Ruins give birth to shopfronts 

Castles become cafes

Staircases are built going to nowhere

Goat cheese, tomatoes and sour olives are popular 

People like stuff in filo pastry and meaty soups

Goats and cows eat garbage

So does the land and sea due to lack of governmental removal 

Sometimes rubbish is burnt

More often it travels the streets 

Dogs and cats roam free range

Some of them are fed 

Others run wild and unkempt 

Terracotta, yellow, blue and green buildings with window boxes

Rustic wild East Italy 

Pizza with a sesame crust tantalises me 

Bunkers and war memorabilia tell of a darker past

People talk of the mafia and drugs

Mostly I see genuine friendly people and brown outdoor grown weed is available 

Nobody knows who this mafia actually is or if it is

Hard working men and women in the hot dusty fields 

Laughing children with shiny faces board buses

When do they become these worn faces I also see?

The men are leaving because the pay is no good

The women are left behind

The world is changing 

Albania is changing 

There is a worry that those family values that define these people are leaving too

Tourista culture is creating a shift too

Is it good or will something definitive be lost?

Perhaps that genuine helpful honesty which defines the Albanian people replaced with desire to make a few Lek more per byrek 

Beautiful beaches of sand and stone 

Accessible by long bus rides over sandy winding roads that overlook cliffs above the bright blue sea

Glorious churches indicate a belief in the mother Teresa and Christ 

Mosques overlook city streets 

Fountains overlook statues 

Eclectic rambling ever changing building styles tease the eye 

Constantly shifting and being rebuilt 

A work in progress 

Albania