Tirana Demo
Self-Guided Audio Tour

Skanderbeg Monument is located in Skanderbeg Square, and for half a century was the Center of Tirana. It commemorates the 15th century nobleman, and hero of the nation for resisting the Ottomans. It was called the protector of Christianity. Important building surround the Scanderbeg Square, which are: The National Opera, National Museum and National Bank. Behind these buildings, there are planted trees, taken from all over Albanian territory. Mini-parks, benches, flowers, platforms for taking photos, or altar for getting married, are part of the square. There are 32 square meters planted with different aromatic trees, and 90000 square meters walking area, while the underground parking can allow about up to 300 cars. Now, we need to take a photo with: I love Tirana monument. You can find it, in front of Skanderbeg Statue. A bit on right side. Let's go there.

The Palace of Culture of Tirana is a notable historic building, that now holds a theatre, shops, and an art gallery. It was built as a gift from the Soviets, with president Nikita Khrushchev, symbolically laying the first brick. The building was completed in 1966. The building is an example of Stalinist architecture. As no renovations have taken place in the Palace of Culture, it retains the details, that are indicative of communist architectural style. The palace was built on top the historic mosque of Mahmud Muhsin Bey Stermasi, built in 1840. The mosque was destroyed under Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Labor Party, in order to promote the communist ideal of state atheism. The old bazaar was also destroyed to make way for the palace. The Palace of Culture includes the National Library of Albania, and the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania.

The cloud, or in albanian language, Reja, is a modern art installation placed in front of the National Gallery of Arts. Reya was designed by a Japanese architect, Sou Fujimoto. The structure of the installation, the white transparency, creates a geometric form that looks like a cloud, and it looks as if mist is rising in the park, in front of the Gallery. It’s a nice place to chill, or meet, or discuss. It’s often used as an open air cinema, especially during the summer. Every summer-night at eight o'clock, they would play a movie there. Now and then, different movie festivals were also held at Reja. Somehow it’s serving as a public space for live and special events. Don't forget to take a selfie here. Tirana is the second city, after London to host this piece of art.

The Tirana Clock Tower was built in 1822 in Tirana by Et'hem Bey Mollaj, an Ottoman Albanian administrator, who also completed the Et'hem Bey Mosque near to it. Watchmaster Ismail Tufina was the first to assemble the Tirana clock mechanism in 1822. It is certified as a first-class cultural monument. The stairs consist of 90 spiral steps. It stands 35 meters tall and was the tallest structure in the city at the time. Since its renovation in 2016, the tower has attracted a large number of tourists. The Tufinas maintained the clock from 1822 until 1973, when the communist administration forcibly expelled them.

"To live, means to leave a mark". And the great Albanian writer Ismail Kadare left traces, which future generations should acknowledge and cherish. If you go around the building you can see a big mural dedicated to Ismail Kadare and Dritëro Agolli. His palace, typical for the communist era, appears to be a historic building in Tirana's most modern region. Ismail Kadare and Dritëro Agolli, two writers who lived in this building, had both a massive hause with 4+1 rooms. Ismail Kadare was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca in 1992, the Herder Prize in 1998, the inaugural Man Booker International Prize in 2005, the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts in 2009, and the Jerusalem Prize in 2015. He received the Park Kyong-ni Prize in 2019 and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, in 2020. Kadare is a honored citizen also in state of France. He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature fifteen times. Since the 1990s, both major political parties in Albania have pushed Kadare to become Albania's consensual president, but he has declined. Dritëro Agoolli's residence in the same building will soon become a museum. This building represents the life of intellectuals under the dictatorship.