From llm275 at nyu.edu  Thu Jun 15 08:35:18 2006
From: llm275 at nyu.edu (Larissa L Mehmedovic)
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 08:35:18 -0400
Subject: [NYC-L] Three Positions With the National Democratic Institute
 in Kosova and Tirana
In-Reply-To: <4491287E.2080709@columbia.edu>
References: <4491287E.2080709@columbia.edu>
Message-ID: <d55ad1e8af1b.44911bc6@mail.nyu.edu>



----- Original Message -----
From: Erkanda <eb246 at columbia.edu>
Date: Thursday, June 15, 2006 5:29 am
Subject: [NYC-L] Three Positions With the National Democratic 
Institute in Kosova and Tirana

>          === NYC-L: New York City Discussion Forum ===
> 
> 
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____________________________________________________
NYC-L: A discussion and information list of the
Albanian community in the New York City Metro Area.
To post to the list: NYC-L at alb-net.com
For more information: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/nyc-l


From inahoxhazaloshnja at gmail.com  Thu Jun 15 12:00:34 2006
From: inahoxhazaloshnja at gmail.com (Ina Hoxha Zaloshnja)
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:00:34 -0500
Subject: [NYC-L] =?iso-8859-1?q?Njoftim_p=EBr_Mund=EBsi_Pun=EBsimi?=
In-Reply-To: <20060615072539.62256.qmail@web31901.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <20060615072539.62256.qmail@web31901.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <24fe24090606150900heaaac92kf0a6f33ca8d01c1e@mail.gmail.com>

Meqenese kjo eshte hera e pare qe shikoj nje njoftim te ketij lloji mendova
se ia vlen te shperndahet verdalle per ndonjenjeri te kualifikuar qe ka
deshire te kthehet ne memedhe.
Pershendetje,
Ina

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Enika Abazi <enika_abazi at yahoo.com>
Date: Jun 15, 2006 2:25 AM
  Do te donja te terhiqja vemendjen tuaj ne lidhje me mundesite per punesim
si dekan/e te Fakutetit te Edukimit ne Universitetin  e ri te Durresit.
Me poshte do te gjeni njoftimin e punesimit por iformacioni mund te merret
edhe ne
http://www.undp.org.al/dr-uni.html

Pershendetje
Enika Abazi, Ph.D.

Njoftim p?r Mund?si Pun?simi *Universiteti "Aleksand?r Moisiu" Durr?s
rishpall konkursin p?r Dekan/e t? Fakultetit t? Edukimit*

P?r arsye t? numrit t? pamjaftuesh?m t? kandidaturave t? paraqitura p?r
konkurrim, p?r postin e Dekanit/es t? Fakultetit t? Edukimit, Universiteti
"Aleksand?r Moisiu" Durr?s, njofton rihapjen e konkurrimit p?r k?t? vend
pune. Kandidat?t e interesuar jan? te ftuar t? paraqesin dosjen e aplikimit
t? tyre pran? Universitetit.
Kandidati/ja k?rkohet t? ket? grad?n Doktor i Shkencave n? deg?t e Edukimit.
T? ket? p?rvoj? m?simdh?nie n? shkoll?n e lart? dhe k?rkimin shkencor t?
mir?fillt?. T? njoh? dhe t? jet? familjar me sistemin e funksionimit t?
universiteteve per?ndimore dhe Kart?s s? Bolonj?s. Preferohen kandidat?t me
PhD nga universitete t? akredituara, q? kan? njohuri t? gjuh?s angleze n?
nivelin e p?rdorimit t? saj si gjuh? pune. Kandidati duhet t? ket? aft?si
menaxhuese n? fush?n akademike (m?simdh?nies dhe k?rkimit shkencor) dhe
vizion t? qart? p?r perspektiv?n e zhvillimit t? arsimit universitar
bashk?kohor. T? jet? i aft? t? garantoj? vler?simin, efikasitetin dhe
ekselenc?n e programeve q? ofron universiteti. Njohja e kurrikulave
bashk?kohore p?rb?n nj? avantazh.
*Procedura e Aplikimit:** *
Paketa e aplikantit duhet t? p?rfshij? nj? let?r interesimi (ku t?
p?rshkruhen shkurt kualifikimet), nj? CV t? fundit, kat?r letra rekomandimi
nga profesor? apo udh?heq?s shkencore t? kandidatit dhe t? pakt?n nj? nga
kat?r letrat t? jet? nga pun?dh?n?si i fundit (n?se ka nj? t? till?),
fotokopje t? diplom?s, ?ertifikat?s s? notave, d?shmive t? ndryshme, dhe
artikuj shkencor? te publikuar n? revista nd?rkomb?tare
profesionale/shkencore.

