of the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs too.
City of Martyrs
But above all, Saranda has been a popular bathing resort ever since the Stone Age communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha had the city expanded into a holiday resort in the mid-1950s. It is true that some factories were built at that time, especially for the food industry, which processed the products of the surrounding farms.
At that time, the tranquil fishing village was forced to become a place with an urban feel: Since Hoxha had completely isolated his country from the outside world, first from the West and then gradually from the so-called socialist brother countries, Albania was forced to create its own vacation spot for its official elite.
When the communist dictatorship collapsed 30 years ago, most businesses were closed and unemployment and poverty rose as a result. Saranda became impoverished because parts of the city were looted and set on fire by insurgents during anti-government riots in 1997. What remained were rubble and ruins, which have only slowly been rebuilt in recent years.
Concrete castle on a small beach
But then at a speed that increased at a breathtaking pace. Today's Saranda is a concrete castle clustered around a tiny beach. Like Mallorca or parts of Gran Canaria, the urge from investors has completely overwhelmed the authorities.
The concrete mixers have been rotating here around the clock for a long time. Another pastel-colored concrete and Styrofoam holiday home seems to be completed every day, driven mainly by investors from abroad who have Albanian roots.
You like to invest at home, regardless of the losses. A lot looks nice and modern, the beach promenade looks no worse than one on the German east coast. The hotels are chic and the bars and cafes are cheap. But the construction boom has its downside. "The authorities are not always able to stop illegal construction projects in good time," says a waiter.
Only when the authorities really can't help themselves and see no chance of denying that a new hotel was built illegally does the city demolition squad move in. The consequences are unmistakable: like rotten teeth in a healthy set of teeth, countless building ruins spoil the holiday scenery. And next door, construction continues.
Collapsing ion concrete
There is no other way. Tourism is the most important source of income for the residents. Without the bathing tourism of the guests, who mainly come from Albania, but also from the neighboring countries of Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro, Italy and Greece, everything would collapse here. This is how the boom feeds the boom: Numerous hotels and buildings with holiday apartments were built. The place is expanding more and more into the previously undeveloped surrounding area. As a result, Saranda has lost much of its former charm of a small coastal town.
This was exchanged for the new reputation as a hotspot. In the summer months there are easily three times as many tourists as residents in Saranda, which derives its name from the Greek Hagioi Saranta. Almost every centimeter of the coast between Vlorë and Himarë is now full of bulky prefabricated buildings, and since 2008 alone the number of tourists has doubled.
Burned down and born again
Saranda has never been more famous and successful in its turbulent history: in 551, the town was destroyed during the migration of peoples, and foreign powers came again and again in the Middle Ages to plunder and rob. From the beginning of the 15th century, Saranda was part of the Ottoman Empire for almost 500 years before Greek nationalists from Corfu the City burned down again in 1878.
Saranda overcame everything and survived everything. Today the people here are doing better than ever since the Italian occupiers named the small port "Porto Edda" after Mussolini's daughter. There is not much going on here, the Russian rocket ferries are the only attraction, and there are only a few fishing boats here and there and to a cruise crew lands for a shore excursion.
Ride with the russian rocket
The most important sights in Saranda, apart from the Blue Eye, are the extensive ancient ruins of Butrint, about 15 kilometers south of the city, which have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. The Byzantine church Shën Kollë (dedicated to Nicholas of Myra) in Mesopo is also always visited.
“Many hotels are never fully booked. But the tourists will come one day,” says a civil engineer who is just completing a row of apartments with a pool right on the water. Only a few stuck to the rules of the game like he did: “Many just start building – without permission and without a construction plan.” And without any consequences for their non-existing plans.
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