We set our to Kruje from Tirana on our last day of our Balkans Gate 1 trip, enjoying the fresh air of the mountains and the cradle of Albanian culture. The drive, which should have taken 45 minutes, ended up taking 2 hours due to typical morning rush hour, which didn’t let up until after the airport stop.
On the way we passed through Fushe-Kruje, which is an unremarkable small town on the way to Kruje which hosted President George W. Bush in June 2007 for a visit with some local business owners to discuss microloans, leading the Kosovo War regional rebuilding and investment program as part of NATO. The owner of the coffee shop that hosted him called itself the George W. Bush Café, and Bush also visited a bakery where many pictures of him hung on the wall. Kledi pointed out the second story café, which you could see from the roadside. Albanians, similar to Kosovars, treated Americans very well and were grateful in the role America played in liberating persecuted Albanian Kosovars in the Kosovo War.
We learned about the history from Kledi on the ride there, and it’s unique – Kruje is perhaps the cultural beating heart of Albania. It rekindled the Albanian identity and spirit during the Albanian National Awakening in the 19th century, ultimately leading to an independent Albania.
Upon reaching the outskirts of Kruje, we began the climb up the mountain, and the air already became clearer and fresher. Kruje is the hometown of the hero Gjergj Skanderbeg, where he defended it from the Ottoman’s 500 years ago.
Originally, Kruje started out as an ancient Illyrian tribe to the Albani people. In 1190, Kruje became the capital of the first Albanian State during the Middle Ages, which later evolved into a kingdom as part of Byzantium. In the 1400s Kruje was conquered by the Ottomans, but later defeated and pushed out by Skanderbeg. Skanderbeg continued to defend the city, which had a good defensive position in the side of the mountain, against several more Ottoman attempts until his death in 1468. Only after his death were the Ottomans permanently able to regain Kruje in 1478 and hold it until 1906, when revolution was re-awakened. During World War II, Kruje continued as a center of resistance, as it was the location for resistance leader Abaz Kupi‘s operations.
According to Wikipedia:
Skanderbeg ranks high in the military history of that time as the most persistent—and ever-victorious—opponent of the Ottoman Empire during its heyday. He became a central figure in the Albanian National Awakening of the 19th century. He is honored in modern Albania and is commemorated with many monuments and cultural works. Skanderbeg’s military skills presented a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion, and many in Western Europe considered him to be a model of Christian resistance against the Ottomans.
We arrived and were dropped up right at the welcome center at the entrance to the Ottoman style bazaar. From there, we walked around the courtyard and took in the views before heading into the bazaar gauntlet, which was actually pretty low key from a hassling perspective.
We’d be coming back to the bazaar after our tour concluded, but already had started eyeing rugs (kilims) being made by looms by local women. Cool city!
Through the bazaar and out the other side led us up a mountain path to the National History Museum Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (named after the national hero), which was integrated into Kruje Castle. The museum itself is fashioned in the style of a typical 18th-century Ottoman house that once belonged to an affluent family. It was built in the 1970s and one of the architects was the daughter of Hoxha.
The museum chronicled Skanderbeg’s life, with much focus on his military life and dedicated to the Albanian national cause of throwing off the yoke of the Ottomans. For 40+ years he resisted the Ottoman Empire, winning many strategic battles with lesser forces through making use of the local terrain guerilla style, and exploiting his deep Turkish military and cultural. Hi early years were spent as a ward of the Ottomans, and he lived at Ottoman Court, where was educated (at Topkapi!) and converted to Islam. Upon his first appointment in Albania, on the land his father controlled, he claimed the city as a Lord of Albania and through out Turkish rule, eventually establishing Kruje as a stronghold after a period of tussling. Skanderbeg then successfully waged campaigns out of Kruje and the surrounding area, driving the Ottomans out further. Skanderbeg faced many setbacks along the way including betrayal by his allies the Venetians, alliances being weaker than he expected such as the one with Spain and pulling him into foreign wars to honor treaties, and Kruje being besieged several times – but only once successfully when the Ottomans were able to cut off the local water supply. It was all very Game of Thrones, with not only the Albanians and the Ottomans as players, but also Naples, Venice, Spain and Christendon via the Pope. Christian players allied when attached by the Turks, but turned on each other and negotiated with the Turks when any of the group of allies became too strong.
Skanderbeg seemed exasperated with the infighting, and really only cared about the establishment of an Albanian state for Albanians, throwing out the Turks. He was singular in his vision, and was both a military genius whose tactics routing the Ottomans were studied across Europe, as well as a skilled diplomat who had to convince other rulers and his own Albanian nobility to fight with him. From a military perspective, Skanderbeg was one of the only examples of winning a pitched battle on European soil, via superior use of the land and resources, and guerilla tactics (one example cites Skanderbeg forces encircling the Ottoman forces with cavalry hidden in the forest). Skanderbeg’s army regularly was 10,000-15,000 men including some foreign soldiers (and lots of cash) from Venice, Naples, Spain, and the Vatican – but he was regularly up against forces double the size, and he regularly won.
You can see Skanderbeg behind Brendanbeg, with his famous horned helmet. Several reliefs also portray him leading his army.
Of all the museums we had seen recently, this was one of the better ones – it was short and focused, with a lot of neat art!
After finishing the exhibits, we continued to the rooftop to take in the surrounding countryside and mountains, seeing other aspects of the castle and grounds in the panorama. Kledi pointed out a hiking trail into the mountains to a Sufi shrine in a cave which many often sought out. We would have to take that path another time.
Now that the formal tour was complete, we had some free time to shop until meeting the group back near the bazaar entrance. In the hour of free time, we ended up purchasing some Albanian felt hats (Qeleshe) made in the shop (we saw a demo where the wool was teased and prepared with soap).
We also manage to bargain for not 1 but 2 rug runners that we would ultimately hang in our staircase at home. This was the shop we combed through piles of rugs for the ones we wanted.
After shopping, we met the group for a surprise lunch and cultural song and dance program. It was certainly a fitting end to the Kruje visit, as we were not only served a light lunch with a traditional dessert (rice pudding), but also were serenaded by the local musical group with Albanian cultural songs, accompanied by dancing. At one point we were pulled in to participate.
After eating, singing, and dancing, we boarded the bus and were on our way back to Tirana for our farewell dinner covered here.
