Saturday, 13 October 2012

The sights of Tirana

One of the projects Piet is working on is located in Albania. Last week he had to go over to Tirana (the capital) for a meeting in the Albanian office of the company that is operating an exploration concession in the mountains. It was his second visit, and this time he had a morning off, so he and a colleague went exploring the sights of Tirana.
This was a rather disappointing experience, as there are hardly any historic buildings or other places of touristic interest. They wandered around for a few hours and spent most of their time enjoying the favourite Tirana pastime: having coffee on a roadside terrace. The city has a modern appearance, with a touch of the orient (chaotic traffic!), and at first sight is pleasant and safe. Our Albanian colleagues are very knowledgeable and a somewhat unruly bunch, but a lot of fun to work with. Next time Piet will hopefully have a change to visit the interior near historic Berat, where all the real (oil exploration) activity is happening.

Skanderbeg Square, with his statue and the National History Museum

Tabak Bridge, one of the very few old structures in Tirana

Modern Tirana, a typical trendy cafe

Et'hem Bey Mosque, build around 1800

Modern Tirana: a roadside kiosk selling newspapers

No comments:

Post a Comment