The City of Duress

There is no Internet in our hotel and I didn't want to venture out on my own to find an Internet cafe. I was actually warned that a single woman shouldn't go out on her own, so thanks Rod for posting this from my Blackberry email to you.

We flew into Tirana on Monday and saw the absolutely beautifully green mountains, hills, and valleys from the air (Albania's topography is three quarters mountainous). The airport, although not very big, is only three years old and is very nice. The Germans built it and will run it for a number of years before they give it to the Albanians. Upon arriving we were met by Mark Stoscher, whose camp ministry I am here to support, and Jen Hicks, a young adult daughter of a couple on our team. Jen attended Mark's bible school this past winter and came back a couple of weeks ago. Durres is on the Adriatic Sea and was formerly a major port for the Roman Empire in its heyday. The Roman trade route ran from Italy, across the Adriatic, to Durres (called something else back then) and continued onto Constantinople (now called Istanbul, but formerly the imperial capital during the Byzantine period). Back then the city's population was 80,000 and today the city and all its surrounding area is 630,000.

Today Durres still shows visible signs from their 40 year communist era. Most buildings are drab in color and are in need of repair - remnants of a time when private ownership and pride didn't exist. Not to say the city is void of color as there are splashs of color in billboards, store signage, outdoor restaurant furniture, etc. The city is surprisingly clean of trash, cars are small as in Europe, there is hardly any green landscaping, power lines are strung through the air and along the sides of buildings, and power isn't available 24/7 (we've only experienced one black-out which was in the middle of the night). Water isn't drinkable, at least to us Americans, so we drink bottled water but there's no problem eating salads and veggies washed in the water. Like in Europe, smoking is widespread. Mark told me laws are "suggestions" so although, for example, the driving age is 18 I'm told you see children driving who can barely see over the steering wheel. Also, there isn't any enforcement on the age which children can drink or buy cigarettes (in fact, children are on the streets selling cigarettes).

The weather is in the high 70s but it feels a whole lot hotter as it's pretty humid (yes, my hair is curling by itself). We are staying in a hotel which is very simple, clean, and a bit unique with rooms larger than the European standard. I'm staying in an oddly shaped room with four other women and we have our own bathroom. The bathroom floor and walls are beautifully tiled but the shower wouldn't be called a shower in the States. It's merely a 3' x 3k tiled area in the bathroom's corner with a slightly raised perimeter and a hand held faucet. We have hot water but you guessed it, when you shower, or should I say hose off, the entire bathroom gets wet. Toilet paper can't be flushed (what do you think that wastebasket next to the toilet is for) and of course, our bathroom contains a toilet and a bidet.

So far the food has been very good. Yesterday I had pizza for lunch (I know, not very adventuresome) which is very similar to the pizza found in Italy-very thin crust, small amount of tomato sauce, sparse toppings but so delicious. Last night I decided to have lamb since it's big here. We saw and smelled it cooking over a spit so I couldn't resist. It came with delicious sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, french fries, and a thick yogurt cucumber dip - all for $8. (By the way I could have ordered roasted lamb head but thought I'd play it safe). Albania's currency is the Lek which exchanges at 90 Leks to the dollar. So, basically when a menu says something costs 800 we translate that to $8.00.

Today the group visited the old city wall which dates back to 491 AD - like so many European cities the city was enclosed by high stone walls to protect them from their enemies. We also visited the ancient 2nd century amphitheater (a.k.a. coliseum) of which about half has been excavated. Here 18,000 spectators (as a comparison, the Roman Coliseum held 80,000) would amuse themselves by watching the fights of gladiators (many of whom were slaves) and animals. Christians were also martyred there at one point. It would never be allowed in the States but here we were able to roam throughout the amphitheater freely - through tunnels, climbing over original steps and seats, into tiny underground nooks and crannies - oh well, so much for preservation.

Our hotel is just a couple of blocks from the beach. Six story hotels line the long beach and look a bit like Cancun. The breeze is wonderfully cooling and roaming vendors sell barbecued corn, fried donuts, fruit, cigarettes, and suntan lotion. They don't bother you like Mexican vendors do so a quick 'yo', a shake of your finger, and an up and down nod of the head means no. The nod is so hard to remember because our yes nod means no here and visa versa. The saddest thing we saw on the beach and streets were the gypsy children who physically beg. "Yo" doesn't work with them as they will throw their arms around your waist and hold onto you to the point that you have to be aggressive and physically remove them from your body. Our group was walking down the main street last night and a little girl wrapped herself around a lady's leg and wouldn't let go even as our group member dragged her down the street as she tried to walk. Good thing Mark is with us and speaks Albanian but even he had to be very forceful. He explained that the gypsy children live in group homes and are sent out to beg for food and money. It's a trafficking scheme that some Christian groups are working to improve but it's a slow process.

Tomorrow we'll board a bus and take the six hour drive south to Erseke where the Crossroads Christian Camp is located. I hear the ride is one to be remembered - it's approximately 150 miles to Erseke but takes six hours if that gives you an idea of the driving conditions.