PART 1, NORTHERN ALBANIA
Hotel Rozafa, Shkodër
1987: The Russian vine that smothered Hotel Rozafa….
2019: …has been removed and the whole building has been refurbished.
central square, Shkodër
1987: The Five Heroes of Vig in Shkodër’s central square…
2019: ….have been replaced by an ornamental fountain.
Rruga Kolë Idromeno, Shkodër
1987: The villas along Rruga Kole Idromeno have been …
2019: …restored and the street is now at the heart of Shkodër's vibrant café culture.
Rozafa Castle, Shkodër
1987: The view south across the plain and the River Drin had a hallucinatory intensity.
2019: It’s still one of my favourite views in Albania.
Shkodër from Rozafa Castle
1987: Shkodër had been a compact settlement, surrounded by fields.
2019: Now much of the agricultural land has been taken up by new apartment blocks.
Laç (1)
1987: The once mighty phosphate fertiliser plant at Laç has been abandoned.
2019: Only its chimneys are still standing.
Laç (2)
1987: Most of the metal has been has been taken for scrap…
2019: ...leaving only brickwork.
Krujë
1987: Smoke from the concrete works in the valley
has been cleaned up...
2018: …but trees and new buildings block the view.
Krujë castle
1987: Krujë’s distinctive mediaeval tower and communist-era museum haven’t changed….
2018. …but there’s new building along the approach road where the bazaar has been extended.
Hotel Adriatiku, Durrës (1)
1987: Hotel Adriatiku’s original Stalinist rigour…..
2017: …has been compromised by lift shafts and an extra storey.
Hotel Adriatiku, Durrës (2)
1987: The Adriataku's Corinthian columns and marble floors have been replaced by...
2017: ..a glitzy lounge and an extended sun terrace.
Durrës from the castle
1987: Durrës was a low-rise city. The Bashkia on the left, one of its largest buildings, ….
2017: …is dwarfed by apartment blocks that have transformed the city skyline.
Amphitheatre, Durrës
1987: Houses built on the southern side of the amphitheatre…
2017: …are overlooked by new developments. Xhamia e Fatihut to the right has a new minaret.
Rruga e Epikadeve, Durrës
1987: The road to the Amphitheatre had been transformed.
2017: Now asphalted and lined with apartments, it had been absorbed into the new city.
Bulevardi Dyrrah, Durrës
1987: Locals mingle outside an elegant 1930s corner block…
2017: … that has hardly changed. There’s even washing on the balcony.
Rruga Antipatrea, Berat
1987: The Hoxha slogan hads been removed and the road layout changed …
2018: …but the old apartment blocks were still standing.
Sheshi Teodor Muzaka, Berat (1)
1987: The tableau commemorating the founding of the
Anti-Fascist National Liberation Committee has been pulled down...
2018: …but the old cinema is still there.
The Orthodox cathedral opened in 2014.
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Sheshi Teodor Muzaka, Berat (2)
1987: The neo-classical villa on the right had been Berat's Communist Party headquarters.
2018: It was demolished when the old regime fell. The city's new Prefecture was built nearby.
Sheshi Teodor Muzaka, Berat (3)
1987: Closed during the atheist campaigns in 1967...
2018: Berat’s Lead Mosque has been restored and is open for worship.
Rruga Antipatrea, Berat
1987: The ancient buses have been replaced by modern coaches...
2018: ... but the housing block on the corner is instantly recognisable.
Bulevardi Republika, Berat
1987: You would have thought that something as obvious as a row of arches would be easy to find. Not so.
2018: A combination of sun umbrellas, a new roof and a metal trellis had done a good job disguising them. The two smaller arches had been turned into tiny cafés.
Berat Castle (1)
1987: Apart from the LAVDI PPSH slogan, the castle entrance…
2018: … is much as it had been in 1987.
Berat Castle (2)
1987: A Chinese truck parked by the castle gates was delivering wood.
2018: Now, workmen were setting out a new approach road. Kerbstones were already in place.
lapidar, Berat Castle
1987: This lapidar outside the castle gates...
2018: …continues to be a reminder of the old regime.