A few weeks ago, we went to a small town called Kruja. It's only about 45 minutes or so outside of Tirana proper; however, the traffic just getting through Tirana's center takes 30 minutes on most good days. We passed probably 50 or so furniture stores along this long strip of road outside of Kruja, and we kind of marveled at the fact that there were so many. We kind of came to the conclusion that, because Albania was under a Communist regime for so many decades, they don't really understand the idea of supply and demand.
Kruja is an ancient town that is located at the top of one of Albania's many mountains. We'd heard stories of castles and these beautiful wooden boxes that can be found there, but we didn't really know what to expect. There's a really beautiful hotel at the edge of town, called the "Panorama Hotel," and it houses a restaurant with a balcony that gives a spectacular view of the whole mountain side. Of course, due to our lack of planning these things ahead of time, we weren't actually able to get a seat on the balcony :). The restaurant did, however, have beautiful framed pictures of Kruja's "Old Market" from many decades before.
Kruja's Old Market is really the heart and soul of the town. In all honesty, it's only one long, cobblestone alley that's chock full of shops. We drove around, following the signs to the castle. There were tons of young, adolescent boys who kept flagging us down to "help" us find parking. I'm not sure about Albania's parking culture yet; however, previous experiences with this usually me that you pay someone not to break into your car while you park it on a public street. This is usually only a 100 Leke (1$) or so per day. We didn't go to the castle immediately, because the lovely antiques outside the shops were calling to me.
The first shop we entered was just incredible. Naturally, it was full of the wooden boxes we'd been told about. We had no idea what our friends meant, but I knew them when I saw them. They were Albania's version of the South's "hope chest" and all different sizes, ranging from two feet to about six feet long. Some were hand-painted, and others were hand-carved. See, I collect trunks and suitcases and the like; so these were even more enticing to me. The shop's proprietor had met other Embassy personnel and was quick to tell us that he offers free delivery to Tirana. What he told me about the chests was incredible. Most of them are a century or two old, and they were used (before the days of the regime) to hold a bride's wedding clothes. They range from $200-$500 U.S. Well, naturally, I want to get one; I just have to budget for it as soon as I can. All of the items in his store were really, really old and extremely well-priced. He didn't seem to be gouging them too much for the Americans. See, the secret is that the Albanians do not buy the antiques. They prefer modern furniture!!
I must have gone into every single shop in Kruja; in fact, I'm almost positive I did. The variation of styles, prices, and AGES!! of the products for sale were unbelievable. These people have literally dug up everything from rusted WWII guns and ammo to coins from the Ottoman (and probably even older) Empire. I saw U.S.S.R. war helmets, Nazi medals and patches, hundreds of old HAM radios, century old light fixtures from what must have been massive homes, old linens and hat boxes, national costumes from days gone by...you name it; we saw it. And it was all for sale.
The most beautiful things I think I saw were actual pieces of an old house that were for sale. This man had doors, wall panels, shutters, and--the most beautiful--a ceiling medallion. The pieces were all hand-painted; and they had all been taken from the same house. The sad part was that the pieces had all come from the shop owner's family home. He had pictures of what the house looked like....with the pieces all in them. He wanted about 1300 EURO for a set of two wall panel pieces. I couldn't afford them, of course; but I believe they were absolutely worth it.
We left the Old Market and climbed the path to the castle. The castle had been Albania's national hero, Skenderbeg's, fortress hundreds of years ago. We were able to go right up to it and see all of the ruins that remain. The view was gorgeous, the lack of guardrails of any kind terrifying. I don't do so well with heights; and in Albania, there are lots of heights...
It was a wonderful day trip that I'll not soon forget.
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