Cold War tourism a hot commodity in Albania
Cold War tourism a hot commodity in Albania - 2016-05-17
Labyrinthine underground network is one of many artifacts enticing tourists
Deep beneath the sleepy Albanian town of Gjirokastra, an abandoned military bunker — a damp, earthy and cavernous network of ghostly tunnels — greets tourists.
It is a haunting link to a communist past frozen in time.
Not traditionally known as a tourism destination, Albania is beginning to welcome an influx of foreigners — many of whom are fascinated by the Balkan nation’s colourful history.
The bunker satiates the curiosity of any Cold War historian, immersing visitors in the 1970s and ’80s, a time when Albania was at its height ofisolation from the world. The bunker is one of about half a million located throughout Albania. (Albania’s final Leninist-style government finally collapsed under severe economic turmoil in 1992 and the country is now a candidate to become a member of the European Union.)
“The bunker was a sheltered place to party leaders and military leaders in case of a possible attack by any foreign army,” says Fatjon Hoxhalli of the Albanian National Tourism Agency.
Built by former dictator, Enver Hoxha, to protect his citizens from Western or Soviet invasion, the bunker’s concrete caves are a testament of a bygone era, one of deeply felt paranoia.
Desks strewn with dusty and cryptic military documents, cobwebbed generators, and stray cats populated the bowels of this musty attraction that spanned dozens of rooms and corridors.
“[The Cold War Tunnel] is the only one in Albania opened to visitors and it makes people understand why we shouldn’t go back to a certain era,” says Elena Bardhi, director of projects at Albanian Tourism.
The Cold War Tunnel sat boarded up for decades until recently, when the Municipality of Gjirokastra began restoring its lighting grid and undertaking topographic studies to ensure the tunnels are structurally safe.
The tunnel is now being tested as a tourist site. The city will soon install a ventilation system and perhaps even a Cold War museum.
Cold War nostalgia continues to dominate the city’s skyline above the bunker’s tunnels, too. Outside the gates of Gjirokaster Castle sits an American spy plane from the late 1950s. Its origins are not clear — some versions say the plane had mechanical failure and was forced to land in Albania, while others say it was a NATO training jet forced down by the communist government. Children play in the aircraft’s wings, oblivious to the hulking metal skeleton’s symbolism. The castle’s interior is also home to the National Museum of Armaments and a former Communist-era prison.
Taking the Cold War Tunnel plunge in Gjirokastra is an eerie pursuit that will impart more insight into the country’s past than most travel blogs could hope to deliver. Just remember to bring a flashlight.
“Castles and museums exist everywhere — but this is something totally different,” says Bardhi. “It gives you the taste of something you have never seen. You face the real unexpected and mysterious.”
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