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Albania
Albania
Bec2004-09-15 15:50:14
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Shkodra
The road from Ulcinj was so terrible that the minibus went at a walking pace in the worst parts. Eventually it dropped me off right in front of the Rozafa Hotel on Rruga Marin Barleti adjacent to the Five Hero Plaza which is the centre of Shkodra.
I had heard so many bad stories in Belgrade about the high crime rate in Albania and Kosovo that I did feel some apprehension to be on my own on the dusty deserted street at 5 PM. The lobby of the Rozafa was also empty but a clerk showed up after a while. There was no ATM and they did not accept credit cards nor traveller's cheques but he showed me where I would find money changers in an alley nearby.
There were three of them, doing business out of the trunk of their cars. No competition, their rates were all the same, 139 Leke per Euro. Back in the hotel, I got a room with shared bathroom for the equivalent of 2.30 $US.
The next morning I felt better and laughed at the apprehension I had felt the day before. I realised that I should have taken into account the traditional Serb prejudice against Albanians in Kosovo to discount the bad stories I had heard in Belgrade. Severe prejudice against weaker minorities often serves as moral justification for the bad treatment meted them. The Turks do the same with the Kurds!
Across the street from the Rozafa was a nice restaurant in a pleasant shaded park and next to it, this modern, Turkish style, Sheik Zamil Abdullah al-Zamil Mosque completed in 1995.
Albania's economy is growing but it is coming out of a deep pit and has a long way to go as you can see at a glance from the lack of activity on this important street connecting the Five Hero Plaza to the Rozafa Fortress three km away.
Shkodra was depressingly empty during the day but people came out for a stroll on Bulevardi 13 Dhjetori near the city centre when the sun went down.
A few cafes with terraces, street vendors selling
...
See photographs from:
Albania Gallery
