Kruje, Albania
This morning we began the first of our two days in Albania. The country, so newly emerged from its recent political and cultural isolation, is struggling mightily to find its sense of direction. This land has served as a stepping-stone for all of the great conquests which punctuate the history of the Mediterranean. As a stepping-stone, it has been trampled by a series of conquering peoples—Greeks, Romans, Venetians, and Turks. Once again finally independent in 1912, it immediately fell under the control of the most backward communist regime on the planet and only in the past decade has begun to shake off these shackles and try out its capitalist wings. We first visited Tirane, the current capital, dodging the manic traffic of people who have only recently acquired automobiles and are still learning the niceties of polite motoring. After a delightful lunch, we drove into the mountains to the old capital, Kruje, for a visit to the palace of Skenderbeg, legendary15th century champion of Albanian independence. Although he withstood the advances of the Ottoman Turks three times, he finally fell before them, and is poignantly symbolic of all of Albanian history—fierce nationalist independence quashed by invading forces.
The setting is truly magnificent. The palace and the Skenderberg Museum on the palace grounds cling to the rugged face of the limestone cliffs which we have followed all the way down the Dalmatian coast and which will continue on to and through Greece. Beautiful white limestone was thrust up from the seafloor of the Tethys Sea, precursor of the Mediterranean, where it was deposited during the very warm climate of the Cretaceous Period. They, like the Albanian people themselves, have resisted erosion by the forces of nature and today stand proud and tall.
This morning we began the first of our two days in Albania. The country, so newly emerged from its recent political and cultural isolation, is struggling mightily to find its sense of direction. This land has served as a stepping-stone for all of the great conquests which punctuate the history of the Mediterranean. As a stepping-stone, it has been trampled by a series of conquering peoples—Greeks, Romans, Venetians, and Turks. Once again finally independent in 1912, it immediately fell under the control of the most backward communist regime on the planet and only in the past decade has begun to shake off these shackles and try out its capitalist wings. We first visited Tirane, the current capital, dodging the manic traffic of people who have only recently acquired automobiles and are still learning the niceties of polite motoring. After a delightful lunch, we drove into the mountains to the old capital, Kruje, for a visit to the palace of Skenderbeg, legendary15th century champion of Albanian independence. Although he withstood the advances of the Ottoman Turks three times, he finally fell before them, and is poignantly symbolic of all of Albanian history—fierce nationalist independence quashed by invading forces.
The setting is truly magnificent. The palace and the Skenderberg Museum on the palace grounds cling to the rugged face of the limestone cliffs which we have followed all the way down the Dalmatian coast and which will continue on to and through Greece. Beautiful white limestone was thrust up from the seafloor of the Tethys Sea, precursor of the Mediterranean, where it was deposited during the very warm climate of the Cretaceous Period. They, like the Albanian people themselves, have resisted erosion by the forces of nature and today stand proud and tall.