Kandidat?t e interesuar *q? ndodhen n? Shqip?ri* duhet te d?rgojn? n?p?rmjet
sh?rbimit postar (me porosi ose rekomande):
Universiteti "Aleksand?r Moisiu" Durr?s, Rruga e Currilave, Durres.
*Vetem kandidat?t q? aplikojne nga vendet e Evrop?s Per?ndimore, SHBA dhe
Kanada, dhe vende t? tjera t? bot?s* mund t'i d?rgojn? dokumentat e kerkuara
me an? t? e-mailit n? adres?n  *brain.gain.al at undp.org* <braingain at undp.org>
Nj? komision i posa?em do t? shqyrtoj? kandidaturat e paraqitura. Vet?m
finalistet do t? njoftohen p?r intervist?. Detajet teknike t? pun?simit si
edhe mb?shtetja nga UNDP do t? p?rcaktohen dhe diskutohen gjat? procesit t?
p?rzgjedhjes.
Konkurimi do t? q?ndroj? i hapur deri n? momentin e p?rzgjedhjes s?
kandidatit/es s? p?rshtat?shme




-- 
Ina Hoxha Zaloshnja
MA Candidate
International Development and Economics
Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
1740 Massachussetts Ave, NW,
Washington DC
c: 571-228-3013
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From ditaaa at yahoo.com  Tue Jun 20 19:38:10 2006
From: ditaaa at yahoo.com (Aferdita Hakaj)
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:38:10 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [NYC-L] Internships in Albania for students who live abroad
Message-ID: <20060620233810.10812.qmail@web52010.mail.yahoo.com>

For more info, check out:
   
  http://www.praktika-online.com/

 			
---------------------------------
Sneak preview the  all-new Yahoo.com. It's not radically different. Just radically better. 
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From ditaaa at yahoo.com  Thu Jun 22 23:38:48 2006
From: ditaaa at yahoo.com (Aferdita Hakaj)
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:38:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [NYC-L] Albanian Parade this Saturday, June 24th from 12-6pm
Message-ID: <20060623033848.26431.qmail@web52001.mail.yahoo.com>

  On June 24th, the Albanian American Women's Org 
( AAWO ) "Motrat Qiriazi" will represent Albania at 
the International Culture Parade. 

The event will take place on Ave of the Americas, 
from 35th St. to 56th St, from 12 P.M to 6 P.M. 

If you would like to participate by wearing a costume from your region please contact 212 244 8440. 

  Please forward this to your friends and family and lets get together and show NY our powerful and colorful culture, our costumes, music, and dance.


 				
---------------------------------
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on  Yahoo! Small Business. 
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From pirrorexhepi at yahoo.co.uk  Thu Jun 29 10:46:37 2006
From: pirrorexhepi at yahoo.co.uk (Pirro Rexhepi)
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:46:37 +0100 (BST)
Subject: [NYC-L] An Overdue Tribute Unveiled - a monument to Albania
Message-ID: <20060629144637.16058.qmail@web86808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>

The Holocaust memorial park in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn unvails a monument honoring Albania's role in saving all of its Jewish population during WWII and offering safe haven for other foreign Jewish refugees. 
   
  Article by JOSHUA YAFFA http://www.forward.com/articles/8050

 		
---------------------------------
 All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine
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From vxharra at hotmail.com  Thu Jun 29 11:27:03 2006
From: vxharra at hotmail.com (Valon Xharra)
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:27:03 +0000
Subject: [NYC-L] An Overdue Tribute Unveiled - a monument to Albania
In-Reply-To: <20060629144637.16058.qmail@web86808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <BAY114-F3856541C77F44B14B5F498A97C0@phx.gbl>

Interesant.
Mire qe nuk kane degju keta per bataljonin ballist "Skenderbeu".



