The area around Tirana has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. The oldest finds in the city come from Roman times: walls and a mosaic from a Roman villa from the 2nd or 3rd century that was converted into a church. In the 6th century, the Roman Emperor Justinian I had a fortress built, the walls of which can still be seen in the city centre today.
Tirana is the cultural, political and economic center of the centrally organized state Albania and is the seat of several institutions, organizations and parties. So there are the parliament and the country's government.
Tirana was first mentioned in Venetian documents in the present name form in the years 1372 and 1418. For the first time in 1431/32 the Ottomans did a registry of soils and residents. Consequently, there were 60 villages with around 1000 houses and 7300 residents in this region.
The Mullet originating local landowners Sulejman Pasha Bargjini built the Sylejman Pasha Mosque, a caravanserai (Han), a bakery and a hammam at its present location in 1614, and because of that deemed to be the city founder of Tirana.
Bicycle lanes are being set up on more and more streets. The Ecovolis bike rental system was launched in 2011. Bicycles are rented at several stations for a small fee.
The centre of the city of Tirana is clearly Skanderbeg Square, which is surrounded by the National Historical Museum, the Tirana International Hotel, the Palace of Culture, the Et'hem Bey Mosque and the clock tower behind it and the TID Tower, the building ensemble from the fascist era and the Bank of Albania.
Durrës was little to hardly developed in the field of tourism during the communist regime of Envar Hoxa, despite its proximity to the capital Tirana, which is only 30 kilometres away.
After the really interesting cave exploration in a side valley next to the road from Tirana to Elbasan, we finally wanted to visit the Petrela castle on the hilltop south of the river Erzen, about 500 meters above sea level.
Already at the beginning of our search for a secure and easy going camper route to the south, which is intended to show all-seasons camping sites or camper stops along Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece along the coast, we had found Hotel Baron in Tirana as a way to explore the capital Albania during a short stay before the traveler continues the way to the South (even for long term stay).
Some time ago, we had already published an article on the fortress of Kruja; now, within the part wise guided camper trip through Albania, Greece and Macedonia, we have got further impressions, which we gladly publish in another article, especially since the fortress of Kruja is such an historical sanctuary for the Albanian nation.
During our visit to the Skanderbeg Museum, the desire for more information about this fighter for independence and freedom as a ruler of the past had grown, surely affected by all the mythologies that still surrounds his personality.
During our tour through the city through Durres, we decided to take a stopover on the waterfront of Durres, also to consume our lunch packages.
As one of the two starting points of Via Egnatia on the Balkans and as a possible arrival point by ferry from Italy, the city of Durrës was always in the focus of our interest.
Whenever the name of Albania falls in talks, two theses emerge, which we can not share without contradiction, because of our experiences during the travels through the country: "mafia structures in politics and economy" and "everywhere bunkers".
Tirana, the capital of Albania, lies on the west side of Mount Dajti on the transition from the coastal plain to a hilly landscape in central Albania. To the coast of the Adriatic Sea at the port town of Durrës it is only about 30 km of air line.
After our visit to Durres we were driven to mountain town Kruja by passing Tirana where today a living museum reminds Albanian freedom fighter Skanderbeg and which increasingly ensures tourist interest from abroad.
After the visit of the Skanderbeg Museum which is inside the fortress of Kruja, a tour of the castle grounds and the local buildings should follow, in spite of the threatening dark sky, which was part wise looking like strong rain could appear, but we were lucky.