World Albania Tirana

Rumsky Safari through Africa and Beyond 2008-2009

Warding off the evil eye in Tirana Mar 7, 2009

3/7/09

Tirana wears its history on its sleeve. The main square is dominated by the national museum, with a huge revolutionary painting showing brave soldiers in battle. Reminiscent of the great architecture of Russia, elegant communist-style official buildings flank the square, with helmeted soldiers carved into their windows. One of these buildings lies flush next to a restored mosque, again reminiscent of the Ottoman regime. Because Hoxha, the Communist dictator, outlawed all religion, the place is rife with missionaries attempting to convert its citizens. Poor Albanians, they just can’t be left alone by foreigners. A brief review: they (the original settlers were actually Dardanians, as we learned later in Kosovo) have fought against and often were forced to assimilate with so many who have attempted to take over their land, including the Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Visogoths, Huns, Osogoths, Slavs, Serbs (a later extension of the Slavs), Ottomans, and Venetians, then during WWI Greeks again, Serbs again, French, Italians again, and Austro-Hungarians, and then during WWII the Italians again and the Germans, then more recently the Yugoslavs, and Russians. After being isolated from the rest of the world by Hoxha, their communist dictator, they are a people who are understandably wary but fascinated by outside forces. No wonder travellers see various amulets adorning the buildings, often stuffed animals, to ward off the “evil eye.” Travellers also see garbage, poorly managed pollution, and building waste cluttering what otherwise is a strikingly beautiful landscape. And of course, Hoxha’s ubiquitous bunkers or remnants thereof.

Albanians have also endured the recent immigration of thousands of Albanians primarily from Kosovo. In turn, many fled to Italy during times of trouble, most recently to escape the fighting in the 1990s as well as to seek a better life after losing their life savings in the pyramid scenes. In fact, the northern area lives by a code of honor and hospitality known as the kanun, which dictates that killings be avenged. One of the rules is that if a guest is killed (I hate it when that happens), the host must avenge his killing. Another rule is that if a father has no sons to pass on his property to, one of his daughters can take on the role of the male by dressing and acting like a male, but without being able to get married and have children (because of course, she is a “male”). By bringing this culture with them to Italy, apparently, the Albanians contributed to, if not founded, the notion of the mafia.