>From: Pirro Rexhepi <pirrorexhepi at yahoo.co.uk>
>Reply-To: "Albanians in New York City Discussion Forum (New York City,USA)" 
><nyc-l at alb-net.com>
>To: alb-shkenca at alb-net.com, nyc-l at alb-net.com
>Subject: [NYC-L] An Overdue Tribute Unveiled - a monument to Albania
>Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:46:37 +0100 (BST)
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>The Holocaust memorial park in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn unvails a monument 
>honoring Albania's role in saving all of its Jewish population during WWII 
>and offering safe haven for other foreign Jewish refugees.
>
>   Article by JOSHUA YAFFA http://www.forward.com/articles/8050
>
>
>---------------------------------
>  All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and 
>ease of use." - PC Magazine


>____________________________________________________
>NYC-L: A discussion and information list of the
>Albanian community in the New York City Metro Area.
>To post to the list: NYC-L at alb-net.com
>For more information: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/nyc-l
>




From jeton at hotmail.com  Thu Jun 29 11:46:26 2006
From: jeton at hotmail.com (Jeton Ademaj)
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 11:46:26 -0400
Subject: [NYC-L] offensive NYTimes Travel article on Albania.
Message-ID: <BAY108-F3767624F4FE6C0A806269AB57C0@phx.gbl>

this is a Frugal Traveller article re: Albania with some noteworthy 
offenses...perhaps when this writer travels next to Greece and Turkey, he 
could solicit offensive comments about one country from residents of the 
other as well?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/travel/28frugaltraveler.html?pagewanted=all

July 9, 2006
Frugal Traveler
In Albania, a Capital Full of Contradictions
By MATT GROSS
"Albania kaput!" announced the lunatic on the streets of Tirana. I looked at 
my new friends, a pair of Serbian filmmakers and a Dutch backpacker I'd met 
in a cafe, and we tried to walk away. But his insanity was unavoidable, and 
soon we were a captive audience to his crackpot ramblings about Bill 
Clinton, Sept. 11 and the future of Albania. I'd been in Tirana less than 
four hours and, already, moments like these had ceased to faze me.

I had arrived in Albania hoping to discover an untrammeled paradise hidden 
in the Balkans. What I found instead was a deeply weird place: a 
majority-Muslim country where the mosques are mute but the miniskirts are 
loud, where horse carts share highways with Hummers, and where people shake 
their heads to mean yes ? except that sometimes they shake their heads to 
mean no.

Yes, Albania can make you shake your own head in confusion, but what can you 
expect after almost 50 postwar years of hermetic Communism and, more 
recently, a mania for pyramid schemes that plunged Europe's poorest nation 
into near-anarchy? In this stumbling nation, I was hoping that my Frugal 
Traveler budget might afford me more luxury than it had elsewhere.

People in neighboring Montenegro, Croatia and Italy, however, warned against 
such romantic notions. Albanians, they kept informing me, were criminals, 
corrupt and untrustworthy. But Tirana, it turns out, is quite lovable.

In fact, I'd given myself over to the country's refreshing craziness five 
minutes after crossing the border from Montenegro (entry visa: 10 euros, or 
$12.80, at $1.28 to the euro), when I saw a horse cart trotting down a 
half-paved highway, followed by a high-speed caravan of R.V.'s and 
motorcycles all flying the German flag.

I arrived by bus on a hot afternoon and was instantly struck by the amazing 
graphical flatness of the Italian colonial architecture, the epic ugliness 
of the Soviet-style architecture and the na?ve aspirations of the new 
glass-and-steel towers. They all had an energy I couldn't dismiss. Many 
apartment blocks had bright coats of city-subsidized paint, thanks to former 
mayor Edi Rama, an artist and now head of the opposition Socialist Party. 
Clumps of green and yellow, the boxy buildings looked like Tetris blocks 
that had fallen from the sky.

I soon found myself in the Block, as it is known, the center of Tirana life. 
Once reserved for the families of high-level Communist Party officials, 
today the quarter is full of boutiques, Italian restaurants (no one eats 
Albanian food here) and bar-cafes where Tiranans of all stripes nurse 
espressos from dawn till dusk. I quickly took to the Flex Cafe (Rruga 
Deshmoret e 4 Shkuritit), which became my home base for the next three days 
thanks to its modern d?cor, cheap drinks (topping out at 500 leks, or a 
little under $5, at 104 Albanian leks to the dollar) and free WiFi.

Flex is also a hub for the city's young elite, and within minutes I made 
friends with several filmmakers from Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, 
who were in town for a regional reconciliation workshop. One was documenting 
BBF, a television network where for 200 euros anybody can walk in off the 
street and shoot a music video; another had trained his camera on a nearby 
pedestrian bridge blocked by an armless man and rival gangs of child 
panhandlers.

