OAT Dalmatian Coast: Saranda, Albania

Albania can trace the roots of its history back to the prehistoric era some 300,000 years ago when nomadic peoples roamed the area, living out of various caves across the land. Starting in the 7th century, BC Greek colonies began popping up along the Illyrian coast, and for the next several centuries the Illyrian tribes dominated the region. It wasn't until the 1st century BC that the Roman army defeated the Illyrian's, ending their independence. The Romans ruled here until 395 AD when the empire was split in half, and the area of present-day Albania was put under Byzantine command. Under the Byzantines�, Albania endured raids by various European tribes including the Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths, Avars and Croatian's, and by early 7th century AD most of the empire was either destroyed or weakened. In the mid 800's the Bulgarian Empire took over, and the area of eastern Albania became a valuable cultural center. As the Bulgarian Empire declined in the late 13th century, Albania switched hands yet again becoming integrated this time into the Serbian state. The Ottoman's took control in 1385 with the Battle of Savra, and aside from a brief interruption during 1443-1478, they ruled for an astounding 600 years. Towards the end of the 19th century many revolts were organized, and the Albanian National Awakening took place, but it wasn't until the Balkan War of 1912 that the Albanian's were freed from their Ottoman's rule. Albania was consequently divided among Italy, Serbia, and Greece, and as World War I came to an end the country was still without a recognized government. Worried that their independence was coming to an end, Albania struggled to regain control. In 1920 the United States intervened in support of Albania's independence, which ultimately led to the League of Nation's accepting Albania as a full member. Finally, in 1924, Ahmed Bey Zogu victoriously defeated the current Prime Minister Fan Noli with the help of the Yugoslav military, and was elected president for a seven-year term. Zogu was given dictatorial powers, formed an alliance with Italy, and established good relations with Benito Mussolini. As Albania's alliance with Italy crumbled, and the country failed to make interest payments on loans to Italy, Mussolini’s army invaded Albania, eradicating King Zog. This put Albania as one of the first nations occupied by the Axis Powers during World War II, and what ensued was a tug-of-war between Italy, Germany and Greece. Unfortunately this spelled disaster for the Albanian's, and by the wars end some 30,000 residents were dead, 200 villages totally destroyed and around 100,000 left homeless. In their weakened state, Communists quickly invaded Albania, and isolated them from the rest of the noncommunist world. This lasted until the early 1990's when the most of Communist doctrine collapsed across Europe. Albania took this moment to completely abandon its long-time Communist rule in favor of democracy and a move into the 21st Century. Blessed with many natural resources, Albania has (for the most part) remained somewhat isolated from the world because of its mountainous topography and the policies of its former hard line government. In recent times the country has suffered economic hardships because of the onslaught (into Albania) of thousands of ethnic Albanian Muslims exiting the former Yugoslavia. However, in 2009 the country joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and is currently applying for EU membership. The pictures below were taken at the ruins of Butrintit Archaeological Site, site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a flourishing trade center and harbor under the Byzantines, then a brief occupation by the Venetians: