Day 2

After breakfast we took a drive to Kruja. It is a small, historical town high up in the mountain. It was the center of resistance against the Ottoman empire in the 15th century, which was led by the national hero of Albania – Skandenberg. There is a castle there, and a couple of museums. There is also a very attractive restored old market, a collection of shops with all kinds of handicrafts. When we got to Kruja, lots of streets were closed because the NATO group was visiting. Luckily, our driver Julian does contract work for the Albanian ministry of defense and has the ministry id, which allowed us to pass and park close to the castle. Kruja is also a center of Baktashism, a form of Sufi Islam popular in Albania. It’s a very liberal form of Islam, which does not prohibit drinking alcohol and doesn’t require women to cover up. After visiting the castle and the museums and shopping at the market, we drove about 30 minutes to a farm for lunch. The owner gave us a tour. There are many in ground bunkers left over from the war. He has about 8 or 10 on his property. In one he makes wine and rakia (a wine distillate similar to vodka). The bunker is at a constant temperature year round so is ideal for fermentation. He also had many hives for bees and about 140 goats. It was a very hot day (about 90), but we sat outside, drank home made rakia, red wine, and a yogurt drink; and ate lots of cheeses, byrek (pastry), cucumbers, tomatoes and olives, and then rice with very tough chicken and even tougher goat meat. Desert was also interesting – a sweet paste make of cornmeal, sugar and raisins, which apparently is traditional from communist times when they didn’t have much else. They did have an espresso machine in their outdoor kitchen so Al could have an espresso after the meal. In the evening, we went to see the oldest mosque in Tirana and walked around the central plaza that was closed yesterday. We have to add that during the course of the day we must have seen at least 10 weddings. September is apparently the most popular month for getting married in Albania.

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