Today’s stunning Ride to Church comes to us from my friend Eralda, who took these pictures in Albania (her home country). Eralda took pictures in two different cities and writes:
One is from my way to the Catholic church in Vlora, my hometown that is located right on the southern coast of Albania. It is a beautiful city, sun-drenched, temperate weather, beautiful beaches. You will see pictures of the city mostly: buildings, sidewalk stands, etc. You’ll also see that I pass a mosque on my way to church. On most official documents, Albania is categorized as a Muslim country with a listing of 70% Muslim majority, but there is also a strong Catholic and Orthodox presence as well, and all three religions have historically always been able to coexist peacefully.
The other is from my way to the Orthodox church in a mountainous village near Vlora, called Old Dukat in its neighborhood of Thilpata. This is where I visited the reconstructed home of my grandmother from my mother’s side (the very first picture). Beautiful village! A large number of the homes are very very old, and in one of the pictures you’ll see that the people are using a 500+ years old home as a barn for their cows. We got to eat fresh plums that we ourselves picked, and also some delicious small green apples, so crisp and juicy. We got to drink from the fresh water well that runs all year from the mountain sources, and we got to chase roosters and hens along the cobble-stone paths.
Such amazing pictures, Eralda! Thank you for doing this.
The pictures from Vlora remind me a lot of Spain.
And do you know the woman in the 7th picture or was that just a passerby?
Gorgeous pictures! thanks!
Thanks you for sharing these photos. I was surprised to see the palm trees. I hadn’t realized that Albania was that warm year round.
Neat. My life is so boring!
Interesting photos. Thanks.