But apart from the beggars, Tirana felt oddly safe and inviting. I walked 
home alone at night through utter darkness, afraid only that I would trip on 
the tattered sidewalk or get hissed at by a stray cat. And if Tirana's 
energy surprised me, its affordability met my every hope. Dinners at the 
nicest restaurants, like the Sky Club atop one of the "Twin Towers," cost 
less than $15 a person for dishes like hot yogurt soup and veal medallions, 
and my Grilled Fish Index rarely exceeded $30.

The only things that frustrated me were the meterless taxis (never pay more 
than 500 leks) and the accommodations. Hotels were few and expensive. I 
stayed at the centrally located Hotel Lugano (Rruga Mihal Duri, 34; 
355-4-222-023), which a friend of a friend had recommended. My simple 
air-conditioned box was 40 euros, about twice what you'd pay in a place like 
Phnom Penh.

Far more frustrating was Albania's refusal to resolve into a neat picture. 
Skyscrapers were going up while sidewalks disintegrated; the National Art 
Gallery displayed beautiful artwork, but rarely identified the socialist 
realist painters and sculptors. A cocktail at Flex could feel like the 
height of cosmopolitan cool ? until you had to contend with adorable but 
depressing street kids who would kiss your arm in hopes of a 50-lek coin. 
But when I saw another deranged man threatening buses with a brick ? and the 
even odder response by passersby to brandish their shoes like weapons ? I 
knew it was time to leave.

So I checked out of the Lugano, hailed a taxi and uttered two words to the 
driver: "autobus" and "Gjirokastra." The bus is the cheapest (but not 
easiest) way to get to the southern city of Gjirokastra, which raised two of 
Albania's most famous ? and infamous ? citizens: the novelist Ismail Kadare 
and Enver Hoxha, the dictator who ruled Albania from 1944 until his death in 
1985.

Six and a half hours later, I stepped off the bus, paid my 800 leks and 
hoped that I would find the key to understanding Albania.

Gjirokastra is imposing, with an enormous 19th-century castle, towering 
slate-roofed houses and cobblestone streets so steep that every walk is an 
exercise in masochism. Luckily, the people were as friendly and as open as 
they'd been in Tirana. That first night, I had a warm conversation in 
Italian with Zini, an 80-year-old man playing dominoes with his pals near a 
mosque, and befriended 15-year-old Emi, a waiter at Festivali, one of just a 
handful of restaurants in the old town (try the veal tongue). Best of all, 
dinner here never came out to more than $10.

Even my accommodations were perfect: I checked into the Hotel Kalemi (Lagjia 
Palorto, 355-84-63724, hotelkalemi.tripod.com ), a painstakingly restored 
house with intricate carved-wood ceilings (one is 200 years old) and 
spectacular views of the old city and the entire Drinos valley. It cost 
4,000 leks a night, a bargain for a place this nice. (I found it in the 
smartly written "Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide.")

But I wanted more than good food and clean sheets. I wanted to grasp the two 
themes that seemed to govern 20th-century Albania: the intellectual, 
cosmopolitan strain exemplified by Kadare, and the violent and repressive 
tendencies fostered by Hoxha. Unfortunately, neither Kadare's boyhood home, 
which burned down in 1999, nor Hoxha's house, which also burned but was 
rebuilt and is now an Ethnographic Museum (entry, 200 leks), provided any 
insight into a place designated a "museum-city" by Unesco.

Stepping back further in time, I walked through the citadel that dominates 
the town. Dating back at least to the sixth century, it's a gloomily 
fascinating structure to explore, with soaring archways and stairs that lead 
down into cool, damp grottoes (one of which is a bar). But here, too, a 
visitor is left in the dark. Who built this place? What was the prison for? 
Is the American jet on display really a spy plane that crashed in 1957? The 
answers were found only in my guidebook ? not exactly a fulfilling tourist 
moment.

After five days, I left Albania unsure of what I was leaving behind. I'd 
tried to reconcile the country's contradictions ? its surreal street scenes 
and thirst for civility; its violent legacy and remarkable hospitality ? and 
I'd failed. As I made my way toward Greece, after dropping by the beach town 
of Saranda and the ancient ruins at Butrint, my mind was full of gnawing 
questions. I guess I'll have to return.

Next stop: Kefalonia, Greece, then to Turkey.

Have you been to Greece or Turkey? Share your tips with the Frugal Traveler. 
| Read comments.




From vxz105 at psu.edu  Thu Jun 29 14:54:03 2006
From: vxz105 at psu.edu (Valbona Zylo)
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:54:03 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [NYC-L] offensive NYTimes Travel article on Albania.
Message-ID: <200606291854.OAA17999@webmail17.cac.psu.edu>

I, too, found Gross's article filled with offensive comments. What is more is
that his view is so superficial and ignorant that, unfortunately, might not
invite those that might be interested in travelling to Albania for the first
time.

