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The bus headed north from the city of Tirana to Shkodra.
Shkodra is one of the oldest cities in Europe and is a two hour drive from Tirana.
We arrived into Shkodra and checked in to the Tradita G&T (which apparently has nothing to do with alcohol!). As the name suggests the hotel was built over 300 years ago in a traditional Albanian style. My room was very small and cosy, with an iron bedstead and wooden shutters with intricate carvings. Myself and the rest of the tour group dumped our bags in our rooms and headed off with our guide Iwan to explore the town.
Like many Eastern European cities Shkodra's centre is pedestrianised and is lined with bars, restaurants and cafes on either side, which allow you to simply sit and watch the world go by. We wandered the cobbled streets before taking in the Ebu Becker Mosque and the statue of Mother Theresa, which stands opposite. Most Albanian towns will have a statue of Mother Theresa, quite possibly one of the most famous Albanians of modern time. Most towns will also try and claim that there town or city was the town or city in which she was born. However, it is believed that she was actually born in Skopje, which is now in Macedonia.
Our walking tour continued to the The National Museum of Photography Marubi, which is Albania's only museum dedicated entirely to photography. It houses a vast collection of 500,294 photographs dating back from 1858 when the first images in Albania were recorded. The museum is a memorial to the famous Marubi dynasty and its founder, Pietro Marubbi who arrived in Shkodër in 1856. In 1858, he decided to move outside of his studio and he began photographing political events of the time. Marubi took on two brothers as apprentices in order to continue his work in the studio. Mati Kodheli (who died shortly after) and Mikel who began working for Marubi at the age of 15. Mikel or Kel took on Marubi's surname in honour of the great master.
After master Marubi’s death, Kel inherited the studio and completely transformed it. He photographed a number of famous faces from the time as well as taking photographs of local people wearing national costumes, pictures from town and country life, landscapes and other aspects of Albania of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. He became one of the leading European figures for photography and he captured the most important Albanian events for nearly 55 years.
The museum shows a large number of his photographs as well as his masters. It also shows images from his sons who followed him into the family business. Not only was it fascinating to see the photographs but it was also a great way to learn about Albania's history.
After the museum we stopped for a drink at one of the many bars before heading back to the hotel.
That night we were treated to a traditional feast at the hotel. There were roasted vegetables, homemade bread, salad, melted cheese and various meats. De-licious.
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