Durres-Port of Call

You know, sometimes the most interesting sights are in your own backyard! Take Durres, it is about 35-40 minutes away (when Mike drives!)on a two lane highway, directly west of Tirane. I wanted to see the 2200 year old Roman Amphitheater and some of the other historical sites in Albania's largest port city. This trip would also allow Mike the opportunity to do a spot check of the TIMS project at the customs/border office at the ferry terminal. So "roadtrip"; some fun and some work (not too much) and the beach!

The weather today was very stormy with high winds and typical winter rain fall(read horizontal) in the Pacific Northwest. Yep, the Adriatic had an attitude today and we were driving right into the rain and wind. First stop, the industrial port of Durres; large containers; ocean bound freighters; and really big stuff(I mean BIG stuff)all over the place. As we enter the fishing dock area, Mike throws out, "hey, I spy my next project, a little fixer-upper" pointing to a grounded fishing trawler. Now, being a guy, and having watched each episode of "Home Improvement" I have my moments too, but wow, even from the front this boat looks like it was launched with the Titanic!

We walked along the pier past the anchored fishing boats and several smaller freighters and one large ferry boat. The water is really choppy with white caps crowning them. The gulls are even huddled on the ground between the piers and the two of us are still looking at Mike's "fixer-upper".

Next stop is the ferry terminal to check out how the TIMS system(part of border liberalization process) is functioning. Mike speaks with the supervisor about how well it is working for them. It appears to be a positive response and Mike is happy with his abbreviated conversation and the response he has received.

Walking out of the terminal in the direction of the Adriatic Sea, I see the next ferry to Bari, Italy.
Now, bearing in mind I am not a weather forecaster, however, with the conditions experienced so far today; ferry travel across this body of water is the last thing I would want to do! In addition to ferry boats to Bari,there are ferry boats that leave Durres for Trieste, Italy on a daily basis. In the peak tourist season, it is not unusual for this customs/border station to process 12-15,000 people in a four hour time frame.

Next stop downtown Durres and our quest for signs/remnants of Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman Turk civilizations. The strategic value of Durres, with its' excellent harbor was recognized early on by the Romans in their drive to conquer the Illyrians. As Rome fragmented and was divided East and West, the Byzantine Empire established control; this was followed by the Venetian State expansion into the Adriatic-Ionian Seas and finally by the Ottoman Turks. While at the ferry terminal I was able to look at an aerial photo of the Durres Harbor. It has a large jetty that protects a significant part of the harbor and at the North end a natural land projection that affords some protection from ocean currents.

Wow, Durres is beautiful. It is clean and vibrant with many 15 plus story condominium towers and broad main streets that are without potholes. The shops along the boulevards are inviting(Mike would score a "salad spinner" at one of these shops!), nice displays and well lit. As we drive through the torrential downfall we drive past old Turkish Garrison Walls and the Grand Mosque and abruptly we are in front of 5th Century Byzantine ruins of a "Forum".
This is a quick, jump out take photo and back in the car; Mike holds umbrella I shoot photo. As we drive on we realize that we may have "lost" the Roman Amphitheater; unmanlike we take out the map(yep, I can read one) and discover we had driven past the Amphitheater(how do you miss a 10,000 seat Roman Arena??). Turning around we discover that nice large brown, easy to read signs direct us to the Amphitheater. We find the site behind some large businesses off the main boulevard(just like the map showed us we could). To get up to the top of the Amphitheater we walk past the 15th Century Garrison/Fort walls constructed by the Ottoman Turks.

I have had the opportunity to visit the Roman Amphitheater in Verona, Italy; the Roman Amphitheater in Italica (Seville), Spain: and Mike has seen the Roman Coliseum, and the Amphitheater in Verona. The conversation focuses on the engineering and construction capacity of the ancient Romans; they built cities with sewers, running water and paved streets, when they weren't "busy" conquering the rest of the known world at that time.



As we walk around the Amphitheater, I notice that it is heavily damaged and has probably suffered theft of materials by succeeding conquerers. It was not unusual for new rulers to strip the materials from the structures built by previous rulers to assist in building new edifices to display their power and fortune. The excavation/archealogical work on the Amphitheater is being led by a team from the University of Parma, Italy.

I find a real "fixer-upper" perched at the top of the hill overlooking the Amphitheater and the town of Durres.
Just below the white wall of the house is the walkway around the Amphitheater; I wonder, a little wine, a warm spring night, cool breeze, little moonlight...could you hear the roar of the crowd from the seats below?

The walk around the Amphitheater has brought us to a gelatto cafe. We have no problem agreeing on a stop to taste our favorite flavors. One of the better decisions of the day.

Around the corner we stop at the nicest(read Williams & Sonoma nice) Italian kitchen/accessories store...in we go and out we come with a salad spinner!! All this walking and shopping has made us hungry, fortunately we asked the store manager for a great restuarant and did she deliver! Down to the harbor where we find a Venetian "guard tower" across from the restuarant, with the Turkish Garrison wall behind it.

Finally, we arrive at the restaurant and get a view table on the covered veranda(I think third floor). Mike opts for frutti du mare rissotto and a baked shrimp dish; to avoid contamination, I order pumpkin ravioli in an eggplant-panchetta sauce and chicken breasts in sweet peas. The food is fantastic, the beer is icy cold and the service is top-notch; sorry our friend Hector missed this trip as this may be the best food yet in Albania. A definite thumbs up and we are coming back!!!

The trip home is uneventful and quick(I did mention Mike was driving???). This was a great day to visit Durres, I plan to return and see it when the Adriatic calms and the sun shines.