I am going to Tirana in a couple of weeks, after 11 years of not visting my
hometown, and I AM SURE it will be a very authentic and magical experience. 

Faleminderit Jeton per artikullin.

Valbona

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 11:46:26 +0000, "Jeton Ademaj" wrote:

>           === NYC-L: New York City Discussion Forum ===
> 
> this is a Frugal Traveller article re: Albania with some noteworthy 
> offenses...perhaps when this writer travels next to Greece and Turkey, he 
> could solicit offensive comments about one country from residents of the 
> other as well?
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/travel/28frugaltraveler.html?pagewanted=all
> 
> July 9, 2006
> Frugal Traveler
> In Albania, a Capital Full of Contradictions
> By MATT GROSS
> "Albania kaput!" announced the lunatic on the streets of Tirana. I looked at 
> my new friends, a pair of Serbian filmmakers and a Dutch backpacker I'd met 
> in a cafe, and we tried to walk away. But his insanity was unavoidable, and 
> soon we were a captive audience to his crackpot ramblings about Bill 
> Clinton, Sept. 11 and the future of Albania. I'd been in Tirana less than 
> four hours and, already, moments like these had ceased to faze me.
> 
> I had arrived in Albania hoping to discover an untrammeled paradise hidden 
> in the Balkans. What I found instead was a deeply weird place: a 
> majority-Muslim country where the mosques are mute but the miniskirts are 
> loud, where horse carts share highways with Hummers, and where people shake 
> their heads to mean yes ? except that sometimes they shake their heads to 
> mean no.
> 
> Yes, Albania can make you shake your own head in confusion, but what can you 
> expect after almost 50 postwar years of hermetic Communism and, more 
> recently, a mania for pyramid schemes that plunged Europe's poorest nation 
> into near-anarchy? In this stumbling nation, I was hoping that my Frugal 
> Traveler budget might afford me more luxury than it had elsewhere.
> 
> People in neighboring Montenegro, Croatia and Italy, however, warned against 
> such romantic notions. Albanians, they kept informing me, were criminals, 
> corrupt and untrustworthy. But Tirana, it turns out, is quite lovable.
> 
> In fact, I'd given myself over to the country's refreshing craziness five 
> minutes after crossing the border from Montenegro (entry visa: 10 euros, or 
> $12.80, at $1.28 to the euro), when I saw a horse cart trotting down a 
> half-paved highway, followed by a high-speed caravan of R.V.'s and 
> motorcycles all flying the German flag.
> 
> I arrived by bus on a hot afternoon and was instantly struck by the amazing 
> graphical flatness of the Italian colonial architecture, the epic ugliness 
> of the Soviet-style architecture and the na?ve aspirations of the new 
> glass-and-steel towers. They all had an energy I couldn't dismiss. Many 
> apartment blocks had bright coats of city-subsidized paint, thanks to former 
> mayor Edi Rama, an artist and now head of the opposition Socialist Party. 
> Clumps of green and yellow, the boxy buildings looked like Tetris blocks 
> that had fallen from the sky.
> 
> I soon found myself in the Block, as it is known, the center of Tirana life. 
> Once reserved for the families of high-level Communist Party officials, 
> today the quarter is full of boutiques, Italian restaurants (no one eats 
> Albanian food here) and bar-cafes where Tiranans of all stripes nurse 
> espressos from dawn till dusk. I quickly took to the Flex Cafe (Rruga 
> Deshmoret e 4 Shkuritit), which became my home base for the next three days 
> thanks to its modern d?cor, cheap drinks (topping out at 500 leks, or a 
> little under $5, at 104 Albanian leks to the dollar) and free WiFi.
> 
> Flex is also a hub for the city's young elite, and within minutes I made 
> friends with several filmmakers from Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, 
> who were in town for a regional reconciliation workshop. One was documenting 
> BBF, a television network where for 200 euros anybody can walk in off the 
> street and shoot a music video; another had trained his camera on a nearby 
> pedestrian bridge blocked by an armless man and rival gangs of child 
> panhandlers.
> 
> But apart from the beggars, Tirana felt oddly safe and inviting. I walked 
> home alone at night through utter darkness, afraid only that I would trip on 
> the tattered sidewalk or get hissed at by a stray cat. And if Tirana's 
> energy surprised me, its affordability met my every hope. Dinners at the 
