Portuguese journalist: What I liked in Tirana

Público, the Portuguese daily national newspaper has recently published an article about Tirana and Albania in general on the travel section. Sousa Ribeiro is the travel journalist who visited the capital city of Tirana and some other cities in Albania. The title of the article is: “Albania, this country is not for old people”, because, with about 20% of the population between the ages of 15 and 24, this Balkan nation is one of the youngest in Europe.

His first visit in Tirana what he saw and liked:

In the middle of the square, on a lawn and shining in the sun, is the equestrian statue of Skanderberg, the national hero. The statue of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderberg was erected in the center of Tirana in 1968 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of this military commander who became a myth, while another one, built 20 years later, promised to immortalize Enver Hoxha - no one at that time He imagined that, only three years later, he would be overthrown by the students and the people, leaving Skanderberg to his solitude.

The country that is famous for religious tolerance

Over the Albanian hero's helmet is the minaret of the Et'hem Bei mosque, built between 1798 and 1812, small and elegant and one of the oldest structures in the city, as it was spared during the atheistic campaign at the end of the years 1960 due to its status as a cultural monument. Nowadays, Tirana, the heart of Albania, the main economic, social and cultural center of the country, is also proud of being a tolerant city - you just have to go to Rruga e Kavajes, which leaves from the square with its chaotic traffic, to discover, sooner, a mosque, a Catholic church and another protestant, all very close and led by men who foster dialogue.
Albania, with a Muslim population around 60%, was the first European country visited by Pope Francis and following the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the Albanian prime minister invited all religious leaders to express their condolences to the French government - at that time they all laid a flower and then walked together, like good friends, through the streets of the French capital.

Explore Tirana’s attractions in short walking distance

Along the Murat Toptani, a pedestrian street, the majority of young people (according to the United Nations, 19% of the population is between 15 and 24 years old, the highest percentage in all of Europe). Some ride on bicycles, others skate, others still walk along the tree-lined artery. To my right, with its walls rising to six meters, I discover the Fortress of Justinian, all that remains of a Byzantine-era castle, and a little further on the corner of the Rruga “President George Bush” and the River Lana , a beautiful and well preserved stone bridge dating back to the 19th century, the Ura e  Tabakëve (Tanners Bridge), which once connected Tirana to the highlands to the east.

Blloku-the fashionable area of Tirana

Step onto the other bank of the Lana and enter into Blloku, a fashionable area full of bars and restaurants where the youth of Tirana live with some relief but whose entry was barred until 1991. Until then, Blloku was an area reserved for the celebrations of the Communist elite and even today the security guards guard the ancient residence of Enver Hoxha, situated within walking distance.

The Pyramid, a marble and glass structure, once the old Enver Hoxha museum and designed by the dictator's daughter and son-in-law - none of them imagined that it would later become a nightclub and a room of conferences before being completely neglected - and there are no plans to destroy it and so little to renew it.

See full article: http://fugas.publico.pt/Viagens/376183_albania-este-pais-nao-e-para-velhos?pagina=-1