Day 2: SHKODER

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Luggage has yet to arrive....

It turned out to be a beautiful day driving up north to Shkoder .

I had heard prior to my trip not to travel North in Albania, but that was a misjudged statement because not only was it beautiful countrysides, but all of the people were so helpful and nice. I do not speak Albanian, and it is very comforting to know that most Albanians speak English to a certain extent. Most of the photos are of the country drive between Tirana and Shkoder (took approx 2 hours).

We picked up Katarina, the Head of Antiquities for Greece this morning and drove to Shkoder to meet with more archaeologists and tourism directors. Here we discussed the issues facing not only Albania but also Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, and Croatia (basically the coastline countries of the Western Balkans). My dumb American self could hardly locate these countries on a map before this trip. After today, I feel very well informed about the dynamics of their politics, laws, tourism and coastline programs for conservation. What a neat group to listen to!

The meeting was held at the Grand Hotel in Shkoder, and grand it was. Katarina and I sat at the cafe and had a Cappuccino and an espresso and waited for the group from Montenegro to arrive. This would be their first annual meeting with all of the coastal countries of the Western Balkans. As a group they are trying to raise awareness about the beautiful country to see (to increase tourism to the Balkan countries) as well as keep their historic territories preserved. Currently in Albania, there are some laws to protect historic sites BUT those laws are not implemented. Fisherman and people are looting ancient shipwrecks and destroying these well preserved sites. Meanwhile archaeologists are fighting to keep these sites together, scanned, surveyed, photographed, and mapped but the general public (especially divers) are not letting them. Most Albanians do not know that it is illegal to loot historic property and sell the artifacts to other countries, but it happens frequently. Unfortunately the law that upholds this is not enforced, which means even if I stole an ancient artifact from a sunken ship on the Albanian coast and took it home with me to the US, no one will stop me. There are no authorities disciplining these rules that have been put in place. Just think about how many precious artifacts have already been lost?!

The general concensus from the group is that if people do steal from the wrecks, just report it to the historical societies so that at least they know there is an exsistence of certain pieces. For most items, they do not care if you take it, but they need you to report that you're taking it home. Plus technically it is property of the State, so it should be conserved in a museum for all to see. Currently there is not a museum set up for the underwater archeology, but Albania is looking for funding to help make this a reality.

The drive back to Tirana was at sunset. Another beautiful view of the north Albanian countryside. Still jetlagged, I'm heading to bed - hopeful for a good nights sleep to set me on the right path tomorrow.

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