> nicest restaurants, like the Sky Club atop one of the "Twin Towers," cost 
> less than $15 a person for dishes like hot yogurt soup and veal medallions, 
> and my Grilled Fish Index rarely exceeded $30.
> 
> The only things that frustrated me were the meterless taxis (never pay more 
> than 500 leks) and the accommodations. Hotels were few and expensive. I 
> stayed at the centrally located Hotel Lugano (Rruga Mihal Duri, 34; 
> 355-4-222-023), which a friend of a friend had recommended. My simple 
> air-conditioned box was 40 euros, about twice what you'd pay in a place like 
> Phnom Penh.
> 
> Far more frustrating was Albania's refusal to resolve into a neat picture. 
> Skyscrapers were going up while sidewalks disintegrated; the National Art 
> Gallery displayed beautiful artwork, but rarely identified the socialist 
> realist painters and sculptors. A cocktail at Flex could feel like the 
> height of cosmopolitan cool ? until you had to contend with adorable but 
> depressing street kids who would kiss your arm in hopes of a 50-lek coin. 
> But when I saw another deranged man threatening buses with a brick ? and the 
> even odder response by passersby to brandish their shoes like weapons ? I 
> knew it was time to leave.
> 
> So I checked out of the Lugano, hailed a taxi and uttered two words to the 
> driver: "autobus" and "Gjirokastra." The bus is the cheapest (but not 
> easiest) way to get to the southern city of Gjirokastra, which raised two of 
> Albania's most famous ? and infamous ? citizens: the novelist Ismail Kadare 
> and Enver Hoxha, the dictator who ruled Albania from 1944 until his death in 
> 1985.
> 
> Six and a half hours later, I stepped off the bus, paid my 800 leks and 
> hoped that I would find the key to understanding Albania.
> 
> Gjirokastra is imposing, with an enormous 19th-century castle, towering 
> slate-roofed houses and cobblestone streets so steep that every walk is an 
> exercise in masochism. Luckily, the people were as friendly and as open as 
> they'd been in Tirana. That first night, I had a warm conversation in 
> Italian with Zini, an 80-year-old man playing dominoes with his pals near a 
> mosque, and befriended 15-year-old Emi, a waiter at Festivali, one of just a 
> handful of restaurants in the old town (try the veal tongue). Best of all, 
> dinner here never came out to more than $10.
> 
> Even my accommodations were perfect: I checked into the Hotel Kalemi (Lagjia 
> Palorto, 355-84-63724, hotelkalemi.tripod.com ), a painstakingly restored 
> house with intricate carved-wood ceilings (one is 200 years old) and 
> spectacular views of the old city and the entire Drinos valley. It cost 
> 4,000 leks a night, a bargain for a place this nice. (I found it in the 
> smartly written "Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide.")
> 
> But I wanted more than good food and clean sheets. I wanted to grasp the two 
> themes that seemed to govern 20th-century Albania: the intellectual, 
> cosmopolitan strain exemplified by Kadare, and the violent and repressive 
> tendencies fostered by Hoxha. Unfortunately, neither Kadare's boyhood home, 
> which burned down in 1999, nor Hoxha's house, which also burned but was 
> rebuilt and is now an Ethnographic Museum (entry, 200 leks), provided any 
> insight into a place designated a "museum-city" by Unesco.
> 
> Stepping back further in time, I walked through the citadel that dominates 
> the town. Dating back at least to the sixth century, it's a gloomily 
> fascinating structure to explore, with soaring archways and stairs that lead 
> down into cool, damp grottoes (one of which is a bar). But here, too, a 
> visitor is left in the dark. Who built this place? What was the prison for? 
> Is the American jet on display really a spy plane that crashed in 1957? The 
> answers were found only in my guidebook ? not exactly a fulfilling tourist 
> moment.
> 
> After five days, I left Albania unsure of what I was leaving behind. I'd 
> tried to reconcile the country's contradictions ? its surreal street scenes 
> and thirst for civility; its violent legacy and remarkable hospitality ? and 
> I'd failed. As I made my way toward Greece, after dropping by the beach town 
> of Saranda and the ancient ruins at Butrint, my mind was full of gnawing 
> questions. I guess I'll have to return.
> 
> Next stop: Kefalonia, Greece, then to Turkey.
> 
> Have you been to Greece or Turkey? Share your tips with the Frugal Traveler. 
> | Read comments.
> 
> 
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