Tirana

Wed. 5-12-10-- TIRANA

Last night at 4 or 5 AM I think, I heard the Muslim call to prayer from the mosque… Very strange, at first I thought I might be imagining it.

Today was a lovely day. The air was warm and most, but with enough cool breeze and clouds most of the day, though when we explored the city on foot it was a bit warm. Lots of walking!

Perhaps I shall tell you a bit about the city. Tirana is often loud and bustling—the cars do not wait for pedestrians, unless they fear one might dent their car. I think I’ve heard there are two parts: Old Tirana and New Tirana. Old Tirana shows its age and reflects its former troubled times—buildings that are colorful and vibrant, but crumbling with decay in parts. Flower gardens often showing out over the many balconies, with clothes hanging out on the lines.

Eva’s apartment building is full of potholes and dips in the stairs, even though the inside of her home is beautiful. There are hens and a turkey and dogs and a building with a crumbling clay shingle roof below us.

Since after communism fell, the bottom stories of so many buildings have been made into shops, for clothes and almost everything else. There are many street vendors (and a few beggars) and the street is full of smells—people, vegetables, smoke (from cooking and cigarettes), roasted things, and every imaginable food smell and perfumes. So overwhelming to my senses it almost makes me nauseous. ;)